Elvan Abeylegesse (© Getty Images)
Monaco, the home of the International Association of Athletics Federations, has an illustrious Athletics history founded on the famous Herculis meeting, and since last year as the host of the IAAF World Athletics Final.
As a build-up to this year’s Final we now recall some of the most memorable moments of Athletics competition which have been witnessed by Monaco’s Louis II stadium…
On the weekend of 13 -14 September 2003, the inaugural IAAF World Athletics Final was held in the Principality and what a superb spectacle we witnessed.
Twenty-eight newly crowned World champions (along with another two in the Hammer events in Szombathely, HUN on 3 September) graced the World Athletics Final.
Most memorably, Turkey’s Elvan Abeylegesse emerged as a major name. Having finished fifth in Paris at the World Championships 5000m, she made up for her disappointment with a stunning last lap sprint in Monaco which beat the pride of Ethiopia including the Olympic 10,000m (Tulu) and World 5000m (Dibaba) champions. Abeylegesse has since gone on to set a new World 5000m record this summer (in Bergen), and is now the hot favourite for the Olympic title in Athens.
Another of this year’s most prominent stars, Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia the double World Triple Jump champion, who leapt to three World Indoor records this winter, also showed great form in last summer’s World Athletics Final, producing a winning 15.13m jump.
Lebedeva also likes to Long Jump, she is the World Indoor Triple and Long Jump champion for that matter, but last summer she left that event to her compatriot Tatyana Kotova, the World silver medallist. Unfortunately, for Russian hopes Kotova was once again beaten by France’s Eunice Barber (7.05m jump) who stole the World Athletics Final title just as she had done at the World Championships a few weeks before.
Back on the track there was also an enthralling men’s 3000m Steeplechase battle in Monaco last year, between World champion Saif Saaeed Shaheen (QAT) and Paul Koech (KEN), while Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele took a dominant 7:36.98 win in the flat 3000m race.
Allen Johnson (USA) and Feliz Sanchez (DOM) were as superior as ever in the 110m and 400m Hurdles respectively.
Virgilius Alekna (LTU) produced another lofty performance in the men’s Discus in Monaco, while a week previously in Szombathely, Hungary, Adrian Annus (HUN) and Yipsi Moreno (CUB) had been just as imperious in the Hammer finals.
Also, as majestic as ever was Mexico’s Ana Guevara who took another sub-50 women’s 400m win.
Then of course there was, ‘Million Dollar Maria Mutola’ (MOZ) who sauntered to yet another 800m win, and Hestrie Cloete (RSA), who cleared 2.01m in the High Jump, and was crowned Female World Athlete of the Year at the end of the weekend in Monaco.
The male winner of the World Athlete of the Year title, Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) was sidelined from 1500m competition by a heavy cold but still took time to present himself for the benefit of the crowds in the Stade Louis II, and to soak up the atmosphere of the World Athletics Final which was simply the ‘best of the best’.
Pre-World Athletics Final History
Following the creation of the Monegasque Athletics Federation in 1984, and of the newly built Stadium in 1985, a magnificent structure which was constructed in Fontvieille, an area reclaimed from the sea in order to enhance the Principality’s habitable space, Athletics has grown steadily in popularity and excellence in Monaco.
The first Herculis meeting was organised in 1987, after international matches in 1985 and 1986 had launched the athletics’ era in Monaco. Since, there has been an annual rendezvous of top competition which has attracted a myriad of World and Olympic champions, all of whom have contributed to the world-wide reputation of Herculis.
Throughout its 16 years of existence the Herculis meeting has witnessed many great duels and exceptional performances.
In 1991, just weeks before the Athletics world travelled to Tokyo for the 3rd IAAF World Championships, the Santa Monica Track Club led by Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell equalled the 4x100m world record (37.79), which had been stolen from them by an impressive team from France the year before in Split at the European championships.
The same French quartet was in Monaco to try and defend their record but could do nothing to stop the blisteringly fast team of Floyd Heard, Burrell, Mike Marsh and Lewis. The flying Americans who famously wore a track suit designed by Lewis had given HSH Prince Albert and the thousands of spectators of the Louis II stadium their first ever world record.
Turn the clock forward a few years to 2 August 1994 and another world record was to be broken in Monaco. At 10pm, when the high temperatures had dropped and were now ideal for the middle distance runners, Noureddine Morceli produced one of the best races of his career. Leaving a certain Haile Gebrselassie 12 seconds adrift, Morceli clocked 7.25:11 for the 3000m, a new world record.
His time would stand as a world record for another two years, and more impressively six years later, his performance was still the third fastest on the all-time list.
There have been no more world records since in Monaco but the women’s 1500m race on 8 August 1998 will certainly remain as a masterpiece of middle distance running. Gabriela Szabo (ROM) won the race in 3.56:97, as behind her no less than 8 women – a unique feat in the history of track and field – also broke the 4 minutes barrier with the thirteenth finisher clocking 4:02!
In 2002, there were so many brilliant performances in the Louis II stadium, including nine world-leading marks that it is difficult to isolate a single highlight but perhaps the honours should go to another Szabo race. This time it was a fabulous women’s 3000m in which Edith Masai smashed the African record with 8:23.23 but could finish no better than third! Paula Radcliffe, in her first race since her glorious London Marathon debut win of 2:18:56, set such an amazing tempo that even Berhane Adere was dropped completely before the last lap. Displaying a new turn of speed, Radcliffe hacked nearly five seconds from her Commonwealth record with 8:22.20, only giving best to Gabriela Szabo who had to pull out all the stops to ensure a narrow victory. The Romanian’s time of 8:21.42 broke Sonia O’Sullivan’s European record.
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The start-list of the World Athletics Final is decided according to the IAAF World Rankings in each event, with athletes who are in the top 7 positions (11 positions for the races of 1500m and over) in each event automatically qualifying.
IAAF World Athletics Final-
Szombathely, HUN, 5 September 2004 (Hammer competitions)
Monaco, MON, 18 and 19 September 2004
IAAF
