The Helsinki Grand Prix (Finnish: Maailmankisat, World Games in English) was an annual one-day outdoor track and field meeting held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland. Established in 1959, it was originally organised by a local athletics club, Helsingin Kisa-Veikot (HKV). It continued in this format, with Apu magazine a key sponsor, for nearly three decades. In 1987, HKV came to an agreement where the Finnish Amateur Athletic Association took on the operating costs of the competition. The Finnish Association ceased this arrangement in 1992, causing the cancellation of the 1993 meeting due to financial difficulties.[1][2]

Helsinki Grand Prix
The host venue – Helsinki Olympic Stadium
LocationHelsinki, Finland
Event typeTrack and field
Established1959
Last held2006

Following the successful hosting the 1994 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, the meeting was rebooted and incorporated into the annual IAAF Grand Prix series upon that competition's founding in 1998.[3] It continued to be a high-level meeting for international athletes, and was again included the top bracket upon the creation of the IAAF World Athletics Tour in 2005. During this period it had title sponsors and was known as the Ericsson Grand Prix (1998–2000), Asics Grand Prix (2001–2004) and GE Money Grand Prix (2005–2006). However, the 2006 meeting proved to be its last and the meeting folded in 2007.[4]

Best athlete prize

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Jorma Kinnunen on the javelin podium at the 1965 meeting

At each competition, the best athlete of the meet would be presented with a sculpted glass prize.[5][1]

Meet records

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Men's meeting records of the Helsinki Grand Prix
Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Ref.
100 m 9.87 Frankie Fredericks   Namibia
200 m 20.14 Ato Boldon   Trinidad and Tobago
Obadele Thompson   Barbados
400 m 44.53 Mark Richardson   United Kingdom
800 m 1:43.97 Mbulaeni Mulaudzi   South Africa [6]
1500 m 3:31.00 Noureddine Morceli   Algeria
3000 m 7:26.03 Haile Gebrselassie   Ethiopia
5000 m 12:39.36 Haile Gebrselassie   Ethiopia
10,000 m 27:16.50 Salvatore Antibo   Italy
3000 m steeplechase 8:10.15 Moses Kiptanui   Kenya
110 m hurdles 13.12 Colin Jackson   United Kingdom
400 m hurdles 48.06 Ruslan Mashchenko   Russia
High jump 2.37 m Hollis Conway   United States
Pole vault 5.90 m Riaan Botha   South Africa
Long jump 8.44 m Dwight Phillips   United States
Triple jump 17.82 m Jonathan Edwards   United Kingdom
Shot put 22.47 m Werner Günthör    Switzerland
Discus throw 70.98 m Mac Wilkins   United States
Hammer throw 84.14 m Yuriy Sedykh   Soviet Union
Javelin throw 89.98 m Sergey Makarov   Russia
4 × 100 m relay 38.38   Trinidad and Tobago

Women

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Men's meeting records of the Helsinki Grand Prix
Event Record Athlete Nationality Date Ref.
100 m 10.86 Marion Jones   United States
200 m 21.91 Marion Jones   United States
400 m 50.39 DeeDee Trotter   United States
800 m 1:57.10 Sigrun Wodars   East Germany
1500 m 4:02.9 Tatyana Kazankina   Soviet Union
3000 m 8:40.72 Maricica Puică   Romania
5000 m 14:52.66 Fernanda Ribeiro   Portugal
10,000 m 31:00.64 Kayoko Fukushi   Japan [7]
100 m hurdles 12.66 Damu Cherry   United States [8]
400 m hurdles 54.05 Sandra Farmer-Patrick   United States
High jump 2.00 m Stefka Kostadinova   Bulgaria
Pole vault 4.50 m Svetlana Feofanova   Russia
Long jump 7.09 m Inessa Kravets   Ukraine
Triple jump 15.05 m Trecia-Kaye Smith   Jamaica [9]
Shot put 20.63 m Natalya Lisovskaya   Soviet Union
Discus throw 65.82 m María Cristina Betancourt   Cuba
Hammer throw 69.19 m Olga Kuzenkova   Russia
Javelin throw 68.47 m Osleidys Menéndez   Cuba
4 × 100 m relay 42.65   United States

References

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  1. ^ a b "GE Money Grand Prix / Historia". GE Money Grand Prix. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  2. ^ "Helsingin GP-kisasta GE Money Grand Prix". Suomen Urheiluliitto ry. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  3. ^ 1998 Grand Prix Standings. IAAF. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  4. ^ "Helsinki GP:tä ei järjestetä 2007". Ilta-Sanomat. 2006-11-01. Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  5. ^ Martiskainen, Seppo (2006). Suomi voittoon – kansa liikkumaan. Helsinki: Yleisurheilun tukisäätiö. p. 183. ISBN 951-98952-2-1.
  6. ^ "GE Money Grand Prix 2006: 800 m Men". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  7. ^ "GE Money Grand Prix 2006: 10 000 m Women". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  8. ^ "GE Money Grand Prix 2006: 100 m Hurdles Women". Archived from the original on 2019-09-04. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
  9. ^ "GE Money Grand Prix 2006: Triple Jump Women". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-09-04.
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