Weltklasse Zürich (English: World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it now serves as a final of the Wanda Diamond League, alongside Memorial Van Damme between 2010 and 2019. In 2021 and 2022, Weltklasse Zürich served as the sole final of the Diamond League,[2] and this is also planned for 2025[3] and 2027.[4] So far, 27 world records have been set at Weltklasse Zürich. In 1988, Carl Lewis won the 100-meter duel against Ben Johnson. The time of 9.93 seconds was upgraded to a world record a year later, following Johnson’s doping case.[5][6]
One of the first large-scale international athletics events (outside the Summer Olympics), it is sometimes referred to as the one-day Olympics. With a budget of about ten million Swiss francs, Weltklasse Zürich ranks among the most expensive events in athletics. Every year, it draws around 25,000 fans to Letzigrund Stadium, with competitions broadcast in up to 135 countries.[7] Since 2014, Christoph Joho and Andreas Hediger have led the organization as co-directors.[8][9]
Weltklasse Zürich first took place on 12 August 1928. In the beginning, the meeting was nicknamed by the public the "Nurmi meeting" after the most admired and celebrated participant at the time, Paavo Nurmi. On 21 June 1960, on the Letzigrund track, Armin Hary became the first human to run the 100 m dash in 10.0 seconds.[10]
UBS has supported Weltklasse Zürich as its main sponsor since 1981.[11] Other sponsors are Vaudoise Assurances, Migros, Le Gruyère Switzerland, Medica, Omega, Swiss, Lexus, Erdgas and Puma.[12]
History
The meeting was conceived in 1924 by the athletic section of the FC Zürich which became the Leichtathletik Club Zürich in 1934, and was first held at the Letzigrund on a dirt track on 12 August 1928 as the Internationales Leichtathletik-Meeting in Zürich.[13][14]
Since 1935 it also became known as the "American Meeting",[15][16][17] similar to the Bislett Games, and this continued into the 1950s.[18][19]
A notable hiatus occurred after the 1952 meeting[20] until the rebuilt Letzigrund Stadium opened in 1958,[21] although a meeting had still been planned for August 1954.[22]
The name "Weltklasse Zürich" was adopted in 1959.[23]
The meet would not be held regularly on an annual basis until 1973, and the Weltklasse introduced electronic timing the following year.[13]
During 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Weltklasse Zürich from taking place, instead an event called Inspiration Games was held.[24]
Track surface
The first surface was made of dirt in 1928, and the first synthetic track surface in Europe was installed in 1968.[25][13]
The number of lanes was increased to eight in the early 1970s which forced the Weltklasse to be put on hold for two years for the construction to take place.[26][13]
The current surface at the Letzigrund Stadium was developed in 2014 by the Swiss company CONICA.[27][28][29] The new surface was installed in June 2014 at a cost of 800,000 CHF and was paid for by the city of Zurich, which owns Letzigrund Stadium.[30]
Editions
Some of the earliest editions were bilateral matches that are not counted among the 29 "Internationales" and Weltklasse meetings organized from 1928 til 1977.[31]
^"Sprinter von Weltklasse am Zürcher Amerikaner-Meeting" [World-class sprinters at Zürich's American Meeting]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Vol. 160, no. 1440. Zürich. 8 August 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 16 August 2024. Am ersten Start amerikanischer Leichtathleten in der Schweiz 1935 in Basel und Zürich... [During the first participation of American athletes in 1935 Switzerland at Basel und Zürich...]
^"Weltklasse: 1928-2003". Swissinfo. 2003-08-14. Archived from the original on 2024-08-09. Retrieved 2024-08-09. In the thirties it was dubbed «American Meeting» as many American athletes crossed the Atlantic by boat, and some of them also started in Switzerland.
^"Amerikanischer Leichtathletenbesuch" [Visit by American athletes]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Vol. 178, no. 2051. Zürich. 15 July 1957. p. 19. Retrieved 16 August 2024. so kamen die Schweizer Leichtathleten zu einem unverhofften Genuß, der ihnen seit dem Meeting im Jahre 1952 in Zürich vorenthalten geblieben war. [Thus, the Swiss athletes were able to enjoy an unexpected pleasure that had been denied to them since the 1952 meeting in Zurich.]
^"History - Weltklasse Zürich". Retrieved 16 August 2024. 1958: The first meeting in the new Letzigrund stadium, designed for 23,000 spectators with six circular tracks, takes place in pouring rain.
^"Auch das sportliche Ansehen hat Folgen" [The sporting reputation also has consequences]. Neue Zürcher Nachrichten (in Swiss High German). Vol. 64, no. 110. Zürich. 11 May 1968. p. 7. Retrieved 16 August 2024. In einem Brief ersucht der Stadtrat den Gemeinderat, einen Nachtragskredit von rund einer halben Million Franken für den Einbau eines Tartanbelages auf dem Letzigrund zu gewähren [In a letter, the city council requests the municipal council to grant a supplementary credit of around half a million francs for the installation of a tartan surface on the Letzigrund]
^"Zürich - Höhepunkt der Schweizer Leichtathletiksaison" [Zürich - Highlight of the Swiss athletics season]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Vol. 193, no. 372. Zürich. 11 August 1972. p. 27. Retrieved 16 August 2024. ist das Zürcher Letzigrundstadion, nach einer Unterbrechung von zwei Jahren wieder Schauplatz einer Leichtathletikveranstaltung von Format. ... Solche Festtage der Leichtathletik verspricht auch die Begegnung Schweiz - Bundesrepublik am 12./13. August in dem umgebauten und auf acht Kunststoffbahnen erweiterten Letzigrundstadion zu werden. [Zurich's Letzigrund Stadium, after a break of two years, is once again the venue for a major athletics event. ... The match between Switzerland and Germany on 12/13 August in the rebuilt Letzigrund Stadium, which has been expanded to include eight synthetic tracks, also promises to be a celebration of athletics.]
^Landolf, Hans-Ulrich; Bosshardt, Werner (11 August 1978). "50 Jahre Weltklasse in Zürich – die Geschichte des «Internationalen»" [50 Years Weltklasse Zürich - The History of the «Internationalen»]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Vol. 199, no. 184. pp. 48–49. Retrieved 2024-08-17. 28 weitere Meetings (Länderkämpfe nicht mitgezählt) [...] sind seither gefolgt. [28 further meetings (not counting bilateral matches) followed since then.]
^"Schweizer Saison-Kalender". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). Vol. 158, no. 1372. Zürich. 30 July 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 16 August 2024. Veranstaltungen in Zürich 29. August: Letzigrund: Internationales Leichtathletik-Meeting
^"History - Weltklasse Zürich". Retrieved 2024-08-09. 1949: The 13,000 spectators not only watch two Olympic champions and two world record holders, but also the football match between Young Fellows and FC Nuremberg.
^"Schweizertournee der Amerikanerathleten perfekt". Neue Zürcher Nachrichten (in Swiss High German). Vol. 45, no. 178. Zürich. 3 August 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 14 August 2024. Diese Weltklasseathleten treten...am 21. August im Rahmen einer grossen Sportveranstaltung mit den Schweiz. Juniorenmeisterschaften und dem internationalen Fussballtreffen Young Fellows — FC Nürnberg in Zürich...
