Road To The Final 2022: How They Qualified

The Road to the Final has reached its destination. On Wednesday and Thursday this week, the eyes of the athletics world turn to Zurich, where the finest athletes on the planet will be battling it out to be crowned Wanda Diamond League champion. 

As well as 30,000 USD in prize money and the iconic Diamond Trophy, the 32 champions will also win the only major global title which demands both consistent performances throughout the season and a cool head under championship conditions. 

To get to the final, the athletes have had to pick up enough points at the 12 series meetings, which took place across four different continents between May and September this year. 

As the stars of the series prepare for a winner takes all showdown in Switzerland this week, we take a look back at how they got here. 

The dominators

Some athletes were simply unstoppable this summer, charging from victory to victory on the Road To The Final. 

Slovenian discus star Kristjan Ceh and US shot putter Chase Ealey are the only ones who still have a perfect record in 2022, having each notched up four wins from four possible Diamond League appearances.  

Several others have been almost as dominant. Alison Dos Santos won six of seven races in the men’s 400m hurdles.  The Brazilian took full advantage of an early season injury setback for Norwegian rival Karsten Warholm, and now has his sights set firmly on a first ever Diamond Trophy this week.

US shot put veteran Joe Kovacs has also won all but one competition in the men’s shot put, storming to four successive victories since June to make him the favourite to reclaim the title he last won in 2015. 

Other athletes who head into the final with a near perfect record include Moroccan 3000m steeplechaser Soufiane El Bakkali, reigning women’s discus Diamond League champion Valarie Allman and Greek long jump star Miltiadis Tentoglou.

Not all disciplines have been so clear cut, however. In the men’s high jump, the women’s steeplechase and the women’s long jump, every single competition this year has been won by a different athlete.