Imane Merga prize money
Imane Merga has been paid $88,500 by the Diamond League, which ranks 359th of the 3,683 athletes the series has paid. It came from 18 paid finishes in the men's 5000 m and men's 3000 m, four 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 he finished, and what the card paid for it
| MEETING | DISCIPLINE | PLACE | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Golden Grand Prix 2016 | 5000 m | 8th | $1,000 |
| Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix 2015 | 3000 m | 4th | $3,000 |
| Golden Gala Pietro Mennea 2015 | 5000 m | 4th | $3,000 |
| Golden Gala Pietro Mennea 2013 | 5000 m | 7th | $1,500 |
| Bislett Games 2012 | 5000 m | 3rd | $4,000 |
| Weltklasse Zürich 2012 | 5000 m | 8th | $1,000 |
| Golden Gala 2011 | 5000 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Memorial van Damme 2011 | 5000 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Athletissima 2011 | 5000 m | 2nd | $6,000 |
| Aviva British Grand Prix 2011 | 5000 m | 3rd | $4,000 |
| Herculis 2011 | 5000 m | 4th | $3,000 |
| Bislett Games 2010 | 5000 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Golden Gala 2010 | 5000 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Weltklasse Zürich 2010 | 5000 m | 2nd | $6,000 |
| Doha Diamond League 2010 | 5000 m | 3rd | $4,000 |
| Prefontaine Classic 2010 | 5000 m | 3rd | $4,000 |
| British Grand Prix 2010 | 5000 m | 3rd | $4,000 |
| BAUHAUS-galan 2010 | 5000 m | 3rd | $4,000 |
| All 18 | two disciplines | - | $88,500 |
The 18 paid figures add up because none of them contains another: a place is paid once, at that meeting, so $88,500 is 18 separate amounts rather than a running total. It is 0.08% of the $113,397,000 the 224 meetings on this site paid out between them.
Discipline by discipline
What each event has paid Imane Merga
| DISCIPLINE | STARTS | WINS | YEARS | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 5000 m | 17 | 4 | 2010 to 2016 | $85,500 |
| Men's 3000 m | 1 | - | 2015 | $3,000 |
The men's 5000 m has paid Imane Merga $85,500 of the $88,500, which is 97% of everything the series has given him.
Season by season
2010 to 2016, in the order it was won
| SEASON | STARTS | WINS | BIGGEST | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7 | 2 | Bislett Games | $42,000 |
| 2011 | 5 | 2 | Golden Gala | $33,000 |
| 2012 | 2 | - | Bislett Games | $5,000 |
| 2013 | 1 | - | Golden Gala Pietro Mennea | $1,500 |
| 2014 | - | - | - | - |
| 2015 | 2 | - | Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix | $6,000 |
| 2016 | 1 | - | Shanghai Golden Grand Prix | $1,000 |
season running total
2010 is the biggest of them, $42,000 from seven starts. No Diamond League meeting paid Imane Merga in 2014, so that column stands at nothing. The dimmer column behind each season is the running total, which reaches $88,500.
Around Imane Merga on the money list
Ranks 339 to 379
| # | ATHLETE | DISCIPLINE | WINS | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 339 | Cleopatra Borel | Women's shot put | - | $94,500 |
| 340 | Yargelis Savigne | two disciplines | 7 | $94,500 |
| 341 | Jorinde van Klinken | two disciplines | 1 | $94,000 |
| 342 | Lamecha Girma | five disciplines | 6 | $94,000 |
| 343 | Sanya Richards-Ross | two disciplines | 5 | $93,500 |
| 344 | Luguelín Santos | Men's 400 m | 1 | $93,000 |
| 345 | Amy Hunt | two disciplines | - | $92,500 |
| 346 | Christophe Lemaitre | two disciplines | 1 | $92,500 |
| 347 | Chaunte Lowe | Women's high jump | 5 | $92,000 |
| 348 | Berihu Aregawi | three disciplines | 4 | $91,750 |
| 349 | Peruth Chemutai | Women's 3000 m steeplechase | 3 | $91,750 |
| 350 | L. J. van Zyl | Men's 400 m hurdles | 2 | $91,500 |
| 351 | Niels Laros | three disciplines | 3 | $91,000 |
| 352 | Nelly Chepchirchir | two disciplines | 4 | $90,750 |
| 353 | Levern Spencer | Women's high jump | 1 | $90,508 |
| 354 | Jake Wightman | four disciplines | 4 | $90,250 |
| 355 | Jeremy Wariner | Men's 400 m | 7 | $90,000 |
| 356 | Ameer Webb | two disciplines | 3 | $89,500 |
| 357 | Habitam Alemu | three disciplines | - | $89,500 |
| 358 | Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa | two disciplines | 1 | $89,500 |
| 359 | Imane Merga | two disciplines | 4 | $88,500 |
| 360 | Birke Haylom | four disciplines | 3 | $87,000 |
| 361 | Emmanuel Eseme | Men's 100 m | 2 | $87,000 |
| 362 | Grace Stark | Women's 100 m hurdles | 3 | $86,500 |
| 363 | Gianna Woodruff | Women's 400 m hurdles | 1 | $86,000 |
| 364 | Meseret Defar | three disciplines | 5 | $86,000 |
| 365 | Phillips Idowu | Men's triple jump | 6 | $86,000 |
| 366 | Evan Jager | three disciplines | 1 | $85,500 |
| 367 | Diribe Welteji | three disciplines | 4 | $85,250 |
| 368 | Philip Milanov | Men's discus throw | 3 | $85,250 |
| 369 | Maggie Ewen | Women's shot put | 1 | $84,500 |
| 370 | Megan Simmonds | Women's 100 m hurdles | 2 | $84,250 |
| 371 | Hilal Yego | Men's 3000 m steeplechase | 2 | $84,000 |
| 372 | Payton Otterdahl | Men's shot put | 2 | $83,750 |
| 373 | Donavan Brazier | Men's 800 m | 2 | $83,500 |
| 374 | Georganne Moline | Women's 400 m hurdles | - | $83,500 |
| 375 | Janay Deloach | Women's long jump | 3 | $83,000 |
| 376 | Jimmy Vicaut | two disciplines | 1 | $83,000 |
| 377 | Mekonnen Gebremedhin | two disciplines | 1 | $83,000 |
| 378 | Yan Ziyi | Women's javelin throw | 5 | $82,500 |
| 379 | Lidya Chepkurui | Women's 3000 m steeplechase | 2 | $82,000 |
A slice of the same list the Diamond League hub ranks in full. Imane Merga is 359th of the 3,683 athletes the 224 meetings on this site paid, on $88,500.
Who else was in the money
The rest of the eight, at the meetings that paid Imane Merga most
Golden Gala 2011 paid $10,000 for 1st in the 5000 m, one of eight in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Isiah Kiplangat Koech, Vincent Kiprop Chepkok, Dejen Gebremeskel, Sileshi Sihine, Mark Kosgei Kiptoo and Lucas Kimeli Rotich.
Memorial van Damme 2011 paid $10,000 for 1st in the 5000 m, one of eight in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa, Vincent Kiprop Chepkok, Tariku Bekele, Alistair Ian Cragg, Albert Rop and Polat Kemboi Arikan.
Bislett Games 2010 paid $10,000 for 1st in the 5000 m, one of eight in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Tariku Bekele, Bernard Lagat, Lucas Kimeli Rotich, Vincent Kiprop Chepkok, Chris Solinsky and Alemayehu Bezabeh.
Frequently asked questions
How much Diamond League prize money has Imane Merga won?
$88,500, which ranks 359th of the 3,683 athletes the series has paid across the 224 meetings on this site. It came from 18 paid finishes between 2010 and 2016.
What is Imane Merga's biggest Diamond League payday?
$10,000, for finishing 1st in the 5000 m at the 2011 Golden Gala. 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 Imane Merga gets paid?
Entirely by where he 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 men's 5000 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 Imane Merga won?
Four of 18, worth $40,000 between them. He has not been paid at a Diamond League final.
Is this everything Imane Merga earns from athletics?
No. This is the Diamond League, which is one series of 224 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 him, priced off the card it published.
Where to next
The rest of the Diamond League money
Diamond League prize money ranks all 3,683 athletes across the $113,397,000 the 224 meetings on this site paid out. One place above Imane Merga is Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa on $89,500, and one below Birke Haylom on $87,000. Imane Merga is one of 147 Ethiopia athletes athletics has paid, and Ethiopia athletics prize money adds them up to $5,789,000 across all six competitions. For the event itself, see men's 5000 m prize money and men's 3000 m prize money. The series has paid out in 21 men's disciplines and Imane Merga has been paid in two of them. The biggest of the rest are men's 100 m, men's pole vault and men's 800 m. Every meeting he has raced is linked in the table at the top of this page, and Shanghai Golden Grand Prix has its own page across every edition of it.