The upcoming Lausanne Diamond League was set to be a star-studded spectacle. But before the starting gun could echo through the stadium, controversy struck. Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas and Noah Lyles’ rival, Kenny Bednarek, abruptly withdrew — yet their names suspiciously remained on the official star list. This move didn’t go unnoticed, sparking backlash from the athletics community and raising questions about the event’s transparency.

Taking to his X handle, track and field reporter Owens made a post directly accusing the Diamond League organizers of not releasing the actual names of the athletes competing under their banner. “The Lausanne Diamond League meeting organisers and the Diamond League as a whole have been so unprofessional in announcing athletes who haven’t finalised details of their participation or weren’t even planning on racing in the first place.” 

He further added, “Hyping the fans up and then making the athletes look bad when they ‘pull out’ of a meet they weren’t even running at is not a good look at all, especially from what should be one of the most reliable sources of our sport.” The context? Well, the organizers hyped up the fans by claiming that the event would feature the conclusion of Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek’s ongoing rivalry.

However, things took a drastic turn when the Tokyo Olympics silver medalist himself announced that he had never agreed to participate in the Diamond League. Taking to his Instagram handle, Kenny Bednarek revealed that he won’t be competing in the Diamond League, as he and his coach are focusing on the meet in Poland and the upcoming Tokyo Championships. So, while fans were hyped for their face-off after the USATF 2025 fiasco, Bednarek has some other plans.

And he isn’t the only star athlete to pull out of the Diamond League; Gabby Thomas also joined the bandwagon, further shocking fans. The organizers of the Athletissima Diamond League meet in Lausanne had released an official statement confirming her participation in the August 20 event, placing her in a high-profile showdown against Julien Alfred, Dina Asher-Smith, and Shericka Jackson. But the catch is, she never agreed to compete.

In her X handle, she stated, “They asked me to come, but I haven’t confirmed (in fact, I said no). I just don’t like news coming out without my confirmation because if I ‘pull out’ it looks bad on me. So now I feel like I have to go.” She even lashed out at the Diamond League for adding her name to the list.

This serious lapse in communication has caught the attention of the community, taking shots at the otherwise respected event.

Fans lashed out at Diamond League organizers as Kenny Bednarek and Gabby Thomas pulled out

Sharing her own experience as an organizer, Olympic 400m medallist and former World No. 1, Katharine Merry revealed that this tactic is not new, as organizers have been villainizing athletes for a long time. “This isn’t new sadly .. when we were running (me, Darren, Jamie B) etc .. we were all asked to run in a UK meet (not a huge one) .. wasn’t agreed .. they said we were running … we didn’t and it made us look bad as ‘we pulled out’ .. fuming didn’t cover it. “

Furthermore, another expressed their dissatisfaction with the managers’ hyper-independence, stating that they have too much control over the athletes, which he believes is not good. “There is a lot to say about the managers, too, who are regularly using their top athlete to shoehorn their other athletes in. It’s not only the Diamond League. Athlos announcing Hodgkinson is very premature.”

According to World Athletics leadership, the Diamond League attracted a massive viewership of 30 to 40 million last year. However, this year, the numbers might dwindle due to a lack of star power. One fan believes that the organization is doing this solely for the sake of viewership, “I think they’re trying to get their streaming numbers up. I don’t know many people shelling out money for another streaming service when Flotrack was given the streaming rights.”

Last but not least, a fan added, “After meet organizers announced Gabby Thomas for the Lausanne Diamond League 200m, she responds saying that she actually said no to competing at the event.”

Now, with the departure of two of the biggest names in the sport, the Diamond League will have to find new ways to market itself. But will their tactics work? Will they accept their flaws? Only time will tell.