New York Opts Out of Diamond League, Morocco is New Host

MONACO (AP) — The IAAF says New York has opted out of hosting a Diamond League track meet, preferring a street event to attract young fans.

New York meet director Mark Wetmore says in an IAAF statement that "changing our focus to a street meet is one way to make the event attractive to a younger audience."

Instead, the elite series will go to Africa for the first time.

The IAAF says Rabat in Morocco will have Diamond League status on May 22 for the annual Meeting International Mohammed VI.

The New York meeting at Icahn Stadium on Randalls Island was a fixture on the 14-meet circuit since its launch in 2009. The United States now has just one Diamond League meet, on May 28 in Eugene, Oregon.

(Story by: The Associated Press)