The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the IAAF World Athletics Series and was the seasonal culmination of the IAAF World Outdoor Meetings series from 2003 to 2005, then the IAAF World Athletics Tour from 2006 to 2009. Due to changes in the one-day meeting system introduced by the IAAF, the World Athletics Final was discontinued after the 2009 season.
Christian Olsson is a former Swedish athlete competing in high jump and triple jump. He won an Olympic gold medal, one gold and one silver medal in the World Championships and two gold medals in the European Championships as well as a further two golds in the World Indoor championships. He also won the overall IAAF Golden League jackpot in 2004 where he cashed in 500,000 US dollars.
Andreas Thorkildsen is a retired Norwegian track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He was the Olympic Champion in 2004 and 2008, European Champion in 2006 and 2010, and World Champion in 2009. He is the first male javelin thrower in history to simultaneously be European, World and Olympic Champion. He was also a three-time silver medalist at the World Championships, placing second in 2005, 2007 and 2011. His personal best of 91.59 m, set in 2006, is the Norwegian record.
Kajsa Margareta Bergqvist is a Swedish former high jumper. She won one bronze medal in the Olympic Games, one gold and two bronze medals in the World Championships in Athletics and one gold and one bronze in the European Championships. Her personal outdoor record of 2.06 m, set in Germany in 2003, is also a Swedish record. Her indoor record of 2.08 m, set at the Hochsprung mit Musik meeting in 2006, is the world indoor record.
The 2004 IAAF Golden League was a series of track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
The 2006 IAAF World Athletics Tour was the first edition of the annual global circuit of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The series featured 24 one-day meetings, consisting of the six meetings of the 2006 IAAF Golden League, six IAAF Super Grand Prix meetings, and twelve IAAF Grand Prix meetings. In addition, there were 25 Area Permit Meetings that carried point-scoring events. The series culminated in the two-day 2006 IAAF World Athletics Final, held in Stuttgart, Germany from 9–10 September.
Genzebe Dibaba Keneni is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. A 1,500 metres 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist, she won a gold medal in this event and a bronze in the 5,000 metres at the 2015 World Championships. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the indoor events of the one mile, 3,000m and 5,000m.
The IAAF Super Grand Prix was an annual series of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Over the competition's history, a total of nine different meetings were part of the circuit – all of which were European meetings with the sole exception of the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix, introduced in 2004.
The IAAF World Athletics Tour was an annual global circuit of one day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Formed in 2006, it comprised two separate levels of athletics meetings: the first level being the IAAF Golden League and IAAF Super Grand Prix events, and the second comprising IAAF Grand Prix events and area permit meetings. It replaced the IAAF World Outdoor Meetings series, which had only started three years earlier, and rendered the IAAF Grand Prix II series defunct.
The IAAF Grand Prix was an annual, global circuit of one-day outdoor track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was created in 1985 as the IAAF's first seasonal track and field circuit and lasted until 2009. Athletes scored points based on their performances on the circuit and the top athletes were invited to the annual IAAF Grand Prix Final.
Kaliese Spencer Carter is a Jamaican track and field athlete who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles. She won the bronze medal in the event at the 2012 London Olympics. Spencer was the Commonwealth Games champion in 2014 and a double silver medallist at the 2014 World Indoor Championships. She finished fourth at both the 2009 and 2011 World Championships in Athletics.
The 2002 IAAF Golden League was the fifth edition of the annual international track and field meeting series, held from 28 June to 6 September. It was contested at seven European meetings: the Bislett Games, Meeting Gaz de France, Golden Gala, Herculis, Weltklasse Zürich, Memorial Van Damme and the Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF).
The 2000 IAAF Golden League was the third edition of the annual international track and field meeting series, held from 23 June to 1 September. It was contested at seven European meetings: the Meeting Gaz de France, Golden Gala, Bislett Games, Weltklasse Zürich, Herculis, Memorial Van Damme and the Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF).
The 1998 IAAF Golden League was the first edition of the annual international track and field meeting series, held from 9 July to 5 September. It was contested at six European meetings: the Bislett Games, Golden Gala, Herculis, Weltklasse Zürich, Memorial Van Damme and the Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF). The series tied in with the 1998 IAAF Grand Prix Final, with the jackpot of US$1,000,000 being decided at that competition. The million-dollar prize represented the single largest prize pot ever in athletics at that point.
The IAAF Golden Events were a sporadic series of twelve athletics events organised by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) from 1978 to 1982. Aside from the inaugural event in Tokyo, the contests were held in Europe and were attached to independent track and field meetings. The purpose of the events was to raise the profile of the sport outside of Olympic competition. Marking the growing professionalism in athletics, a significant prize pot was given to the winner of the event – a move designed to attract the sport's top athletes to compete against each other at the same meeting. The inaugural prize was an 18-carat gold trophy worth 9,500 US dollars. All twelve events were for men, reflecting their position as the most prominent sex during that period.
The IAAF Grand Prix II was an annual series of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was introduced in 1993 as an expansion of the IAAF Grand Prix series, adding a second category of competitions in order to support a greater number of meetings the financial benefit of being an official Grand Prix meeting. Prior to its creation, meetings not on the Grand Prix list were included as IAAF Permit Meetings. Further additions to the Grand Prix II level required a competition to have held permit status for two years. Over the competition's history, at least of 25 different meetings were part of the circuit.
The Golden Four was an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings in Europe, which lasted from 1993 to 1997. The four meetings that comprised the series were the Bislett Games (Oslo), Weltklasse Zürich (Zürich), Memorial Van Damme (Brussels), and Internationales Stadionfest (Berlin). The name of the series derived from the number of meets and the series prize of 20 kg of gold, to be shared among the athletes who won their event at all four of the meets. The Berlin leg served as the series final. Marketing for the series was managed by UFA GmbH.
The IAAF World Outdoor Meetings were an annual, global circuit of one-day outdoor track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was created in 2003 building upon the IAAF Grand Prix series held since 1985. The series incorporated four categories of competitions: the IAAF Golden League, IAAF Super Grand Prix, IAAF Grand Prix I and IAAF Grand Prix II. The reorganisation came with the introduction of the IAAF World Rankings system. Athletes scored points based on their performances at the series meetings and the highest scoring athletes in each event were invited to compete at the IAAF World Athletics Final. The series lasted only three years before being reorganised into the IAAF World Athletics Tour.
The 2004 IAAF World Outdoor Meetings was the second edition of the annual global series of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The series had four levels: 2004 IAAF Golden League, IAAF Super Grand Prix, IAAF Grand Prix and IAAF Grand Prix II. There were 6 Golden League meetings, 8 Super Grand Prix category meetings, 9 IAAF Grand Prix category meetings and 11 Grand Prix II meetings, making a combined total of 34 meetings for the series.
The 2005 IAAF World Outdoor Meetings was the third and final edition of the annual global series of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The series had four levels: 2005 IAAF Golden League, IAAF Super Grand Prix, IAAF Grand Prix and IAAF Grand Prix II. There were 6 Golden League meetings, 8 Super Grand Prix category meetings, 10 IAAF Grand Prix category meetings and 10 Grand Prix II meetings, making a combined total of 34 meetings for the series.
