| Brothers Znamensky Memorial | |
|---|---|
| Date | Late June/Early July |
| Location | Zhukovsky, Russia |
| Event type | Track and field |
| Established | 1958 |
The Brothers Znamensky Memorial (Russian: Мемориал братьев Знаменских) is an annual track and field competition which is held at the Meteor Stadium in Zhukovsky, Russia.
The event is held in memory of Georgy and Seraphim Znamensky, two 1930s Soviet champions in long-distance running who died at 1942 and 1946. Fund-raisers were held for the pair in 1948 and 1949, but it was not until eight years later (in 1958) that an annual competition was established in their honour.[1]
Each edition features memorial races over distances from 1500 metres to 10,000 metres. The event has attracted many high profile runners throughout the decades, from Gaston Roelants and Pyotr Bolotnikov to Kip Keino and Evgeni Ignatov, through to Noureddine Morceli and Daniel Komen. The memorial is a highly international competition: athletes from over 50 countries have reached the podium at the Brothers Znamenskiy meet.[1] The meeting typically features ten events for national level competitors and sixteen events with international fields.[2]
The meeting has held an IAAF status from 2000 onwards. Initially it was part of the IAAF Grand Prix circuit, then became part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour, and it is currently one of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings.[3][4][5] The competition was originally in a variety of locations, but following the completion of the Meteor Stadium the event became an annual fixture in Zhukovsky.[2] The current meeting director is Mikhail Butov.[6]
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