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.PLUS: TRACK AND FIELD; Golden League Format Unchanged. New York Times (2000-12-18). Retrieved 2019-10-01. 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), IAAF World Outdoor Meetings (2003–2005), then IAAF World Athletics Tour (2006–2009). 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.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).Rowbottom, Mike (1997-11-22). Athletics: Golden Four extended with more money and meetings. The Independent. Retrieved 2019-10-01. 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.IAAF Ericsson $1 million dollar jackpot for Golden League. IAAF (1998-07-08). Retrieved 2019-10-01. From the 1999 IAAF Golden League onwards, the Meeting Gaz de France in Paris was added and the Grand Prix Final dropped.Paris joins Golden Few. IAAF (1999-03-04). Retrieved 2019-10-01. That year all meetings were scheduled for Wednesday evenings in order to improve the sport's television coverage.42 outdoor Meetings in 1999 IAAF Calendar - All Golden League Meets on a Wednesday. IAAF (1998-10-28). Retrieved 2019-10-01. 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.World Athletics Final – a new concept based on a tradition of quality. IAAF (2003-07-18). Retrieved 2019-10-01.6 Golden League Meetings from 2003-2005. IAAF (2002-09-13). Retrieved 2019-10-01. The Golden League meetings remained unchanged from 2003 to 2009.

The series had three title sponsors in its history, starting with Ericsson in 1998, TDK in 2004 and 2005, then ÅF in 2008 and 2009.Twelve years of the IAAF Golden League. IAAF (2009-09-09). Retrieved 2019-10-01.

Editions

EditionYearStart dateEnd dateMeetsJackpoteventsOsloRomeParisMonacoZürichBrusselsBerlinGP FinalSeries 1 1998 () 9 July 1 September 7 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1998 IAAF Grand Prix 1998 Grand Prix Standings. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 2 1999 () 30 June 7 September 7 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1999 IAAF Grand Prix 1999 Grand Prix Standings. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 3 2000 () 23 June 1 September 7 12 3 2 1 5 4 6 7 2000 IAAF Grand Prix 2000 Grand Prix Standings. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 4 2001 () 29 June 31 August 7 14 3 1 2 4 5 6 7 2001 IAAF Grand Prix 2001 Grand Prix Standings. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 5 2002 () 28 June 6 September 7 12 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 2002 IAAF Grand PrixGrand Prix Schedule 2002. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 6 2003 () 27 June 5 September 6 12 1 3 2 4 5 6 2003 IAAF World Outdoor Meetings Grand Prix Schedule 2003. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 7 2004 () 11 June 12 September 6 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 2004 IAAF World Outdoor Meetings Grand Prix Schedule 2004. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 8 2005 () 1 July 4 September 6 11 3 2 1 4 5 6 2005 IAAF World Outdoor Meetings Grand Prix Schedule 2005. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 9 2006 () 2 June 3 September 6 11 1 3 2 4 5 6 2006 IAAF World Athletics Tour World Athletics Tour 2006. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 10 2007 () 15 June 16 September 6 10 1 3 2 4 5 6 2007 IAAF World Athletics Tour World Athletics Tour 2007. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 11 2008 () 1 June 5 September 6 10 2 3 4 5 6 1 2008 IAAF World Athletics Tour World Athletics Tour Results 2008. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01. 12 2009 () 14 June 4 September 6 10 2 3 4 5 6 1 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour World Athletics Tour Results 2009. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-09-01.

Meetings # Meeting Arena City Country 199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009 12Bislett GamesBislett StadiumOsloNorway• • • • • • • • • • • • 12Weltklasse ZürichLetzigrundZürichSwitzerland• • • • • • • • • • • • 12Memorial Van DammeKing Baudouin StadiumBrusselsBelgium• • • • • • • • • • • • 12ISTAF BerlinOlympiastadionBerlinGermany• • • • • • • • • • • • 12Golden GalaStadio OlimpicoRomeItaly• • • • • • • • • • • • 11Meeting ArevaStade de FranceParisFrance • • • • • • • • • • • 5HerculisStade Louis IIFontvieilleMonaco• • • • • 1IAAF Grand Prix FinalLuzhniki StadiumMoscowRussia• In 2004, the Bislett Games were moved from Oslo to the Fana Stadion in Bergen due to the redevelopment of the Bislett Stadium.Great fields in Bergen will help 2004 TDK Golden League start in style. IAAF (2004-06-04). Retrieved 2019-10-01. The renovation was a requirement to its maintaining Golden League status.

Jackpot Rules 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.The TDK Golden League – Past and Present. IAAF (2004-03-29). Retrieved 2019-10-01.

From 2006 onwards, the jackpot events were set to five men's events and five women's events, ensuring gender equality.Ten IAAF Golden League Events in 2006. IAAF (2005-11-28). Retrieved 2019-10-01. 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.Ramsak, Bob (2006-09-03). The Jackpot Story - IAAF Golden League. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-10-01.Selected quotes – IAAF Golden League launch press conference, Oslo, Norway. IAAF (2006-06-01). Retrieved 2019-10-01. From 2007 onwards, the jackpot was again only shared amongst athletes who won at all six meetings.‘6 out of 6’ required for $1 Million IAAF Golden League Jackpot in 2007. IAAF (2006-12-06). Retrieved 2019-10-01. Events

+Men 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 BekeleWon five of six events 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 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

+Women 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 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

Winners YearWinnersNationsEvent(s)Prize1998 ()Hicham El Guerrouj (1) 1500 metres/mile$333,333Haile Gebrselassie 5000 metres/10,000 metresMarion Jones 100 metres1999 ()Wilson Kipketer 800 metres$500,000Gabriela Szabo 3000 metres/5000 metres2000 ()Hicham El Guerrouj (2) 1500 metres/mile12.5 kg gold barMaurice Greene 100 metresTrine Hattestad Javelin throwTatyana Kotova Long jump2001 ()André Bucher 800 metres8.33 kg Gold BarHicham El Guerrouj (3) 1500 metres/mile/2000 metresAllen Johnson 110 metres hurdlesMarion Jones (2) 100 metresVioleta Szekely 1500 metresOlga Yegorova 3000 metres/5000 metres2002 ()Hicham El Guerrouj (4) 1500 metres12.5 kg Gold BarAna Guevara 400 metresMarion Jones (3) 100 metresFélix Sánchez 400 metres hurdles2003 ()Maria Mutola 800 metres$1,000,0002004 ()Christian Olsson Triple jump$500,000Tonique Williams-Darling 400 metres2005 ()Tatyana Lebedeva Triple jump$1,000,0002006 ()Asafa Powell 100 metres$249,999*Jeremy Wariner 400 metresSanya Richards 400 metresKenenisa Bekele 5000 metres$83,333*Tirunesh Dibaba 5000 metresIrving Saladino Long jump2007 ()Yelena Isinbayeva Pole vault$500,000Sanya Richards (2) 400 metres2008 (Pamela Jelimo 800 metres$1,000,0002009 ()Sanya Richards (3) 400 metres$333,333Yelena Isinbayeva (2) Pole vaultKenenisa Bekele (2) 3000 metres/5000 metres The 2006 series had a split prize pot, with US$250,000 shared between the athletes who won at five meetings, and US$750,000 being shared among athletes who won at all six meetings.

Events by year YearMenWomenTotal1998200 metres200 metres13Golden League Intro . IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-11-17. 800 metres 800 metres 5000 metres 3000 metres 110 metres hurdles 400 metres hurdles 3000 metres steeplechase long jump high jump pole vault javelin throw1999200 metres200 metres131999 Bislett Games . IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-11-17.800 metres800 metres5000 metres3000 metres110 metres hurdles400 metres hurdles3000 metres steeplechasehigh jumplong jump pole vault javelin throw2000100 metres 100 metres 12ISTAF 2000 . IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-04-20.1500 metres1500 metres3000 metres400 metres hurdles100 metres hurdleshigh jumplong jump pole vaultshot putjavelin throw2001100 metres100 metres14Golden League 2001 . IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-04-20. 800 metres 800 metres 1500 metres 1500 metres 3000 metres 3000 metres 3000 metres steeplechase 110 metres hurdles 400 metres hurdles long jump high jump javelin throw2002100 metres100 metres12Golden League 2002 . IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-04-20. 400 metres 1500 metres 1500 metres 3000 metres/5000 metres 3000 metres/5000 metres 400 metres hurdles 100 metres hurdles pole vault triple jump javelin throw2003100 metres100 metres12 800 metres 800 metres 3000 metres/5000 metres 1500 metres 110 metres hurdles 400 metres hurdles pole vault triple jump high jump javelin throw2004200 metres100 metres12 800 metres 400 metres 1500 metres 1500 metres 3000 metres/5000 metres 400 metres hurdles 100 metres hurdles triple jump high jump discus throw2005100 metres100 metres11 800 metres 800 metres 1500 metres/1 mile 3000 metres/5000 metres 110 metres hurdles 400 metres hurdles high jump triple jump javelin throw2006100 metres100 metres10 400 metres 400 metres 5000 metres 5000 metres 100 metres hurdles long jump high jump javelin throw2007100 metres100 metres10 1500 metres / Mile 400 metres 110 metres hurdles 100 metres hurdles triple jump high jump pole vault javelin throw 2008100 metres200 metres11 400 metres 1500 metres 800 metres 400 metres hurdles 100 metres hurdles long jump high jump javelin throw2009100 metres100 metres10 400 metres 400 metres 3000 metres/5000 metres 110 metres hurdles 100 metres hurdles high jump pole vault javelin throw

References

External links