Olympic champions Marcell Jacobs and Karsten Warholm have had the door closed on their hopes of a wild card entry for next month's Diamond League finals in Zurich.
Jacobs, the 27-year-old Italian who won the 100m in Tokyo, has been kept out of the Diamond League this season by illness and injury but said after winning the European title last week that he wanted a chance to have a go at the best American sprinters.
His hopes of beating them and winning the world title disappeared when he withdrew before the semi-finals of last month's world championships in Oregon.
Zurich's co-meeting director Andreas Hediger said there was no way round the rules to allow either Jacobs or Norwegian 400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm to compete in the climax to the season on September 7/8.
Hediger added Jacobs's entourage had been told this.
"The Diamond League qualification rules state that there is only one qualification for the finals via collecting points at the 13 series meetings," he said in an email.