Buckle up, track and field fandom! The athletics world is heating up like never before, and the world is here for it! The Diamond League has been grabbing headlines lately, with many big names from the Paris Olympics doing their final lap as the season ends. There is, however, a conversation brewing on the sidelines, a conversation that could potentially change the Diamond League forever. And it is being driven by incredible paralympians like Hunter Woodhall and Jonnie Peacock. Now, let’s see what is cooking at the 2024 Diamond League.

The Leagues have historically been a playground for some of the fastest athletes. It’s the battlefield where rivalries are settled and records are shattered. Speaking of rivalries, one such rivalry recently caught a lot of attention. The iconic face-off between pole vault maestro Mondo Duplantis and the Norwegian sensation Karsten Warholm. It was not just a race but a brilliant display of sportsmanship, with many stars flocking to the stadium. Mondo won the race, clocking 10.37. But wait, there’s more!

The Diamond League also saw one of the most coveted rematches since the 2024 Paris Olympics. The world saw Sha’Carri Richardson on the track again. After settling for second place to Julien Alfred in Paris, Sha’Carri was not going to end the season with a silver! And no doubt, she did not. The world saw a comeback on the track at the 100m women’s final, with Sha’Carri taking the gold clocking 10.84. This time leaving Julien Alfred trailing behind at 10.88.

 

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Now, while these stories have been hoarding the spotlight and media buzz, there is another narrative unfolding simultaneously! A narrative that has been around for a while but has never gotten the attention it needs. The inclusion of Paralympic athletes in the Diamond League. But even with all the 21st-century momentum of para-athletes, there is still a major disparity in the exposure a Paralympic event gets as compared to its Olympic counterparts. And one of the Paralympians who has been actively advocating for this inclusion is Jonnie Peacock.

Jonnie Peacock is an English Paralympic sprinter who recently turned up the heat around this narrative. In a passionate message, he questioned why the Paralympians aren’t given their rightful place in these high-profile track events. “If I am being honest, I just want to say why are the Diamond Leagues not letting us run? I want to call out the Diamond League, I want people online to tell them this is a race they want to see. I want Para to be in the Diamond League, and not in the cheerleader events, not five minutes before the cameras turn on. On the cameras because this is where it deserves to be.”

And mic drop! Jonnie was making the point very clear. Paralympics aren’t simply filler content. They are fierce competitions with equally fierce athletes. “We were all putting the medal around Manu’s neck No, this is not how this race happens. Because this is a tough race. This is a good race. And this is an advert Para sport, and Seb, put it in the Diamond League man. Put this race in the Diamond League. We deserve to be there,” he added. The call for justice isn’t a request, but a demand for equality and visibility.

Hunter Woodhall, another Paralympian who is nothing short of a headline magnet, went on to rally the message. Hunter shared Jonnie’s video and wrote, “Couldn’t agree more.” That’s how change starts! Hunter, however, has been a passionate advocate for para-sports for some time now. After making headlines at the 2024 Paris Olympics with his wife, Olympian Tara Davis-Woodhall, Hunter also ran the Paralympics final recently. In fact, Jonnie Peacock and Hunter Woodhall ran the same race. Wondering what happened next?

Hunter Woodhall and the unfortunate Paralympics

Despite giving all he had, Hunter Woodhall did not make it to the 2024 Paralympics podium. For Woodhall, this is not just a loss. He has been a standout in the world of Paralympic athletics for a while now. But his history with the Paralympics has been a rocky one. At the 2023 World Championships in Paris, Hunter had to withdraw from the T62 400m race due to a malfunctioning prosthetic. While setbacks are often followed by brilliant comebacks, destiny had a different plan for Hunter.

Hunter Woodhall finished sixth at the 2024 Paralympics clocking 10.96, while Jonnie finished fifth clocking 10.91. But heartbreaks and setbacks are nothing new to Hunter. He is the epitome of resilience, and he has shown the world that since his debut at the 2015 World Championships in Doha. Hinter in 2016 was named the 2016 Male High School Track Athlete of the Year by US Paralympics and the 2017 Gatorade State Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year for Utah. Hunter’s achievements over the years stand on their own merit.

Yet Hunter’s impact goes beyond his own race. He is a passionate advocate, much like Jonnie, for visibility and fair representation for Paralympians in mainstream athletics. For both Jonnie and Hunter, this is a cause that is deeply personal. This wasn’t the first time Jonnie has brought up the idea of bringing parasports to the Diamond League. In 2012, Jonnie voiced the same after his Paralympics, where he won gold. He went on to say, “My race had the highest viewing figures during the whole Paralympics – 6.3m people tuned in, external – so that shows people like watching races like that. So TV are now looking at that and thinking, ‘people do enjoy watching it, maybe we should start putting on some events’.”

Hunter Woodhall has been no less of an advocate. Hunter, since the Paris Olympics, has tried his best to turn the media attention to Paralympics. When he left Paris after his wife, Tara’s win, he went on to write, “I’m leaving Paris. It has been a crazy two weeks. If you’re watching the Olympics and bummed that the Olympics are over, I’ve got great news for you. The Paralympics are coming up. I’ll be back in two weeks.” Together, Woodhall and Peacock, who have both competed on the same Paralympic stage, are pushing for a revolution that would allow young Paralympic athletes to dream big. Will it come to fruition? The world, much like the Paralympians, will have to wait and see.