Caster Semenya prize money
Caster Semenya has been paid $70,000 by the Diamond League, which ranks 216th of the 2,112 athletes the series has paid. It came from seven paid finishes in the women's 800 m and women's 1500 m, seven of them wins.
The Diamond League pays by finishing place and nothing else. A published card sets what first through eighth is worth, the same figure in every discipline at that meeting, and ninth pays nothing.
Every payment
Where she finished, and what the card paid for it
| MEETING | DISCIPLINE | PLACE | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doha Diamond League 2019 | 800 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Prefontaine Classic 2019 | 800 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Doha Diamond League 2018 | 1500 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Bislett Games 2018 | 800 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Meeting de Paris 2018 | 800 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Doha Diamond League 2017 | 800 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Bislett Games 2017 | 800 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| All seven | two disciplines | — | $70,000 |
The seven paid figures add up because none of them contains another: a place is paid once, at that meeting, so $70,000 is seven separate amounts rather than a running total. It is 0.1% of the $53,753,250 the 104 meetings on this site paid out between them.
Discipline by discipline
What each event has paid Caster Semenya
| DISCIPLINE | STARTS | WINS | YEARS | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 800 m | 6 | 6 | 2017 to 2019 | $60,000 |
| Women's 1500 m | 1 | 1 | 2018 | $10,000 |
The women's 800 m has paid Caster Semenya $60,000 of the $70,000, which is 86% of everything the series has given her.
Season by season
2017 to 2019, in the order it was won
| SEASON | STARTS | WINS | BIGGEST | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 2 | Doha Diamond League | $20,000 |
| 2018 | 3 | 3 | Doha Diamond League | $30,000 |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | Doha Diamond League | $20,000 |
season running total
2018 is the biggest of them, $30,000 from three starts. Every season from 2017 to 2019 paid her something. The dimmer column behind each season is the running total, which reaches $70,000.
Around Caster Semenya on the money list
Ranks 196 to 236
| # | ATHLETE | DISCIPLINE | WINS | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 196 | Ronald Levy | Men's 110 m hurdles | 3 | $75,250 |
| 197 | Ackeem Blake | Men's 100 m | 1 | $75,000 |
| 198 | Jemma Reekie | four disciplines | 1 | $73,750 |
| 199 | Zakithi Nene | Men's 400 m | 2 | $73,750 |
| 200 | Auriol Dongmo | Women's shot put | 3 | $73,500 |
| 201 | Tsige Duguma | two disciplines | 4 | $73,250 |
| 202 | Klaudia Kazimierska | two disciplines | 1 | $73,000 |
| 203 | Yasser Triki | Men's triple jump | 1 | $73,000 |
| 204 | Christin Hussong | Women's javelin throw | 3 | $72,750 |
| 205 | Samuel Firewu | Men's 3000 m steeplechase | 2 | $72,500 |
| 206 | Jake Wightman | four disciplines | 4 | $71,750 |
| 207 | Jordan Scott | Men's triple jump | 4 | $71,500 |
| 208 | Stewart McSweyn | four disciplines | 2 | $71,500 |
| 209 | Likina Amebaw | two disciplines | 1 | $71,250 |
| 210 | Stephenie Ann McPherson | Women's 400 m | 2 | $71,250 |
| 211 | Simon Koech | Men's 3000 m steeplechase | 3 | $71,000 |
| 212 | Thobias Montler | Men's long jump | 2 | $70,750 |
| 213 | Halimah Nakaayi | two disciplines | — | $70,500 |
| 214 | Benjamin Kigen | Men's 3000 m steeplechase | 2 | $70,250 |
| 215 | Andrius Gudžius | Men's discus throw | 1 | $70,000 |
| 216 | Caster Semenya | two disciplines | 7 | $70,000 |
| 217 | Magnus Kirt | Men's javelin throw | 1 | $70,000 |
| 218 | Courtney Lindsey | two disciplines | 1 | $69,750 |
| 219 | Fedrick Dacres | Men's discus throw | 2 | $69,750 |
| 220 | Mackenzie Little | Women's javelin throw | 2 | $69,750 |
| 221 | Donavan Brazier | Men's 800 m | 2 | $69,500 |
| 222 | Reynold Cheruiyot | four disciplines | 1 | $69,500 |
| 223 | Tina Clayton | Women's 100 m | 2 | $69,500 |
| 224 | Liadagmis Povea | Women's triple jump | — | $69,000 |
| 225 | Tara Davis-Woodhall | Women's long jump | 4 | $69,000 |
| 226 | Angelina Topić | Women's high jump | 2 | $68,500 |
| 227 | Renaud Lavillenie | Men's pole vault | — | $68,500 |
| 228 | Blessing Okagbare | three disciplines | 2 | $68,250 |
| 229 | Phanuel Koech | Men's 1500 m | 1 | $68,000 |
| 230 | Valarie Sion | Women's discus throw | 3 | $68,000 |
| 231 | Fanny Roos | Women's shot put | — | $67,500 |
| 232 | Hana Moll | Women's pole vault | 3 | $67,500 |
| 233 | Erriyon Knighton | two disciplines | 3 | $66,500 |
| 234 | Andrenette Knight | Women's 400 m hurdles | 1 | $66,250 |
| 235 | Gabby Thomas | two disciplines | 3 | $66,250 |
| 236 | Fantaye Belayneh | two disciplines | 1 | $65,750 |
A slice of the same list the Diamond League hub ranks in full. Caster Semenya is 216th of the 2,112 athletes the 104 meetings on this site paid, on $70,000.
Who else was in the money
The rest of the eight, at the meetings that paid Caster Semenya most
Doha Diamond League 2019 paid $10,000 for 1st in the 800 m, one of eleven in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Francine Niyonsaba, Ajeé Wilson, Nelly Jepkosgei, Raevyn Rogers, Margaret Wambui and Habitam Alemu.
Prefontaine Classic 2019 paid $10,000 for 1st in the 800 m, one of eight in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Ajeé Wilson, Raevyn Rogers, Hanna Green, Habitam Alemu, Natoya Goule and Wang Chunyu.
Doha Diamond League 2018 paid $10,000 for 1st in the 1500 m, one of twelve in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Nelly Jepkosgei, Habitam Alemu, Besu Sado, Alemaz Samuel, Gudaf Tsegay and Rababe Arafi.
Frequently asked questions
How much Diamond League prize money has Caster Semenya won?
$70,000, which ranks 216th of the 2,112 athletes the series has paid across the 104 meetings on this site. It came from seven paid finishes between 2017 and 2019.
What is Caster Semenya's biggest Diamond League payday?
$10,000, for finishing 1st in the 800 m at the 2019 Doha Diamond League. The Diamond League pays by place rather than by performance, so that figure is what the card in force that season paid for 1st and would have paid anybody who finished there.
How does the Diamond League decide what Caster Semenya gets paid?
Entirely by where she finishes. The series publishes one rate card a season and applies it to every discipline at every meeting, so a win is worth the same in the women's 800 m as it is in the shot put on the same afternoon. Eight places are paid and ninth pays nothing. There is no bonus for a record and no share of a gate.
How many Diamond League meetings has Caster Semenya won?
Seven of seven, worth $70,000 between them. She has not been paid at a Diamond League final.
Is this everything Caster Semenya earns from athletics?
No. This is the Diamond League, which is one series of 104 meetings. It holds no championship prize money, no national federation payment, no appearance fee and no sponsorship. What it does hold is every dollar the series itself paid her, priced off the card it published.
Where to next
The rest of the Diamond League money
Diamond League prize money ranks all 2,112 athletes across the $53,753,250 the 104 meetings on this site paid out. One place above Caster Semenya is Andrius Gudžius on $70,000, and one below Magnus Kirt on $70,000. Caster Semenya is one of 34 South Africa athletes athletics has paid, and South Africa athletics prize money adds them up to $993,000 across all six competitions. For the event itself, see women's 800 m prize money and women's 1500 m prize money. The series has paid out in 20 women's disciplines and Caster Semenya has been paid in two of them. The biggest of the rest are women's 100 m, women's 100 m hurdles and women's 400 m. Every meeting she has raced is linked in the table at the top of this page, and Doha Diamond League has its own page across every edition of it.