Meseret Defar prize money
Meseret Defar has been paid $86,000 by the Diamond League, which ranks 364th of the 3,683 athletes the series has paid. It came from eleven paid finishes in the women's 5000 m, women's 3000 m and women's 1500 m, five 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bislett Games 2013 | 5000 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| DN Galan 2013 | 3000 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Weltklasse 2013 | 5000 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Golden Grand Prix 2013 | 5000 m | 2nd | $6,000 |
| Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix 2012 | 3000 m | 2nd | $6,000 |
| Golden Gala 2012 | 5000 m | 2nd | $6,000 |
| Adidas Grand Prix 2012 | 5000 m | 2nd | $6,000 |
| Bislett Games 2011 | 5000 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| Meeting Areva 2011 | 5000 m | 1st | $10,000 |
| New York adidas Grand Prix 2010 | 1500 m | 2nd | $6,000 |
| Athletissima 2010 | 3000 m | 2nd | $6,000 |
| All eleven | three disciplines | - | $86,000 |
The eleven paid figures add up because none of them contains another: a place is paid once, at that meeting, so $86,000 is eleven 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 Meseret Defar
| DISCIPLINE | STARTS | WINS | YEARS | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 5000 m | 7 | 4 | 2011 to 2013 | $58,000 |
| Women's 3000 m | 3 | 1 | 2010 to 2013 | $22,000 |
| Women's 1500 m | 1 | - | 2010 | $6,000 |
The women's 5000 m has paid Meseret Defar $58,000 of the $86,000, which is 67% of everything the series has given her.
Season by season
2010 to 2013, in the order it was won
| SEASON | STARTS | WINS | BIGGEST | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2 | - | New York adidas Grand Prix | $12,000 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | Bislett Games | $20,000 |
| 2012 | 3 | - | Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix | $18,000 |
| 2013 | 4 | 3 | Bislett Games | $36,000 |
season running total
2013 is the biggest of them, $36,000 from four starts. Every season from 2010 to 2013 paid her something. The dimmer column behind each season is the running total, which reaches $86,000.
Around Meseret Defar on the money list
Ranks 344 to 384
| # | ATHLETE | DISCIPLINE | WINS | PAID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 380 | Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone | two disciplines | 3 | $82,000 |
| 381 | Linden Hall | four disciplines | 1 | $81,750 |
| 382 | Lynsey Sharp | Women's 800 m | 1 | $81,500 |
| 383 | Thea LaFond | Women's triple jump | 1 | $81,500 |
| 384 | Gabby Thomas | two disciplines | 3 | $81,250 |
A slice of the same list the Diamond League hub ranks in full. Meseret Defar is 364th of the 3,683 athletes the 224 meetings on this site paid, on $86,000.
Who else was in the money
The rest of the eight, at the meetings that paid Meseret Defar most
Bislett Games 2013 paid $10,000 for 1st in the 5000 m, one of eight in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Viola Jelagat Kibiwot, Genzebe Dibaba, Margaret Wangari Muriuki, Mercy Cherono, Buze Diriba and Agnes Tirop.
DN Galan 2013 paid $10,000 for 1st in the 3000 m, one of eight in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Mercy Cherono, Sifan Hassan, Viola Jelagat Kibiwot, Gladys Cherono, Hellen Obiri and Shannon Rowbury.
Weltklasse 2013 paid $10,000 for 1st in the 5000 m, one of eight in the field. Also paid that afternoon: Tirunesh Dibaba, Mercy Cherono, Emily Chebet, Gladys Cherono, Viola Jelagat Kibiwot and Jenny Simpson.
Frequently asked questions
How much Diamond League prize money has Meseret Defar won?
$86,000, which ranks 364th of the 3,683 athletes the series has paid across the 224 meetings on this site. It came from eleven paid finishes between 2010 and 2013.
What is Meseret Defar's biggest Diamond League payday?
$10,000, for finishing 1st in the 5000 m at the 2013 Bislett Games. 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 Meseret Defar 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 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 Meseret Defar won?
Five of eleven, worth $50,000 between them. She has not been paid at a Diamond League final.
Is this everything Meseret Defar 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 her, 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 Meseret Defar is Gianna Woodruff on $86,000, and one below Phillips Idowu on $86,000. Meseret Defar 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 women's 5000 m prize money, women's 3000 m prize money and women's 1500 m prize money. The series has paid out in 20 women's disciplines and Meseret Defar has been paid in three 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 Bislett Games has its own page across every edition of it.