IAAF World Championships in Athletics
| IAAF World Championships in Athletics | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Sport | Athletics |
| Founded | 1983 |
| No. of teams | 203 (2007) |
| Continent | International (IAAF) |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Last winners lists |
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.
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The idea of having an Athletics World Championships was around well before the competitions 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 1960's 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 were held).
Over the years the competition has grown in size. In 1983 an estimated 1,300 athletes from 154 countries participated. The opening ceremonies in 2001 were broadcast live from Edmonton to an estimated viewing audience of 4 billion people. The event included the men's marathon, and music composed by Second City alumni Jan Randall. 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 the schedule over the years, with several new events, mostly 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 110m Hurdles and Decathlon respectively.
The following shows when new events were added for the first time.
- 1987, women's 10,000 m and 10 km walk were added.
- 1993, women's triple jump was added.
- 1995, women's 5000 m was added, replacing the 3000 m race.
- 1999, women's pole vault and hammer were added and the women's 20 km walk replaced the 10 km walk.
- 2005, women's 3000 m Steeplechase was added.
For the detailed article, click on the year.
| Order | Link to specific articles by year |
City | Country | Date | Venue | No. of Events |
No. of Athletes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1983 | Helsinki |  Finland |
Aug 7 - Aug 14 | Olympiastadion | 41 | 1,355 |
| 2 | 1987 | Rome |  Italy |
Aug 28 - Sept 6 | Stadio Olimpico | 43 | 1,451 |
| 3 | 1991 | Tokyo |  Japan |
Aug 23 - Sept 1 | National Olympic Stadium | 43 | 1,517 |
| 4 | 1993 | Stuttgart |  Germany |
Aug 13 - Aug 22 | Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion | 44 | 1,689 |
| 5 | 1995 | Gothenburg |  Sweden |
Aug 5 - Aug 13 | Ullevi | 44 | 1,804 |
| 6 | 1997 | Athens |  Greece |
Aug 1 - Aug 10 | Olympiako Stadio | 44 | 1,882 |
| 7 | 1999 | Seville |  Spain |
Aug 20 - Aug 29 | Estadio Olímpico de la Cartuja | 46 | 1,821 |
| 8 | 2001 | Edmonton |  Canada |
Aug 3 - Aug 12 | Commonwealth Stadium | 46 | 1,677 |
| 9 | 2003 | Saint-Denis |  France |
Aug 23 - Aug 31 | Stade de France | 46 | 1,679 |
| 10 | 2005 | Helsinki | Finland |
Aug 6 - Aug 14 | Olympiastadion | 47 | 1,688 |
| 11 | 2007 | Osaka | Japan |
Aug 24 - Sept 2 | Nagai Stadium | 47 | 1,981 |
| 12 | 2009 | Berlin | Germany |
Aug 15 - Aug 23 | Olympiastadion | ||
| 13 | 2011 | Daegu |  South Korea |
Aug 27 - Sept 4 | Daegu Stadium | ||
| 14 | 2013 | Moscow |  Russia |
Aug 10 - Aug 18 | Luzhniki Stadium |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States |
114 | 61 | 59 | 234 |
| 2 | Russia |
33 | 51 | 37 | 121 |
| 3 |  Kenya |
27 | 22 | 23 | 72 |
| 4 | Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) |
26 | 26 | 34 | 86 |
| 5 |  Soviet Union |
21 | 27 | 28 | 76 |
| 6 |  East Germany |
21 | 19 | 15 | 55 |
| 7 |  Cuba |
17 | 16 | 6 | 39 |
| 8 |  Ethiopia |
16 | 14 | 11 | 41 |
| 9 |  Great Britain |
13 | 24 | 26 | 63 |
| 10 | Italy |
11 | 14 | 12 | 37 |
| 11 |  Belarus |
10 | 11 | 11 | 32 |
| 12 |  Morocco |
10 | 11 | 6 | 27 |
| 13 |  Czech Republic |
10 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| 14 | France |
9 | 11 | 12 | 32 |
| 15 |  Ukraine |
8 | 9 | 11 | 28 |
| 16 |  China |
8 | 7 | 8 | 23 |
| 17 |  Jamaica |
7 | 29 | 30 | 66 |
| 18 | Finland |
7 | 7 | 5 | 19 |
| 19 |  Poland |
7 | 5 | 9 | 21 |
| 20 |  Australia |
7 | 5 | 8 | 20 |
| 21 | Sweden |
7 | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| 22 | Spain |
6 | 15 | 12 | 33 |
| 23 |  Algeria |
6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 24 |  Romania |
5 | 8 | 8 | 21 |
| 25 |  Bahamas |
5 | 6 | 4 | 15 |
| 26 |  Portugal |
5 | 5 | 5 | 15 |
| 27 |  Bulgaria |
5 | 3 | 7 | 15 |
| 28 |  Norway |
5 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| 29 |  South Africa |
5 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 30 | Canada |
4 | 7 | 5 | 16 |
| 31 | Greece |
4 | 5 | 10 | 19 |
| 32 |  Czechoslovakia |
4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| 33 |  Switzerland |
4 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 34 | Japan |
3 | 5 | 10 | 18 |
| 35 |  Mexico |
3 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| 36 |  Mozambique |
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 37 |  Ecuador |
3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 38 |  Bahrain |
3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 39 |  Denmark |
3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 40 |  Estonia |
2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 41 |  Lithuania |
2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 42 |  Ireland |
2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 43 |  Dominican_Republic |
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 44 |  Qatar |
2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 45 |  New Zealand |
2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 46 |  Tajikistan |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 47 |  Namibia |
1 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 48 |  Netherlands |
1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 49 |  Trinidad and Tobago |
1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 50 |  Zambia |
1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 51 |  Uganda |
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 52 |  Saint Kitts and Nevis |
1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 53 |  Somalia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 54 |  Syria |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 55 |  Senegal |
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 56 |  North Korea |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 57 |  Croatia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 58 |  Panama |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 59 |  Brazil |
0 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 60 |  Hungary |
0 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 61 |  Nigeria |
0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 62 |  Kazakhstan |
0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 63 |  Djibouti |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 64 |  Cameroon |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 65 |  Turkey |
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 66 |  Austria |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 67 |  Burundi |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 68 |  Suriname |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 69 |  Sri Lanka |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 70 |  Israel |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 71 |  Slovenia |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 72 |  Ghana |
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 73 |  Bermuda |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 74 |  Tanzania |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 75 | .svg){kind=small} Belgium |
0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 76 |  Slovakia |
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 77 |  Dominica |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 78 |  Saudi Arabia |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 79 |  American Samoa |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 80 |  Haiti |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 81 |  India |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 82 |  Cyprus |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 83 |  Tunisia |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 491 | 494 | 488 | 1473 | |
NOTE: The Federal Republic of Germany refers to the former West Germany (1983-90) and the unified Germany (1990-present) NOTE: Some United States medals are expected to be stripped following the Marion Jones drug admission in 2007.
The opening and closing ceremonies of the 8th IAAF World Championships held in Edmonton, Alberta in 2001 were broadcast live to over 200 countries and featured a thousand voice choir and original music by Jan Randall.
Prior to the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Helsinki in 1983 there had been several single events and races in the years leading up to them which were considered World Championships in those events. These mostly consisted of non-Olympic events for which the Olympics didn't provide the opportunity for the holding of World Championships. Below are the medal winners from these events.
| Event: | Gold: | Silver: | Bronze: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 km Walk | Men | Veniamin Soldatenko USSR |
3:54:40 | Enrique Vera Mexico |
3:58:14 | Reima Salonen Finland |
3:58:53 |
| Event: | Gold: | Silver: | Bronze: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3000 m | Women | Brigit Friedmann West Germany |
8:48.05 | Karoline Nemetz Sweden |
8:50.22 | Ingrid Kristiansen Norway |
8:58.80 |
| 400 m hurdles | Women | Bärbel Broschat East Germany |
54.55 | Ellen Neumann East Germany |
54.56 | Petra Pfatt East Germany |
55.84 |
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- Results of past World Championships
- Official site of the 2007 World Championships in Osaka
- Official site of the 2009 World Championships in Berlin
- Deagu bid website for the 2011/13 World Championships
- Moscow bid website for the 2011/13 World Championships
- Track and Field Results Almanac
- Results and detailed statistics of past World Champion