Gong Lijao prize money
Gong Lijao has been paid $54,000 by the Diamond League, which ranks 287th of the 2,112 athletes the series has paid. It came from two paid finishes in the women's shot put, one of them a win.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xiamen Diamond League 2025 | Shot put | 3rd | $4,000 |
| Weltklasse Zürich 2019 | Shot put | 1st | $50,000 |
| All two | Women's shot put | — | $54,000 |
The two paid figures add up because none of them contains another: a place is paid once, at that meeting, so $54,000 is two 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.
Season by season
2019 to 2025, in the order it was won
| SEASON | STARTS | WINS | BIGGEST | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | Weltklasse Zürich | $50,000 |
| 2020 | — | — | — | — |
| 2021 | — | — | — | — |
| 2022 | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | — | — | — | — |
| 2024 | — | — | — | — |
| 2025 | 1 | — | Xiamen Diamond League | $4,000 |
season running total
2019 is the biggest of them, $50,000 from one start. No Diamond League meeting paid Gong Lijao in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, so those columns stand at nothing. The dimmer column behind each season is the running total, which reaches $54,000.
Around Gong Lijao on the money list
Ranks 267 to 307
| # | ATHLETE | DISCIPLINE | WINS | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 267 | Piotr Lisek | Men's pole vault | 2 | $56,625 |
| 268 | Bayapo Ndori | Men's 400 m | 1 | $56,500 |
| 269 | Lázaro Martínez | Men's triple jump | 2 | $56,500 |
| 270 | Zharnel Hughes | two disciplines | — | $56,500 |
| 271 | Charles Dobson | two disciplines | 2 | $56,250 |
| 272 | Hirut Meshesha | five disciplines | 2 | $56,250 |
| 273 | Ilya Ivanyuk | Men's high jump | 2 | $56,250 |
| 274 | Megan Tapper | Women's 100 m hurdles | 1 | $56,250 |
| 275 | Josh Kerr | two disciplines | 2 | $56,000 |
| 276 | Mohamed Katir | three disciplines | 3 | $56,000 |
| 277 | Romaine Beckford | Men's high jump | — | $56,000 |
| 278 | Slimane Moula | Men's 800 m | 3 | $56,000 |
| 279 | Nicholas Kimeli | two disciplines | 1 | $55,750 |
| 280 | Holly Bradshaw | Women's pole vault | — | $55,250 |
| 281 | Kayla White | two disciplines | 1 | $55,250 |
| 282 | Wayne Pinnock | Men's long jump | 2 | $55,000 |
| 283 | Ben Broeders | Men's pole vault | 1 | $54,500 |
| 284 | Cole Hocker | three disciplines | 1 | $54,500 |
| 285 | Gabriel Tual | two disciplines | — | $54,500 |
| 286 | Kristin Pudenz | Women's discus throw | — | $54,500 |
| 287 | Gong Lijao | Women's shot put | 1 | $54,000 |
| 288 | Ja'Kobe Tharp | Men's 110 m hurdles | 2 | $54,000 |
| 289 | Emily Grove | Women's pole vault | 1 | $53,750 |
| 290 | Nia Ali | Women's 100 m hurdles | 1 | $53,750 |
| 291 | Brandon Starc | Men's high jump | 1 | $53,500 |
| 292 | Ejgayehu Taye | two disciplines | — | $53,500 |
| 293 | Shelby McEwen | Men's high jump | 2 | $53,375 |
| 294 | Sandra Elkasević | Women's discus throw | 2 | $53,250 |
| 295 | Sembo Almayew | two disciplines | 1 | $53,000 |
| 296 | Kimberly Williams | Women's triple jump | — | $52,750 |
| 297 | Lukas Weißhaidinger | Men's discus throw | — | $52,500 |
| 298 | Elaine Thompson | two disciplines | 2 | $52,000 |
| 299 | Habitam Alemu | three disciplines | — | $51,500 |
| 300 | Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu | three disciplines | 3 | $51,250 |
| 301 | Quanesha Burks | Women's long jump | 1 | $51,000 |
| 302 | Roberta Bruni | Women's pole vault | — | $50,875 |
| 303 | Konstanze Klosterhalfen | four disciplines | 1 | $50,750 |
| 304 | Darlan Romani | Men's shot put | 1 | $50,500 |
| 305 | Marwa Bouzayani | Women's 3000 m steeplechase | 1 | $50,500 |
| 306 | Quincy Hall | two disciplines | 2 | $50,500 |
| 307 | Hilary Kpatcha | Women's long jump | 1 | $50,250 |
A slice of the same list the Diamond League hub ranks in full. Gong Lijao is 287th of the 2,112 athletes the 104 meetings on this site paid, on $54,000.
Who else was in the money
The rest of the eight, at the meetings that paid Gong Lijao most
Weltklasse Zürich 2019 paid $50,000 for 1st in the shot put, one of eight in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Chase Ealey, Christina Schwanitz, Aliona Dubitskaya, Brittany Crew, Danniel Thomas-Dodd and Fanny Roos.
Xiamen Diamond League 2025 paid $4,000 for 3rd in the shot put, one of ten in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Maddi Wesche, Sarah Mitton, Maggie Ewen, Fanny Roos, Jessica Inchude and Song Jiayuan.
Frequently asked questions
How much Diamond League prize money has Gong Lijao won?
$54,000, which ranks 287th of the 2,112 athletes the series has paid across the 104 meetings on this site. It came from two paid finishes between 2019 and 2025.
What is Gong Lijao's biggest Diamond League payday?
$50,000, for finishing 1st in the shot put at the 2019 Weltklasse Zürich. That is a final, which is why it is the biggest: the final pays two to five times what the same place is worth at a series meeting.
How does the Diamond League decide what Gong Lijao 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 shot put 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 Gong Lijao won?
One of two, worth $50,000 between them. One of her appearance came at a final, which paid $50,000.
Is this everything Gong Lijao 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 Gong Lijao is Kristin Pudenz on $54,500, and one below Ja'Kobe Tharp on $54,000. Gong Lijao is one of 47 China athletes athletics has paid, and China athletics prize money adds them up to $899,167 across all six competitions. For the event itself, see women's shot put prize money. The series has paid out in 20 women's disciplines and Gong Lijao has been paid in one of them. The biggest of the rest are women's 100 m, women's 100 m hurdles and women's 800 m. Every meeting she has raced is linked in the table at the top of this page, and Xiamen Diamond League has its own page across every edition of it.