The 2007 Golden League was the tenth edition of the IAAF's annual series of six athletics meets, held across Europe, with athletes having the chance to win the Golden League Jackpot of $1 million.
Jackpot events
Men 100 m 1500 m / Mile 110 m hurdles Triple Jump Javelin throw Women 100 m 400 m 100 m hurdles High Jump Pole Vault
The 2007 series included meets at
Oslo, Norway (Bislett Games) on June 15. Paris, France (Meeting Gaz de France) on July 6. Rome, Italy (Golden Gala) on July 13. Zürich, Switzerland (Weltklasse Zürich) on September 7. Brussels, Belgium (Memorial Van Damme) on September 14. Berlin, Germany (ISTAF) on September 16.
Bislett Games
Held in Oslo, Norway on June 15, at the Bislett Stadium. Meseret Defar's Women's 5000 m World Record somewhat overshadowed the Jackpot events in Oslo, but some interesting Jackpot contenders emerged.
Men's 100 m
World Record-holder, Asafa Powell, took the event in 9.94.
Wind: +0.9 m/s
Position Country Athlete Time 1 Asafa Powell 9.94 2 Francis Obikwelu 10.06 3 Olusoji Fasuba 10.25 4 Mark Lewis-Francis 10.25 5 Marc Burns 10.26 6 Darrell Brown 10.61 DQ Marlon Devonish (10.08)
Men's 1500 m
(Held as Mile) Moroccan Adil Kaouch produced a personal best to win this event from Augustine Choge of Kenya and Andrew Baddeley of Great Britain. Australian Craig Mottram finished ninth.
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Adil Kaouch 3:51.14 2 Augustine Choge 3:51.62 3 Andrew Baddeley 3:51.95 4 Daniel Kipchirchir Komen 3:52.19 5 Arturo Casado 3:52.35 6 Sergio Gallardo 3:52.38 7 Isaac Kiprono Songok 3:52.85 8 Suleiman Simotwo 3:53.08 9 Craig Mottram 3:54.57 10 Alex Kipchirchir 3:55.96 11 Tarek Boukensa 3:56.37 12 Abdalaati Iguider 3:59.79 DNF Philemon Kipkorir Kimutai - DNF Gilbert Kipchoge -
Men's 110 m Hurdles
USA's Anwar Moore took a narrow victory in the absence of World Record-holder Liu Xiang, Cuban Dayron Robles, and top Americans such as Terrence Trammell and Dominique Arnold.
Wind: -0.3 m/s
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Anwar Moore 13.26 2 David Payne 13.27 3 Thomas Blaschek 13.46 4 Joel Brown 13.51 5 Andy Turner 13.56 6 Jackson Quiñónez 13.65 7 Gregory Sedoc 13.73 8 David Oliver 13.75
Men's Triple Jump
Great Britain's Phillips Idowu took a surprise victory from Olympic and European champion Christian Olsson and World Leader Jadel Gregório.
PositionCountryAthleteDistance 1 Phillips Idowu 17.35 2 Christian Olsson 17.33 3 Aarik Wilson 17.26 4 Nathan Douglas 17.18 5 Jadel Gregório 17.12 6 Walter Davis 17.00 7 Nelson Évora 16.92 8 Lars Ytterhaugh 15.41
Men's Javelin
Finn Tero Pitkämäki out-threw Olympic champion and home crowd favorite Andreas Thorkildsen, and in-form American Breaux Greer.
PositionCountryAthleteDistance 1 Tero Pitkämäki 88.78 2 Breaux Greer 88.73 3 Andreas Thorkildsen 87.79 4 Guillermo Martínez 85.30 5 Magnus Arvidsson 84.10 6 Sergey Makarov 83.88 7 Aleksandr Ivanov 81.95 8 Teemu Wirkkala 80.72 NM Vadims Vasilevskis -
Women's 100 m
American Stephanie Durst continued her good form to take victory ahead of Sheri-Ann Brooks.
Wind: -0.2 m/s
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Stephanie Durst 11.22 2 Sheri-Ann Brooks 11.23 3 Cydonie Mothersille 11.25 4 Kim Gevaert 11.25 5 Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie 11.27 6 Ivet Lalova 11.32 7 Ezinne Okparaebo 11.56 8 Sherone Simpson 11.64
Women's 400 m
Sanya Richards took an expected victory from former World Champion Amy Mbacke Thiam of Senegal.
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Sanya Richards 50.26 2 Amy Mbacke Thiam 51.22 3 Shericka Williams 51.32 4 Tamsyn Lewis 51.86 5 Christine Amertil 52.02 6 Marilyn Okoro 52.80 7 Maris Mägi 54.36 DNS Kaliese Spencer -
Women's 100 m Hurdles
World Champion Michelle Perry extended her winning streak to 14 races, beating top European Susanna Kallur.
Wind: -0.1m/s
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Michelle Perry 12.70 2 Susanna Kallur 12.76 3 Delloreen Ennis-London 12.78 4 Angela Whyte 12.87 5 Josephine Onyia 12.93 6 Kirsten Bolm 13.15 7 Derval O'Rourke 13.19 DNS Brigitte Foster-Hylton -
Women's High Jump
Olympic and World Indoor Champion, Yelena Slesarenko, beat a star-studded field which included the European Champion indoors and outdoors, Tia Hellebaut, World Champion outdoors and World Record-holder indoors, Kajsa Bergqvist, and four other jumpers who had been over 2 meters this year.
PositionCountryAthleteHeight 1 Yelena Slesarenko 2.02 2 Blanka Vlašić 1.98 3 Vita Palamar 1.96 4 Tia Hellebaut 1.96 5 Kajsa Bergqvist 1.93 6 Ruth Beitia 1.90 6 Antonietta Di Martino 1.90 8 Nicole Forrester 1.85 9 Anna Chicherova 1.85 9 Carolina Klüft 1.85
Women's Pole Vault
Olympic, World, and European Champion, Yelena Isinbayeva, who also holds both the indoor and outdoor World Records, took a highly anticipated victory ahead of Polish rival Monika Pyrek.
PositionCountryAthleteHeight 1 Yelena Isinbayeva 4.85 2 Monika Pyrek 4.60 3 Tatyana Polnova 4.55 4 Yuliya Golubchikova 4.55 5 Fabiana Murer 4.45 6 Kateřina Baďurová 4.30 7 Silke Spiegelburg 4.30 8 Cathrine Larsåsen 4.00
Jackpot Contenders
Men 100 m: Asafa Powell ()
1500 m: Adil Kaouch ()
110 m Hurdles: Anwar Moore ()
Triple Jump: Phillips Idowu ()
Javelin: Tero Pitkämäki ()
Women
100 m: Stephanie Durst ()
400 m: Sanya Richards ()
100 m Hurdles: Michelle Perry ()
High Jump: Yelena Slesarenko ()
Pole Vault: Yelena Isinbayeva ()
Meeting Gaz de France
Held in Paris, France, at the nine-lane track of the Stade de France, on July 6.
Men's 100 m
Asafa Powell (winner in Oslo), battling with injury, did not run in Paris, and so was out of the Jackpot race before it had started. In his absence, Bahamian, Derrick Atkins, won in 10.00 seconds.
Wind: -0.1 m/s
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Derrick Atkins 10.00 2 Mark Jelks 10.09 3 Shawn Crawford 10.13 4 Clement Campbell 10.13 5 Churandy Martina 10.13 6 Leonard Scott 10.14 7 Steve Mullings 10.16 8 David Alerte 10.26 9 Michael Frater 10.29
Men's 1500 m
Adil Kaouch, winner in Oslo, was also injured and out of the Jackpot race, but a thrilling race ensued, with Alan Webb's sprint for home beating the valiant efforts of home-crowd favorite Mehdi Baala.
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Alan Webb 3:30.54 2 Mehdi Baala 3:31.01 3 Tarek Boukensa 3:32.77 4 Shedrack Kibet Korir 3:32.81 5 Kevin Sullivan 3:34.16 6 Suleiman Kipses Simotowo 3:34.78 7 Bernard Lagat 3:35.09 8 Mounir Yemmouni 3:35.29 9 Antar Zerguelaine 3:36.51 10 Abdelslam Kennouche 3:38.29 11 Geoffrey Kipkoech Rono 3:38.90 DNF Kamal Boulahfane - DNF Philemon Kipkorir Kimutai -
Men's 110 m Hurdles
Olympic Champion Liu Xiang and World Champion Ladji Doucouré were in Paris to outrun Oslo winner Anwar Moore, but it was only the young Cuban Dayron Robles who could out-dip the American this occasion, as the two were awarded the same time, 13.13.
Wind: +0.5 m/s
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Dayron Robles 13.13 2 Anwar Moore 13.13 3 Liu Xiang 13.15 4 Ryan Wilson 13.17 5 David Oliver 13.27 6 Ladji Doucouré 13.27 7 Dominique Arnold 13.31 8 Aries Merritt 13.37 9 Shi Dongpeng 13.39
Men's Triple Jump
Again, the Oslo winner, Phillips Idowu, was injured and out of the Jackpot race, but Christian Olsson made up for his disappointment at the Bislett Games, by winning with 17.56.
PositionCountryAthleteDistance 1 Christian Olsson 17.56 2 Nelson Évora 17.28 3 Aarik Wilson 16.96 4 Jadel Gregorio 16.90 5 Osniel Tosca 16.85 6 Aleksandr Petrenko 16.85 7 Yoandri Betanzos 16.54 8 Danil Burkenya 16.50 9 Julien Kapek 16.45 10 Walter Davis 16.44 11 Dimítrios Tsiámis 15.98
Men's Javelin
Tero Pitkämäki was the only male winner from Oslo to win in Paris, doing so in a European Lead of 89.70. Three of his five valid throws would have been enough to win as he produced a peerless series of throw, ahead of rival Andreas Thorkildsen.
PositionCountryAthleteDistance 1 Tero Pitkämäki 89.70 2 Andreas Thorkildsen 86.28 3 Breaux Greer 85.64 4 Guillermo Martínez 83.94 5 Aleksandr Ivanov 80.72 6 John Robert Oosthuizen 80.58 7 Magnus Arvidsson 80.02 8 Vitoli Tipotio 79.81 NM Scott Russell -
Women's 100 m
Stephanie Durst did not venture to Paris and was out of the jackpot race. Torri Edwards won in a race with Americans occupying the top four places.
Wind: +0.5 m/s
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Torri Edwards 11.17 2 Me'Lisa Barber 11.19 3 Lauryn Williams 11.25 4 Carmelita Jeter 11.26 5 Muriel Hurtis-Houari 11.31 6 Christine Arron 11.34 7 Allyson Felix 11.34 DNS Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie - DNS Kerron Stewart -
Women's 400 m
Sanya Richards produced a World Lead to win, in a race which included all three women who out-did her for a place on the USA's World Championships team.
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Sanya Richards 49.52 2 Novlene Williams 50.29 3 Natasha Hastings 50.45 4 Amy Mbacke Thiam 50.84 5 Mary Wineberg 50.91 6 DeeDee Trotter 51.12 7 Shericka Williams 51.63 8 Solen Désert 51.66
Women's 100 m hurdles
Michelle Perry was one of the few to repeat her Oslo win, outrunning Susanna Kallur, again, remaining in the hunt for the Jackpot.
Wind: -0.2 m/s
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1 Michelle Perry 12.56 2 Susanna Kallur 12.68 3 Lolo Jones 12.71 4 Adrianna Lamalle 12.75 5 Perdita Felicien 12.88 6 Vonette Dixon 12.91 7 Priscilla Lopes 13.10 8 Delloreen Ennis-London 13.32 DNF Ginnie Powell DNF
Women's High Jump
Oslo winner Yelena Slesarenko could only manage a second-place finish as Blanka Vlašić impressed with 2.02 meters, with both women jumping 2 or more meters.
PositionCountryAthleteHeight 1 Blanka Vlašić 2.02 2 Yelena Slesarenko 2.00 3 Tia Hellebaut 1.97 4 Ruth Beitia 1.94 5 Antonietta Di Martino 1.94 6 Amy Acuff 1.94 7 Vita Palamar 1.91 8 Marina Aitova 1.91 9 Nicole Forrester 1.88 10 Melanie Skotnik 1.88
Women's Pole Vault
Yelena Isinbayeva regained exciting form as she sailed over 4.91 m, which she followed with the attempts at a would-be World Record of 5.02. European Indoor Champion, Svetlana Feofanova returned to heights not seen, from her, this season, as she finished second with 4.71.
PositionCountryAthleteHeight 1 Yelena Isinbayeva 4.91 2 Svetlana Feofanova 4.71 3 Monika Pyrek 4.71 4 Katerina Badurová 4.61 5 Silke Spiegelburg 4.51 6 Yuliya Golubchikova 4.51 7 Tatyana Polnova 4.51 8 Vanessa Boslak 4.41 9 Carolin Hingst 4.41 10 Kym Howe 4.21 11 Niki McEwen 4.21 DNS Alana Boyd -
Jackpot Contenders
With three Oslo winners injured and two choosing not to compete in Paris, only six athletes were still in the Jackpot race before the Meeting Gaz de France had begun. Two of those six finished second in their respective events, and only four remain in contention after Paris.
Men
Javelin: Tero Pitkämäki ()
Women
400 m: Sanya Richards () 100 m Hurdles: Michelle Perry () Pole Vault: Yelena Isinbayeva ()
Golden Gala
The third stop of the Golden League took place at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, on June 13, 2007. This meet hit headlines, as French long jumper Salim Sdiri was hit by a rogue javelin, thrown by Finn Tero Pitkämäki, as he warmed up for his event. The injuries sustained, however, were not serious and Sdiri made a full recovery.
Men's 100 m
Asafa Powell took his second Golden League victory, beating Paris winner Derrick Atkins who took second.
Wind: +0.5 m/s
PositionCountryAthleteTime 1. Asafa Powell 9.90 2. Derrick Atkins 10.02 3. Churandy Martina 10.10 4. Mark Jelks 10.17 5. Nesta Carter 10.19 6. Simone Collio 10.19 7. Michael Frater 10.22 8. Shawn Crawford 10.22 9. Leonard Scott 10.23
Men's 1500 m
Adil Kaouch also took a second Golden League victory, in a Personal Best, with several other athletes recording the best results of their lives.