Athletics Enters A Golden Age With A New US $1 Million IAAF Ericsson Golden League Jackpot
Stockholm: 9 July 1998: The IAAF Golden League is the start of a new Golden era for Athletics. Ericsson, the leading telecommunications company, has become the first Official Partner of the newly formed League, which will see the best athletes in the world competing for a total of more than US $7 million in prize money.
Up for grabs is also the IAAF Ericsson Golden League Jackpot of US $1 million, which will be shared between any athletes winning their Golden League event in each of the six meetings as well as in the IAAF Golden League/Grand Prix Final. They will also each receive an exclusive Ericsson Golden Phone.
The six meetings will take place across Europe between July and September, culminating in the IAAF Golden League/Grand Prix Final in Moscow on 5 September. The IAAF Golden League includes the most prestigious one day athletics events, namely the meetings of Oslo, Rome, Monaco, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin, all with a long tradition of outstanding and spectacular performances.
Some of the most famous names in athletics have already committed to compete in all the Meetings . World Record holders, Olympic and World Champions such as Michael Johnson, Haile Gebrselassie, Jonathan Edwards and Marion Jones have confirmed their presence. Competition between the athletes is set to be fierce as they challenge for the Jackpot and the GF788e Ericsson Golden Phone, which has been specially created for the competition and will not be available in the stores.
As part of Ericsson’s partnership, the IAAFGolden League Meetings will also benefit from Ericsson’s telecommunications technology, made possible through the IAAF and its exclusive worldwide marketing consultant, ISL Marketing.
" We are convinced that the creation of the IAAF Golden League will bring new levels of excitement to athletics. The substantial support of world-leading companies such as Ericsson is fundamental to the success of this initiative and I’m sure that such financial incentives will inspire our athletes to new levels of brilliance. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more world records broken this year than in previous years", commented Dr Primo Nebiolo, the IAAF President.
"We are thrilled to be sponsoring a sport that is going through such positive changes, and believe that there is a natural synergy between Ericsson and athletics, as they both successfully combine simplicity with cutting edge innovation and performance", commented Jan Ahrenbring, Marketing Communications Director for Ericsson.
"We are confident that the IAAF Golden League will be a great success and hope that it is the beginning of a long-lasting partnership between athletics and Ericsson", Ahrenbring concluded.
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For further information on Ericsson please contact:
Jan Ahrenbring, Marketing Communications Director for Ericsson
Tel: +468 764 1388
e-mail: jan.ahrenbring@ecs.ericsson.se
Bo Albertson, PR & Information Director for Ericsson
Tel: +468 764 1388
e-mail: bo.albertson@ecs.ericsson.se
For further information please contact:
Christina Smedley
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
Tel: +44 171 344 1211
Fax: +44 171 344 1222
E-mail: csmedley@edeluk.com
For further information about the IAAF Golden League please contact:
Giorgio Reineri
IAAF Media and Public Relations Director
Tel: + 377 931 08888
Fax: + 377 932 55384
e-mail: goldenleague@iaaf.org
Editor’s Notes:
Meetings are as follows: Oslo (9 July), Rome (14 July), Monaco (8 August), Zurich (12 August), Brussels (28 August), Berlin (1 September), Grand Prix Final in Moscow (5 September).
* Also present will be Daniel Komen, Dieter Baumann, Bryan Bronson, Sergey Bubka, Trine Hattestad, Sonia O’Sullivan, Gabriela Szabo ,Cathy Freeman and others.
Men will compete in 100m, 400m, 1500m, 3000m (5000m or 10,000m), 400m hurdles, triple jump and pole vault.
Women will compete in 100m, 400m, 1500m, 100m hurdles and javelin throw. There will also be five or six wild card events for men and women at each of the meetings.
Prize money
IAAF Golden League Disciplines |
Other disciplines staged at Golden League Meetings |
IAAF Golden League / Grand Prix Final |
|
Place |
|||
1st |
US$ 15,000 |
US$ 7,500 |
US$ 50,000 |
2nd |
US$ 10,000 |
US$ 5,000 |
US$ 30,000 |
3rd |
US$ 6,000 |
US$ 3,000 |
US$ 20,000 |
4th |
US$ 4,000 |
US$ 2,000 |
US$ 10,000 |
5th |
US$ 3,000 |
US$ 1,500 |
US$ 8,000 |
6th |
US$ 2,000 |
US$ 1,000 |
US$ 7,000 |
7th |
US$ 1,500 |
US$ 750 |
US$ 6,000 |
8th |
US$ 1,000 |
US$ 500 |
US$ 5,000 |
Total |
US$ 42,500 |
US$ 21,250 |
US$ 136,000 |
