Golden Gala

Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pietro Mennea, the organizers added his name to the title of the meet.

Golden Gala
The Stadio Olimpico hosts the event
Date	May – September
Location	Rome, Italy
Event type	Track and field
World Athletics Cat.	GW[1]
Established	5 August 1980; 44 years ago (1980-08-05)
Official site	Diamond League Rome

Logo

The 2021 and 2023 events were temporarily relocated to Florence.^[2]

History

Primo Nebiolo, the Italian president of IAAF since 1981, was the founder of the Golden Gala and had the idea to bring the athletes and the people from the United States and the NATO countries together after their boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Nebiolo died of a heart attack at age 76 in 1999.

Usain Bolt at the 2011 Golden Gala

At the 2009 edition of the Golden Gala, Kenenisa Bekele, Kerron Stewart, Sanya Richards and Yelena Isinbayeva all remained on target for the 2009 Golden League jackpot.^[3] In the 100 m, Tyson Gay equalled his American record and Daniel Bailey set an Antiguan record in the men's race.^[4] Antonietta Di Martino brought the sole Italian victory in Rome by beating off favourite Blanka Vlašić in the high jump.^[4]

Editions

In 1981 the IAAF World Cup was held in Rome, so no Golden Gala meeting was organized.^[5]

Golden Gala editions

Ed.	Meeting	Series	Date	Ref.
1st	1980 Golden Gala		5 Aug 1980	[6]
2nd	1982 Golden Gala		14 Sep 1982	[7]
4th	1983 Golden Gala		1 Sep 1983	[8]
4th	1984 Golden Gala		31 Aug 1984	[9]
5th	1985 Golden Gala	1985 IAAF Grand Prix	9 Jul 1985	[10]
6th	1986 Golden Gala	1986 IAAF Grand Prix	10 Sep 1986	[11]
7th	1987 Golden Gala	1987 IAAF Grand Prix	22 Jul 1987	[12]
8th	1988 Golden Gala	1988 IAAF Grand Prix	27 Jul 1988	[13]
9th	1989 Golden Gala	1989 IAAF Grand Prix	19 Jul 1989	[14]
10th	1990 Golden Gala	1990 IAAF Grand Prix	18 Jul 1990	[15]
11th	1991 Golden Gala	1991 IAAF Grand Prix	17 Jul 1991	[16]
12th	1992 Golden Gala	1992 IAAF Grand Prix	9 Jun 1992	[17]
13th	1993 Golden Gala	1993 IAAF Grand Prix	9 Jun 1993	[18]
14th	1994 Golden Gala	1994 IAAF Grand Prix	8 Jun 1994	[19]
15th	1995 Golden Gala	1995 IAAF Grand Prix	8 Jun 1995	[20]
16th	1996 Golden Gala	1996 IAAF Grand Prix	5 Jun 1996	[21]
17th	1997 Golden Gala	1997 IAAF Grand Prix	5 Jun 1997	[22]
18th	1998 Golden Gala	1998 IAAF Golden League	14 Jul 1998	[23]
19th	1999 Golden Gala	1999 IAAF Golden League	7 Jul 1999	[24]
20th	2000 Golden Gala	2000 IAAF Golden League	30 Jun 2000	[25]
21st	2001 Golden Gala	2001 IAAF Golden League	29 Jun 2001	[26]
22nd	2002 Golden Gala	2002 IAAF Golden League	12 Jul 2002	[27]
23rd	2003 Golden Gala	2003 IAAF Golden League	11 Jul 2003	[28]
24th	2004 Golden Gala	2004 IAAF Golden League	2 Jul 2004	[29]
25th	2005 Golden Gala	2005 IAAF Golden League	8 Jul 2005	[30]
26th	2006 Golden Gala	2006 IAAF Golden League	14 Jul 2006	[31]
27th	2007 Golden Gala	2007 IAAF Golden League	13 Jul 2007	[32]
28th	2008 Golden Gala	2008 IAAF Golden League	11 Jul 2008	[33]
29th	2009 Golden Gala	2009 IAAF Golden League	10 Jul 2009	[34]
30th	2010 Golden Gala	2010 Diamond League	10 Jun 2010	[35]
31st	2011 Golden Gala	2011 Diamond League	26 May 2011	[36]
32nd	2012 Golden Gala	2012 Diamond League	31 May 2012	[37]
33rd	2013 Golden Gala	2013 Diamond League	6 Jun 2013	[38]
34th	2014 Golden Gala	2014 Diamond League	5 Jun 2014	[39]
35th	2015 Golden Gala	2015 Diamond League	4 Jun 2015	[40]
36th	2016 Golden Gala	2016 Diamond League	2 Jun 2016	[41]
37th	2017 Golden Gala	2017 Diamond League	8 Jun 2017	[42]
38th	2018 Golden Gala	2018 Diamond League	31 May 2018	[43]
39th	2019 Golden Gala	2019 Diamond League	6 Jun 2019	[44]
40th	2020 Golden Gala	2020 Diamond League	17 Sep 2020	[45]
41st	2021 Golden Gala	2021 Diamond League	10 Jun 2021	[46]
42nd	2022 Golden Gala	2022 Diamond League	9 Jun 2022	[47]
43rd	2023 Golden Gala	2023 Diamond League	2 Jun 2023	[48]
44th	2024 Golden Gala	2024 Diamond League	30 Aug 2024	[49]

World records

Over the course of its history, ten world records have been set at the Gala. The 1500 metres and Mile records by Hicham El Guerrouj still stand. In 2014 Joanne Pavey's 15:04.87 in the 5000 metres bettered the existing masters world record in the W40 division by almost 16 seconds.

World records set at the Golden Gala

Year	Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality
1983	Pole vault	5.83 m	Thierry Vigneron	France
1984	Pole vault	5.94 m	Sergey Bubka	Soviet Union
		5.91 m	Thierry Vigneron	France
1987	5000 m	12:58.39	Saïd Aouita	Morocco
1995	5000 m	12:55.30	Moses Kiptanui	Kenya
1998	1500 m	3:26.00	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco
1999	Mile	3:43.13	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco
2000	Javelin throw	68.22 m	Trine Hattestad	Norway
2008	Pole vault	5.03 m	Yelena Isinbayeva	Russia
2023	1500 m	3:49.11	Faith Kipyegon	Kenya

Meeting records

Men

Men's meeting records of the Golden Gala

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Ref.
100 m	9.75 (+0.9 m/s)	Justin Gatlin	United States	4 June 2015	2015	[50]
200 m	19.70 (+0.7 m/s)	Michael Norman	United States	6 June 2019	2019	[51]
400 m	43.62	Jeremy Wariner	United States	14 July 2006	2006
800 m	1:42.79	Wilson Kipketer	Denmark	7 July 1999	1999
1500 m	3:26.00 WR	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	14 July 1998	1998
Mile	3:43.13 WR	Hicham El Guerrouj	Morocco	7 July 1999	1999
2000 m	4:54.02	Vénuste Niyongabo	Burundi	8 June 1995	1995
3000 m	7:26.64	Jacob Kiplimo	Uganda	17 September 2020	2020	[52]
5000 m	12:46.33	Nicholas Kimeli	Kenya	9 June 2022	2022	[53]
110 m hurdles	13.01 (+0.8 m/s)	Allen Johnson	United States	7 July 1999	1999
	13.01 (−0.1 m/s)	Omar McLeod	Jamaica	10 June 2021	2021	[54]
400 m hurdles	47.07	Karsten Warholm	Norway	17 September 2020	2020	[55]
3000 m steeplechase	7:54.31	Paul Kipsiele Koech	Kenya	31 May 2012	2012	[56]
High jump	2.41 m	Mutaz Essa Barshim	Qatar	5 June 2014	2014	[57]
Pole vault	6.15 m	Armand Duplantis	Sweden	17 September 2020	2020	[52]
Long jump	8.61 m (±0.0 m/s)	Dwight Phillips	United States	10 July 2009	2009	[58]
Triple jump	17.96 m (−0.4 m/s)	Pedro Pichardo	Cuba	4 June 2015	2015	[59]
Shot put	22.49 m	Ryan Crouser	United States	30 August 2024	2024	[60]
Discus throw	70.72 m	Kristjan Ceh	Slovenia	9 June 2022	2022	[53]
Hammer throw	84.88 m	Sergey Litvinov	Soviet Union	10 September 1986	1986
Javelin throw	90.34 m	Andreas Thorkildsen	Norway	14 July 2006	2006
4 × 100 m relay	38.31	Santa Monica Track Club Michael Marsh Leroy Burrell Floyd Heard Carl Lewis	United States	8 June 1994	1994
4 × 400 m relay	3:01.76 DLR	Nigel Levine Conrad Williams Chris Clarke Jack Green	Great Britain	31 May 2012	2012	[61]

Women

Women's meeting records of the Golden Gala

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Meet	Ref.
100 m	10.75 (+0.6 m/s)	Marion Jones	United States	14 July 1998	1998
	10.75 (+0.4 m/s)	Kerron Stewart	Jamaica	10 July 2009	2009	[62]
200 m	21.91 (+1.3 m/s)	Shericka Jackson	Jamaica	9 June 2022	2022	[53]
400 m	49.17	Marita Koch	East Germany	10 September 1986	1986
800 m	1:55.69	Pamela Jelimo	Kenya	11 July 2008	2008
1500 m	3:49.11	Faith Kipyegon	Kenya	2 June 2023	2023	[63][64]
Mile	4:21.38	Paula Ivan	Romania	19 July 1989	1989
3000 m	8:23.96	Olga Yegorova	Russia	29 June 2001	2001
5000 m	14:12.59	Almaz Ayana	Ethiopia	2 June 2016	2016	[65]
100 m hurdles	12.24 (−0.4 m/s)	Ackera Nugent	Jamaica	30 August 2024	2024	[66]
400 m hurdles	52.43	Femke Bol	Netherlands	2 June 2023	2023	[67]
3000 m steeplechase	8:44.39	Winfred Yavi	Bahrain	30 August 2024	2024	[68]
High jump	2.03 m	Yelena Slesarenko	Russia	2 July 2004	2004	[69]
		Hestrie Cloete	South Africa	2 July 2004	2004	[69]
		Blanka Vlašić	Croatia	10 June 2010	2010
		Chaunté Howard-Lowe	United States	10 June 2010	2010
Pole vault	5.03 m	Yelena Isinbayeva	Russia	13 July 2007	2007
Long jump	7.23 m (−0.3 m/s)	Marion Jones	United States	14 July 1998	1998
Triple jump	15.29 m (+0.3 m/s)	Yamilé Aldama	Cuba	11 July 2003	2003
Shot put	21.03 m DLR	Valerie Adams	New Zealand	31 May 2012	2012	[70]
Discus throw	68.93 m	Sandra Perković	Croatia	31 May 2018	2018	[71]
Javelin throw	68.66 m	Barbora Špotáková	Czech Republic	10 June 2010	2010
4 × 100 m relay	43.64	Nataliya Strohova Yelizaveta Bryzgina Olesya Povh Natalia Pohrebniak	Ukraine	2 June 2016	2016	[72]

See also

• Notturna di Milano
• Rieti Meeting
• Memorial Primo Nebiolo

References

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4. Ramsak, Bob (10 July 2009). "IAAF: Gay powers back with 9.77 in Rome – REPORT – ÅF Golden League| News | iaaf.org". iaaf.org. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
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47. "2022 Results". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
48. "2023 Results". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
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59. "Golden Gala Pietro Mennea – Men's Triple Jump Results". IAAF. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
60. "Results Shot Put Men" (PDF). Diamond League. 30 August 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
61. David Martin (31 May 2012). "Bolt's blazing 9.76 one of seven world leads on electric night in Rome – Samsung Diamond League". IAAF. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
62. "100 Metres Results". goldengala.it. 10 July 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
63. "1500m Result" (PDF). sportresult.com. 2 June 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
64. "Ratified: world records for Kipyegon, Girma and Perez" (Press release). World Athletics. 7 August 2023. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
65. "5000m Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 2 June 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
66. "Results 100m Hurdles Women" (PDF). Diamond League. 30 August 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
67. "400m Hurdles Result" (PDF). sportresult.com. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.^{[dead link]}
68. "Results 3000m Steeplechase Women" (PDF). Diamond League. 30 August 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
69. "Golden Gala 2004 Result Book" (PDF). goldengala.it. 2 July 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
70. "Shot Put Women: Results" (PDF). IAAF Diamond League. Omega Timing. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
71. "Discus Throw Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018.^{[dead link]}
72. "4×100m Relay Results" (PDF). sportresult.com. 2 June 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2016.

External links

• Diamond League – Rome Official Web Site
• Golden Gala Meeting Records