Explainer: How Wild Cards Work in the Diamond League Final

The Wanda Diamond League Final, scheduled for August 27–28, 2025 at Weltklasse Zürich in Switzerland, is the season’s showpiece.

For many athletes, it serves as the first chance to claim an international outdoor title and a perfect dress rehearsal for the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Most competitors will have booked their place in Zürich by accumulating points on the Road to the Final, which stretched across 14 meetings between April and August on four different continents. However, not every athlete in the Final makes it through points alone. A select number qualify through wild cards, which provide an alternative route into the competition.

Why Wild Cards Exist

The majority of the field in Zürich is made up of athletes who have consistently performed throughout the season. By collecting points based on their finishing positions across the Diamond League series, they secure their spots in the finale.

Wild cards, however, are special invitations designed to ensure that either the sport’s biggest global names or local athletes from the host nation are part of the event. These wild cards come in two forms: global wild cards and national wild cards.

Global Wild Cards

Global wild cards are limited to a maximum of four athletes across the entire Final, with organisers allowed to invite two men and two women. To be considered, a global wild card athlete must have competed in at least one Diamond League meeting earlier in the season and must also fulfil at least one additional criterion.

They must either be a world record holder, a reigning world, Olympic or Diamond League champion, be ranked among the top five in their event in the World Athletics Rankings, or hold a position in the top 20 of the overall World Athletics Rankings.

Importantly, no event can feature both a national wild card and a global wild card. If a global wild card athlete wins their event in Zürich, they are crowned the Wanda Diamond League champion and receive the prestigious Diamond Trophy, though they do not receive the full prize money.

National Wild Cards

National wild cards are a little different. Each discipline in the Final allows for one national wild card from the host country, provided the athlete meets an adequate standard of performance.

In 2025, this means that a Swiss athlete who has not accumulated enough points to qualify could still be nominated by the Zürich organisers to take part in their discipline.

Even if other Swiss athletes have already qualified via the points system, an additional competitor from Switzerland can still be added through this route.

Unlike their global counterparts, if a national wild card wins, they receive the full prize money on offer, but they are not awarded the Diamond Trophy and cannot be crowned Diamond League champion.

Balancing Prestige and Opportunity

The existence of wild cards serves several purposes. For organisers, global wild cards are a way to ensure that the sport’s most recognisable and successful names, such as reigning champions and world record holders, are present in Zürich even if they have missed out on points due to injury, scheduling, or other factors.

At the same time, national wild cards guarantee a local connection by giving the host nation an athlete to rally behind in every discipline, provided they meet performance standards. This balance ensures that the competition remains both globally elite and locally meaningful.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, while the Road to the Final remains the main path to qualification, the wild card system adds flexibility and depth to the Wanda Diamond League Final.

Global wild cards allow for the inclusion of world-class stars, ensuring the calibre of competition is as high as possible, while national wild cards give fans in the host country a homegrown athlete to support.

The distinction between the two is clear in their rewards: global wild card winners can become champions and lift the Diamond Trophy but miss out on full prize money, while national wild card winners may take home the money but cannot claim the title.

Together, the two systems create a competitive balance that maintains the prestige of the event while also catering to its global and local appeal.