IAAF World Championships in Athletics

IAAF World Championships in Athletics
Sport Athletics
Founded 1983
No. of teams 200 (2007), 202 (2009), 204 (2011), 206 (2013)
Continent International (IAAF)
Most recent champion(s) Last winners lists
TV partner(s) SBS Two (Australia)
Eurovision (Europe)
TBS (Japan)
NBC Universal (United States)

The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Originally, it was planned to be held every four years, but this changed after the third edition in 1991, and it has since been run biennially.

History

The idea of having an Athletics World Championships was around well before the competition's first event in 1983. In 1913, the IAAF decided that the Olympic Games would serve as the World Championships for athletics. This was considered suitable for over 50 years until in the late 1960s the desire of many IAAF members to have their own World Championships began to grow. In 1976 at the IAAF Council Meeting in Puerto Rico an Athletics World Championships separate from the Olympic Games was approved.

Following bids from both Stuttgart, West Germany and Helsinki, Finland, the IAAF Council awarded the inaugural competition to Helsinki, to take place in 1983 and be held in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium (where the 1952 Summer Olympics had been held).

Two IAAF world championship events preceded the inaugural edition of the World Championships in Athletics in 1983. The 1976 World Championships had just one event – the men's 50 kilometres walk which was dropped from the Olympic programme for the 1976 Summer Olympics and the IAAF responded by setting up their own contest. Four years later, the 1980 World Championships contained only two newly approved women's events, (400 metres hurdles and 3000 metres), neither of which featured on the programme for the 1980 Summer Olympics.[1][2]

Over the years the competition has grown in size. In 1983 an estimated 1,300 athletes from 154 countries participated.[3] By the 2003 competition, in Paris, it had grown to 1,907 athletes from 203 countries with coverage being transmitted to 179 different countries.

There has also been a change in composition over the years, with several new events, all for women, being added. By 2005 the schedule for men and women was almost equal. The only differences being the men had the extra event of the 50 km walk, while women competed in the 100 m hurdles and heptathlon compared to the men in the 110 m hurdles and decathlon respectively.

The following list shows when new events were added for the first time.

Championships

Edition Year City Country Date Venue No. of
Events		 No. of
Athletes
1st 1983 () Helsinki  Finland 7 Aug – 14 Aug Olympiastadion 41 1,355
2nd 1987 () Rome  Italy 28 Aug – 6 Sep Stadio Olimpico 43 1,451
3rd 1991 () Tokyo  Japan 23 Aug – 1 Sep National Olympic Stadium 43 1,517
4th 1993 () Stuttgart  Germany 13 Aug – 22 Aug Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion 44 1,689
5th 1995 () Gothenburg  Sweden 5 Aug – 13 Aug Ullevi 44 1,804
6th 1997 () Athens Greece 1 Aug – 10 Aug Olympiako Stadio 44 1,882
7th 1999 () Seville  Spain 20 Aug – 29 Aug Estadio Olímpico de la Cartuja 46 1,821
8th 2001 () Edmonton  Canada 3 Aug – 12 Aug Commonwealth Stadium 46 1,677
9th 2003 () Saint-Denis  France 23 Aug – 31 Aug Stade de France 46 1,679
10th 2005 () Helsinki  Finland 6 Aug – 14 Aug Olympiastadion 47 1,688
11th 2007 () Osaka  Japan 24 Aug – 2 Sep Nagai Stadium 47 1,800
12th 2009 () Berlin  Germany 15 Aug – 23 Aug Olympiastadion 47 1,895
13th 2011 () Daegu  South Korea 27 Aug – 4 Sep Daegu Stadium 47 1,867
14th 2013 () Moscow  Russia 10 Aug – 18 Aug Luzhniki Stadium 47 1,970
15th 2015 () Beijing  China 22 Aug – 30 Aug Beijing National Stadium
16th 2017 () London  United Kingdom 5 Aug – 13 Aug Olympic Stadium
17th 2019 () Doha  Qatar 28 Sep – 6 Oct Khalifa International Stadium
18th 2021 () Eugene  United States 14 Aug - 22 Aug (unofficial) Hayward Field

Medal totals since 1983

Updated after 2013 Championships

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  United States 138 88 74 300
2  Russia 53 60 55 168
3  Kenya 43 37 32 112
4  Germany 35 28 38 101
5  Jamaica 24 42 32 98
6  Soviet Union 22 25 28 75
7  Ethiopia 22 19 23 64
8  Great Britain and N.I. 21 29 32 82
9  East Germany 20 18 15 53
10  Cuba 18 22 12 52
11  Poland 13 10 12 35
12  Czech Republic 12 5 4 21
13 Italy Italy 11 15 13 39
14  Ukraine 11 9 13 33
15  France 10 15 18 43
16  Belarus 10 12 13 35
17 China China 10 11 14 35
18  Morocco 10 11 6 27
19 Australia Australia 10 9 12 31
20  Sweden 8 3 5 16
21  Spain 7 15 16 38
22  Finland 7 8 5 20
23  South Africa 7 6 4 17
24  Norway 6 5 2 13
25  Algeria 6 0 3 9
26  Romania 5 8 9 22
27  Bahamas 5 7 6 18
28  Portugal 5 6 5 16
29  Bulgaria 5 3 7 15
30  Bahrain 5 1 1 7
31  New Zealand 5 1 0 6
32  Canada 4 10 9 23
33  Japan 4 6 12 22
34 Greece 4 6 9 19
35  Czechoslovakia 4 4 3 11
36   Switzerland 4 0 3 7
37  Ireland 3 3 0 6
38  Mexico 3 1 8 12
39  Mozambique 3 1 1 5
40  Croatia 3 1 0 3
40  Ecuador 3 1 0 4
42  Denmark 3 0 1 4
43  Trinidad and Tobago 2 4 5 11
44  Estonia 2 4 2 8
45  Lithuania 2 2 1 5
45  Qatar 2 2 1 5
47  Dominican Republic 2 1 1 4
47  Uganda 2 1 1 4
49  Tajikistan 2 0 0 2
50  Brazil 1 5 5 11
51  Netherlands 1 4 4 9
52  Namibia 1 4 0 5
53  Zambia 1 2 0 3
54  Slovenia 1 1 2 4
55  Panama 1 1 0 2
55  Botswana 1 1 0 2
57  Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 0 4 5
58  Senegal 1 0 1 2
58  Somalia 1 0 1 2
58  Syria 1 0 1 2
61  Barbados 1 0 0 1
61  Colombia 1 0 2 3
61  Grenada 1 0 0 1
61  North Korea 1 0 0 1
65  Hungary 0 6 5 11
66  Nigeria 0 4 4 8
67  Kazakhstan 0 3 3 6
68  Turkey 0 2 1 3
68  Djibouti 0 2 1 3
70  Cameroon 0 2 0 2
70  Ivory Coast 0 2 0 2
70  Puerto Rico 0 2 0 2
73  Austria 0 1 1 2
73  Burundi 0 1 1 2
73  Cyprus 0 1 1 2
73  Ghana 0 1 1 2
73  Israel 0 1 1 2
73  Sri Lanka 0 1 1 2
73  Suriname 0 1 1 2
73  Tunisia 0 1 1 2
81  Bermuda 0 1 0 1
81  Eritrea 0 1 0 1
81  Sudan 0 1 0 1
81  Tanzania 0 1 0 1
85  Belgium 0 0 4 4
86  Slovakia 0 0 3 3
87  Serbia 0 0 2 2
88  American Samoa 0 0 1 1
88  Dominica 0 0 1 1
88  Haiti 0 0 1 1
88  India 0 0 1 1
88  Iran 0 0 1 1
88  Latvia 0 0 1 1
88  Saudi Arabia 0 0 1 1
88  Zimbabwe 0 0 1 1
95 Total 631 625 627 1883
Proportional symbol map of the world showing medal totals by country since 1983 for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics

Ceremonies

The opening and closing ceremonies of the 8th IAAF World Championships held in Edmonton in 2001 were broadcast live to over 200 countries. The event included the men's marathon, and featured a thousand voice choir and original music by The Second City alumni Jan Randall.

Multiple medallist

Men

There are fourteen athletes who have won at least six medals.[4]

AthleteCountryTot.
Usain Bolt  Jamaica 8 2 0 10
Carl Lewis  United States 8 1 1 10
Michael Johnson  United States 8 0 0 8
LaShawn Merritt  United States 6 2 0 8
Haile Gebrselassie  Ethiopia 4 2 1 7
Sergey Bubka  Soviet Union /  Ukraine 6 0 0 6
Jeremy Wariner  United States 5 1 0 6
Kenenisa Bekele  Ethiopia 5 0 1 6
Lars Riedel  Germany 5 0 1 6
Hicham El Guerrouj  Morocco 4 2 0 6
Ezekiel Kemboi  Kenya 3 3 0 6
Butch Reynolds  United States 3 2 1 6
Bernard Lagat  United States /  Kenya 2 3 1 6
Greg Haughton  Jamaica 0 3 3 6
Women

There are twelve athletes who have won at least six medals.[4]

AthleteCountryTot.
Merlene Ottey  Jamaica /  Slovenia 3 4 7 14
Allyson Felix  United States 8 1 1 10
Jearl Miles Clark  United States 4 3 2 9
Veronica Campbell-Brown  Jamaica 2 7 0 9
Gail Devers  United States 5 3 0 8
Gwen Torrence  United States 3 4 1 8
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce  Jamaica 5 2 0 7
Yuliya Pechonkina  Russia 2 3 2 7
Beverly McDonald  Jamaica 1 4 2 7
Lorraine Graham  Jamaica 1 3 3 7
Carmelita Jeter  United States 3 1 3 7
Sanya Richards-Ross  United States 5 1 0 6

Athletes with most appearances

There are fifteen athletes that competed in at least eight editions.[4]

App. Name Country Years contested Events
11 Susana Feitor  Portugal 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07, 09, 11 10 km walk / 20 km walk
Jesús Ángel García  Spain 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07, 09, 11, 13 50 km walk
10 Franka Dietzsch  Germany 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07, 09 Discus throw
9 Tim Berrett  Canada 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07 20 km walk / 50 km walk
Maria Mutola  Mozambique 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07 800 m
Danny McFarlane  Jamaica 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07, 09 400 m / 400 m hurdles / 4x400 m
Nicola Vizzoni  Italy 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07, 09, 11, 13 Hammer throw
8 Jan Železný  Czechoslovakia /  Czech Republic 87, 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03 Javelin throw
Lars Riedel  Germany 91, 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05 Discus throw
Hatem Ghoula  Tunisia 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07 20 km walk
Merlene Ottey  Jamaica /  Slovenia 83, 87, 91, 93, 95, 97, 03, 07 100 m / 200 m / 4x100 m
Kevin Sullivan  Canada 93, 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07 1500 m
Sergey Makarov  Russia 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07, 09, 11 Javelin throw
Venelina Veneva  Bulgaria 91, 95, 99, 01, 03, 05, 09, 11 High Jump
Aleksander Tammert  Estonia 95, 97, 99, 01, 03, 05, 07, 09 Discus throw

See also

References

  1. ↑ IAAF World Championships in Athletics. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2013-09-08.
  2. ↑ Archive of Past Events. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-09-08.
  3. ↑ "First World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki a landmark for track & field." Usatf.org. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Statistics book, Moscow 2013

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Championships in Athletics.