Sport | Outdoor track and field |
---|---|
Founded | 1998 |
Ceased | 2009 |
Continent | Europe |
The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Athletes who won specific events at all of the series meetings were awarded a jackpot prize, sometimes given in gold bars, which inspired the series name. [1] The competition began with seven meetings and it lasted for twelve years as the IAAF's top tier of one-day meetings. Within the IAAF's global circuit, athletes received additional points for their performances at the Golden League for the IAAF Grand Prix (1998–2002), [2] IAAF World Outdoor Meetings (2003–2005), [3] then IAAF World Athletics Tour (2006–2009). [4] The Golden League was replaced in 2010 by the Diamond League, which marked an expansion to fourteen seasonal meetings covering all track and field events except the hammer throw. [5]
The origins of the Golden League trace back to the Golden Four series that ran from 1993 to 1997, comprising four top level European meetings on the IAAF Grand Prix circuit (Berlin, Brussels, Oslo, and Zürich). [6] The first Golden League was held as the new top tier of the 1998 IAAF Grand Prix and consisted of the former Golden Four meetings, plus Rome, Monaco, and the 1998 IAAF Grand Prix Final in Moscow. [7] From the 1999 IAAF Golden League onwards, the Meeting Gaz de France in Paris was added and the Grand Prix Final dropped. [8] That year all meetings were scheduled for Wednesday evenings in order to improve the sport's television coverage. [9] When the IAAF Grand Prix was succeeded by the IAAF World Outdoor Meetings series in 2003, the Monaco meeting was removed from the Golden League series and made host of the IAAF World Athletics Final instead. [10] [11] The Golden League meetings remained unchanged from 2003 to 2009. [3] [4]
The series had three title sponsors in its history, starting with Ericsson in 1998, [7] TDK in 2004 and 2005, [12] then ÅF in 2008 and 2009. [13]
Edition | Year | Start date | End date | Meets | Jackpot events | Oslo | Rome | Paris | Monaco | Zürich | Brussels | Berlin | GP Final | Series | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1998 ( | )9 July | 1 September | 7 | 12 | 1 | 2 | N/A | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 1998 IAAF Grand Prix | [14] [2] |
2 | 1999 ( | )30 June | 7 September | 7 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | N/A | 1999 IAAF Grand Prix | [15] [16] |
3 | 2000 ( | )23 June | 1 September | 7 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | N/A | 2000 IAAF Grand Prix | [17] [18] |
4 | 2001 ( | )29 June | 31 August | 7 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | N/A | 2001 IAAF Grand Prix | [19] [20] |
5 | 2002 ( | )28 June | 6 September | 7 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | N/A | 2002 IAAF Grand Prix | [21] [22] |
6 | 2003 ( | )27 June | 5 September | 6 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | N/A | 4 | 5 | 6 | N/A | 2003 IAAF World Outdoor Meetings | [23] [3] |
7 | 2004 ( | )11 June | 12 September | 6 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | N/A | 4 | 5 | 6 | N/A | 2004 IAAF World Outdoor Meetings | [24] [25] |
8 | 2005 ( | )1 July | 4 September | 6 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | N/A | 4 | 5 | 6 | N/A | 2005 IAAF World Outdoor Meetings | [26] [27] |
9 | 2006 ( | )2 June | 3 September | 6 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 2 | N/A | 4 | 5 | 6 | N/A | 2006 IAAF World Athletics Tour | [28] [29] |
10 | 2007 ( | )15 June | 16 September | 6 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 2 | N/A | 4 | 5 | 6 | N/A | 2007 IAAF World Athletics Tour | [30] [31] |
11 | 2008 ( | )1 June | 5 September | 6 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 4 | N/A | 5 | 6 | 1 | N/A | 2008 IAAF World Athletics Tour | [32] [33] |
12 | 2009 ( | )14 June | 4 September | 6 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 4 | N/A | 5 | 6 | 1 | N/A | 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour | [34] [4] |
# | Meeting | Arena | City | Country | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 | Bislett Games | Bislett Stadium | Oslo | Norway | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
12 | Weltklasse Zürich | Letzigrund | Zürich | Switzerland | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
12 | Memorial Van Damme | King Baudouin Stadium | Brussels | Belgium | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
12 | ISTAF Berlin | Olympiastadion | Berlin | Germany | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
12 | Golden Gala | Stadio Olimpico | Rome | Italy | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
11 | Meeting Areva | Stade de France | Paris | France | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | |
5 | Herculis | Stade Louis II | Fontvieille | Monaco | • | • | • | • | • | |||||||
1 | IAAF Grand Prix Final | Luzhniki Stadium | Moscow | Russia | • |
The jackpot and its eligibility rules changed through the competition's history. Each year, a number of men's and women's events were made eligible for the Golden League jackpot if an athlete won their event at all Golden League meetings. This ranged from five to eight men's events and five to six women's events for each year. In the first two years, jackpot winners shared in a US$1 million prize. In 2000 and 2001, this was changed to 50 kg of gold bars and athletes only had to win at 5 out of 7 meetings to qualify for the jackpot. In 2003, the prize structure reverted to US$1 million for athletes winning at all the meets only, and a new stipulation was that athletes also had to compete at the IAAF World Athletics Final. [12]
From 2006 onwards, the jackpot events were set to five men's events and five women's events, ensuring gender equality. [36] The award structure was also changed in 2006 so that athletes who won any five of the six events shared in a purse of US$250,000, while the remaining US$750,000 would be divided among athletes who won all six meetings. This was to a response to the fact that only four athletes shared in the jackpot in the three previous seasons. [37] [38] From 2007 onwards, the jackpot was again only shared amongst athletes who won at all six meetings. [39]
Event | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Total | Winners |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
100 m | Greene | Powell | 10 | 2 | ||||||||||
200 m | 2 | - | ||||||||||||
400 m | Wariner | 4 | 2 | |||||||||||
800 m | Kipketer | Bucher | 5 | 2 | ||||||||||
1500 m/Mile | El Guerrouj | El Guerrouj | El Guerrouj | El Guerrouj | 9 | 4 | ||||||||
3000 m/5000 m | Bekele [40] | Bekele | 6 | 2 | ||||||||||
5000 m/10,000 m | Gebrselassie | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
110 m hurdles | Johnson | 6 | 1 | |||||||||||
400 m hurdles | Sánchez | 5 | 1 | |||||||||||
3000 m s'chase | 2 | - | ||||||||||||
High jump | 2 | - | ||||||||||||
Pole vault | 5 | - | ||||||||||||
Long jump | Saladino [40] | 4 | 1 | |||||||||||
Triple jump | Olsson | 4 | 1 | |||||||||||
Shot put | 1 | - | ||||||||||||
Discus throw | 1 | - | ||||||||||||
Javelin throw | 8 | - | ||||||||||||
Total | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 75 | |
Winners | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | 1 | - | 4 | - | - | 1 | 16 |
Event | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Total | Winners |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
100 m | Jones | Jones | Jones | 10 | 3 | |||||||||
200 m | 2 | - | ||||||||||||
400 m | Guevara | Williams | Richards | Richards | Richards | 6 | 5 | |||||||
800 m | Mutola | Jelimo | 5 | 2 | ||||||||||
1500 m/Mile | Szekely | 6 | 1 | |||||||||||
3000 m/5000 m | Szabó | Yegorova | Dibaba [40] | 6 | 3 | |||||||||
5000 m/10,000 m | - | - | ||||||||||||
100 m hurdles | 8 | - | ||||||||||||
400 m hurdles | 4 | - | ||||||||||||
3000 m s'chase | - | - | ||||||||||||
High jump | 8 | - | ||||||||||||
Pole vault | Isinbayeva | Isinbayeva | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
Long jump | Kotova | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
Triple jump | Lebedeva | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||
Shot put | - | - | ||||||||||||
Discus throw | - | - | ||||||||||||
Javelin throw | Hattestad | 3 | 1 | |||||||||||
Total | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 63 | |
Winners | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
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.
The 2004 IAAF Golden League was a series of track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations.
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Genzebe Dibaba Keneni is an Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner. A 1500 metres 2016 Olympic silver medalist, she won a gold medal in this event and a bronze in the 5000 metres at the 2015 World Championships. Genzebe is the current world record holder for the 1500 m outdoor, and the indoor events of 3000 m and 5000 m. Her 2000 m indoor women's world's best time is the absolute world record, as it is faster than the previous women's outdoor mark. She holds the distinction of possessing the most world records by one individual in track history, with her current haul of five, plus two world bests.
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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.
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.
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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 1998 IAAF Grand Prix was the fourteenth edition of the annual global series of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The series changed format that year to incorporate the six 1998 IAAF Golden League meetings as the top tier, followed by the existing Grand Prix I and Grand Prix II level meetings, then finally the Permit level meetings. Grand Prix I featured nine meetings from 3 May to 25 August and Grand Prix II featured 11 meetings from 25 February to 30 August, making a combined total of 26 meetings for the series. An additional 11 IAAF Outdoor Permit Meetings were attached to the circuit. Permit Meetings originally scheduled for Jakarta and San Jose, California were later dropped.
The 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour was the fourth and final 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 25 one-day meetings, consisting of the six meetings of the 2009 IAAF Golden League, five IAAF Super Grand Prix meetings, and fourteen IAAF Grand Prix meetings. In addition, there were 29 Area Permit Meetings that carried point-scoring events. The series culminated in the two-day 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final, held in Thessaloniki, Greece from 12–13 September.
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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.
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