As the world ground to a standstill in early 2020, the Olympics were postponed and all major sporting events were put on hold, a summer of top-level athletics seemed little more than a pipe dream.
But track and field proved adaptable in 2020.
The global coronavirus pandemic put paid to a full Wanda Diamond League season, making this year the first in a decade in which no Diamond League Champions were crowned.
Yet thanks to the tenacity, patience and creativity of athletes and meeting organisers alike, WDL 2020 still proved to be one of the most successful events in a challenging year for global sport.
The series was reduced to eight set-piece competitions this year, with four fully competitive meetings and four Wanda Diamond League exhibition events in Oslo, Zurich, Lausanne and Brussels.
As 2020 comes to a close, we take a look back at some of the innovations and creative solutions which made WDL 2020 possible.
Warholm does the impossible in Oslo
Following the success of smaller, unofficial events such as the Ultimate Garden Clash, Oslo's Bislett Games was the first meeting to hold a top-level, stadium athletics event in 2020.
The "Impossible Games" on June 11th hosted a number of innovative events, including long-distance competitions via video link. Mondo Duplantis beat Renaud Lavillenie in a remote pole vault clash, while the Ingebrigtsen brothers beat a Kenyan all-star line-up behind Timothy Cheruiyot in an intercontinental middle-distance battle in two locations.
The meet was also the first in 2020 to use wavelight technology, an innovation which would also feature at other Diamond League meetings later in the season.
Yet it was home hero Karsten Warholm who stole the show, racing to a 300m hurdle world best in a breathtaking solo run with no competitors and no fans to cheer him on. In Oslo, the impossible had become possible.
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Felix inspires at Weltklasse
As if that wasn't inspiring enough, Weltklasse Zurich broke even more new ground just a month later with the Inspiration Games. The Swiss meet, which would usually host the Wanda Diamond League Final, developed an unprecedented broadcasting and timing concept which allowed athletes to compete against each other simultaneously from different locations across the globe.
Competing at her home track in Walnut, California, US legend Allyson Felix soared to back-to-back victories in the 150m and the 3x100m relay, while fellow Americans Georganne Moline, Sam Kendricks and Sandi Morris also claimed victories in border-crossing competitions in the 300m hurdles and pole vault.
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Pole vault prowess at Place de l'Europe
After Oslo and Zurich had kickstarted the delayed 2020 season, there were further innovations at the first two fully competitive meetings of the year in Monaco and Stockholm. Wavelight returned at the Stade Louis II as Joshua Cheptegei set a new world record in the 5000m, while Stockholm saw the introduction of the Final 3 long jump format and game-changing artificial crowd noise.
The next exhibition event was held in Lausanne on September 2nd, where Athletissima organisers set a new bar for city pole vault competitions with thrilling parallel competitions in the men's and women's events.
Angelica Bengtsson claimed victory in the women's competition, while fellow Swede Mondo Duplantis made history in the men's, jumping 6.07m to record the highest outdoor mark in over two decades.
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Records tumble in Brussels
Duplantis would clear 6.15m at the Rome Diamond League a fortnight later, adding a world outdoor best to his world record of 6.18m achieved in the indoor season in February.
Yet before that, there were more creative solutions on show at the final WDL exhibition event of the season in Brussels.
AG Memorial Van Damme organisers set up three world record attempts in an unorthodox event in the Belgian capital.
And while Faith Kipyegon fell just short in the 1000m, both Sifan Hassan and Mo Farah made history as they set new one hour world records of 18,930m and 21,330m respectively.
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The world may have changed in 2020, but one thing is certain: from Hassan and Farah to Warholm and Duplantis, the Wanda Diamond League remained the perfect stage for world-beaters and history-makers.