| Bgcolour: |
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| Date: | Late August – early September |
| Location: | Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia  |
| Type: | Track and field |
| Est: | 2003 |
| Homepage: | Atletický Most |
The Athletics Bridge (Slovak: Atletický Most) is an annual track and field meeting which takes place at the Mestský štadión in Dubnica nad Váhom, Slovakia. As one of the European Athletics Outdoor Classic Meetings, it is typically among of the last competitions held in the European summer track and field circuit.[1]
The meeting was first held in 2003 and started life in Banská Bystrica, another Slovak city. Taking inspiration from the IAAF Golden League, the organising committee (headed by Milan Hort) set about creating their own national version. Consisting of a two-day "double meet", it mirrored the jackpot format with 250,000 Slovak Crowns being divided up between athletes who won an event on both days.[2] The first edition mainly attracted Slovak, Hungarian and Ukrainian athletes, but the second gained European Athletics status and expanded to include other Europeans and African athletes. The following two years saw top level athletes compete, with eight World Championships medallists taking part in 2005, and ten medallists from the 2006 European Athletics Championships being in attendance the next year.[3]
The Athletics Bridge meet was beset with financial difficulties in 2007 and as a result the Dubnica nad Váhom-based Atletický Klub Spartak Dubnica decided to take on the organisation of the meeting from then onwards.[3] Changing to the more traditional one-day meeting format, it became allied with the Euro Meetings group and Hort remained as the meet director, with Alfons Juck serving as the competition manager.[4] A wide variety of top-level athletes were present that year (including Roman Sebrle, Dayron Robles, Yargelis Savigne, Koji Murofushi and Ezekiel Kemboi) and the event attracted around 3700 people (the highest ever for an athletics event in Dubnica). In 2008, fourteen medalists from the 2008 Beijing Olympics entered the competition. Olympic gold medallist in the 110 metres hurdles, Dayron Robles, provided the meet highlight with a run of 12.95 seconds despite a strong headwind. Around 6000 people saw the meet in 2009 and the 2010 edition was host to a Slovak record through Lucia Klocová's run of 4:08.86 minutes in the 1500 metres.[3] Cementing its position as Slovakia's foremost one-day athletics meet, some 17 world championship medallists were present in 2011.
Meet records are as follows:
| Event | Record | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 10.01 (0.0 m/s) | Nesta Carter | 26 August 2012 | [5] | ||
| 200 m | 20.59 | Steve Mullings | 6 September 2009 | [6] | ||
| 400 m | 45.75 | LaShawn Merritt | 15 September 2011 | [7] | ||
| 600 m | 1:17.10 | Tamás Kazi | 21 August 2013 | [8] | ||
| 800 m | 1:45.82 | Edwin Melly | 26 August 2012 | [9] | ||
| 1000 m | 2:17.08 | Abraham Rotich | 26 August 2012 | [10] | ||
| 5000 m | 14:52.60 | Miroslav Vanko | 16 September 2007 | [11] | ||
| 110 m hurdles | 12.95 | Dayron Robles | 2008 | |||
| 3000 m steeplechase | 8:12.27 min | Bernard Mbugua | 15 September 2011 | |||
| High jump | 2.33 m | Derek Drouin | 21 August 2013 | [12] | ||
| Pole vault | 5.68 m | Jan Kudlička | 21 August 2013 | [13] | ||
| Shot put | 21.61 m | Christian Cantwell | 2006 | |||
| Hammer throw | 82.53 m | Ivan Tsikhan | 2005 | |||
| Javelin throw | 81.20 m | Ainārs Kovals | 2005 | |||
| 3000 m walk | 11:00.68 | Antón Kučmín | 21 August 2013 | [14] |
| Event | Record | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 11.17 (-0.7 m/s) | Schillonie Calvert | 15 September 2011 | [15] | ||
| 200 m | 22.91 | LaVerne Jones-Ferrette | 6 September 2009 | [16] | ||
| 400 m | 50.77 | Olesya Krasnomovets | 2005 | |||
| 800 m | 2:00.88 min | Yuliya Rusanova | 15 September 2011 | [17] | ||
| 1000 m | 2:38.48 | Brenda Martinez | 26 August 2012 | [18] | ||
| 1500 m | 4:26.51 | Élodie Olivares | 16 September 2007 | [19] | ||
| 100 m hurdles | 12.95 (+1.4 m/s) | Queen Harrison | 21 August 2013 | [20] | ||
| 400 m hurdles | 59.38 | Miriam Hrdlicková | 16 September 2007 | [21] | ||
| 2000 m steeplechase | 6:16.95 | Milcah Chemos | 21 August 2013 | [22] | ||
| 3000 m steeplechase | 9:30.82 | Lydia Chepkurui | 26 August 2012 | [23] | ||
| High jump | 1.97 m | Svetlana Shkolina | 26 August 2012 | [24] | ||
| Pole vault | 4.50 m | Jiřina Ptáčníková | 15 September 2011 | [25] | ||
| Long jump | 6.64 m | Jana Velďáková | 16 September 2007 | [26] | ||
| Triple jump | 14.65 m | Yargelis Savigne | 16 September 2007 | [27] | ||
| Shot put | 20.83 m | Valerie Adams | 15 September 2011 | [28] | ||
| Hammer throw | 78.22 m | Anita Włodarczyk | 21 August 2013 | [29] |