The 2019 Diamond League season has reached its midway point, and by now we at least have a faint idea what every event will look like throughout the rest of the season. Plenty of questions remain unanswered, and athletes that we’ve seen little to none of so far will surely make their presence known eventually. But the following names have earned mid-season Diamond MVP recognition:

(Note: this list refers to Diamond League competition only. For example, Shaunae Miller-Uibo owns the fastest 400m in the world this season and broke the 300m world best last month, but she has not competed on the DL circuit thus far.)

Men’s Sprints

Michael Norman over Christian Coleman

This was a tough call between two men who have firmly established themselves as the best at their respective distances. Norman hasn’t come close to the crazy 43.45 opener he ran in April, but he’s also looked unstoppable in the 400m, and most impressively, beat Noah Lyles in a world-leading 19.70 200m in Rome.

Coleman plays second-fiddle behind Norman here only because of his loss to Lyles in the Shanghai 100m. But his record since-- a 9.85 in Oslo and a 9.81 on Sunday at Pre-- is nearly as impressive as Norman’s best work. 

Women’s Sprints

Salwa Eid Naser over Dina Asher-Smith

Brit sprint star Dina Asher-Smith won her first two 200s in Doha and Stockholm, and then finished second in 10.94 in Rome, but Salwa Eid Naser has topped her so far with three 400 victories in three tries. Sure, 400m world leader Shaunae Miller-Uibo has yet to compete in the Diamond League this season, but the Bahraini sprinter has gotten faster in each of her quarters and just ran a 22.51 200m PB in an off-event test at Pre. There, Naser was a place behind Asher-Smith.

Men’s Mid-Distance

Timothy Cheruiyot over Nijel Amos

Reigning 1500m Diamond League champ Tim Cheruiyot narrowly lost to Elijah Manangoi to open his Diamond season in Doha, but he’s been the class of the event since with victories at Stockholm and Prefontaine. A second straight Bowerman mile title has secured his spot as the Doha favorite.

Amos lost by a fingernail to Donavan Brazier in the Rome 800m that produced the world lead, but wins in Doha and Rabat over incumbent 800m king Emmanuel Korir signals big things for the 1:41 man in 2019. 

Women’s Mid-Distance

Genzebe Dibaba over Caster Semenya

This category is flawed because of the unnecessary clamp placed on Caster Semenya’s season, as she would certainly have more victories to her credit if not for the IAAF’s testosterone restrictions. Even so, Genzebe Dibaba’s 1500m results thus far have been stellar-- two victories in 3:56 and 3:55, the latter her fastest since 2015. She gets the nod over Semenya, who won the Pre 800m in 1:55, by a tiny margin.

Men’s Distance

Joshua Cheptegei over Getnet Wale

2019 has treated Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda well so far. First, he won the World XC title in late March, and then on Sunday, he slayed a whole bunch of scalps with a win in the Prefontaine two mile. He's taken his share of lumps, too, with a seventh place finish in the Shanghai 5k and a bitter runner-up finish to Selemon Barega in the Oslo 3k, but beating the likes of Paul Chelimo and Barega at Stanford in a speedy 8:07.54 (#6 performer all-time) was a defining win.

18-year-old steepler Getnet Wale of Ethiopia doesn’t have near the resume of Cheptegei, but his 8:06.01 world-leading victory was a bigger deal than it looked on paper. Not only was it an Ethiopian national record, but in a season that has yet to feature world champion Conseslus Kipruto or Evan Jager, Wale’s performance puts him right in the thick of the gold medal discussion.

Women’s Distance

Sifan Hassan over Beatrice Chepkoech

The pendulum just barely swung in Hassan’s favor by virtue of her 8:18 3k on Sunday-- the fastest since the Chinese women distorted the record book in the early 90s via doping-- but steeple world record holder Beatrice Chepkoech is worthy as well. She did lose for the first time in over a year in Oslo, but recovered nicely with an 8:55.58 win at Pre, fifth-fastest in history. 

Men’s Hurdles

Rai Benjamin over Karsten Warholm

47.16 with three months to sharpen up for Worlds has to feel pretty good for Rai Benjamin, whose only loss in the 400m hurdles was on May 18 to 46.98 man Abderrahman Samba in Shanghai. 

Samba is out right now with an injury, but assuming he returns to full health, he’ll face a much stronger version of Benjamin when they line up next. Warholm is the sleeper to watch in this event, insofar as a reigning world champion can be overlooked. The Norwegian hasn’t raced either foe in 2019, but the 47.33 he ran on June 13 suggests that all three men could be fighting for the 46.78 world record throughout the summer and fall.

Women’s Hurdles

Dalilah Muhammad over Sydney McLaughlin

McLaughlin beat Muhammad in their lone matchup so far in Oslo, but the Olympic champion still has the edge for me with two DL victories in Doha (53.61) and Rome (53.67), the former standing as the world lead since May 3. Muhammad is the only woman to run under 54 seconds this season, a feat she’s accomplished in three races already.

Men’s Field

Sam Kendricks over Darlan Romani

2017 pole vault world champion Sam Kendricks lost to Mondo Duplantis at Prefontaine, but three other wins in Doha, Stockholm and Oslo have him off to a strong start in his title defense year. Triple jumper Will Claye or shot putter Ryan Crouser would have been excellent nominees if their giant marks were done on the circuit, but alas, they were not, so Pre shot put champ Darlan Romani of Brazil gets the honor of looking up at Kendricks.

Romani heaved a massive 22.61m toss in Palo Alto, a Diamond League record and a two-plus foot PB for the 28-year-old. 

Women’s Field

Mariya Lasitskene over Gong Lijiao

Undefeated high jumper Mariya Lasitskene has been the best in her event for three years now, and her unwavering consistency has made her a virtual lock to win every competition. The authorized neutral athlete by way of Russia has cleared 2.00m in 13 of her 15 meets this season, including two out of her three Diamond League wins.

Poor Gong Lijiao never stood a chance against the formidable presence of Lasitskene here, but the Chinese shot putter and 2017 world champion just notched her second DL win of the year with a 19.79m throw at Prefontaine.