The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The 2009 Golden League was the last under the Golden League format and it was replaced by a new annual series known as the IAAF Diamond League.[1]
The series was formed to increase the profile of the leading athletics competitions and it was part of the World Athletics Tour. Athletes (in selected events) who win their event at all six meetings take a share of a USD$ 1 million jackpot. In addition, events at Golden League meetings scored more Grand Prix points than other Grand Prix meetings.
Over its twelve years of competition, it was sponsored by TDK, Ericsson, and finally ÅF.[2]
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The Golden League developed from the group of prestigious athletics meetings which became known as the Golden Four in the 1990s, comprising Oslo, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin.[1]
The first Golden League season was held in 1998, consisting of the meetings of Oslo, Rome, Monaco, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin.
In 1999 a seventh event, Meeting Gaz de France, at St-Denis, Paris was added.
In 2000 and 2001, the USD 1 million was reduced 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 50 kg of gold bars was reverted back to USD 1 million and Monaco was dropped from the league after it was awarded the IAAF World Athletics Final.
In 2004, the Bislett Games were moved from Oslo to Bergen due to the redevelopment of the Bislett stadion.
For the 2006 Golden League, the total prize pool remained at USD 1 million, but the award structure had been changed:
In 2007, the Jackpot of USD 1 million were only to be shared amongst those athletes who won at all six meetings. In case no athlete had managed to win all six meetings, USD 500,000 would have been shared amongst those who won at five of the six meetings.[2]
In 2008 IAAF signed a two year agreement with the Swedish company ÅF for title sponsorship, thus renaming IAAF Golden League to ÅF Golden League.
Various rules changed through the years of competition. The list of events which qualify for the jackpot was different each year, but there were usually six men's events and six (four for 2008) women's. For the year 2008, the disciplines were:
For 2009, the disciplines were:
Meetings in 2009
| Date | Meet | Stadium | City | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 June | Internationales Stadionfest | Olympiastadion | Berlin | Germany |
| 3 July | Bislett Games | Bislett Stadion | Oslo | Norway |
| 10 July | Golden Gala | Stadio Olimpico | Rome | Italy |
| 17 July | Meeting Areva | Stade de France | Saint-Denis | France |
| 28 August | Weltklasse Zürich | Letzigrund | Zurich | Switzerland |
| 4 September | Memorial van Damme | King Baudouin Stadium | Brussels | Belgium |
Prior to 2003, a seventh meet, Herculis, was held in Monaco