| Bgcolour: |
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| London Athletics Meet | |
| Date: | July – August |
| Location: | London, England (Glasgow, Scotland in 2014/Gateshead, England in 2021/Birmingham, England in 2022) |
| Type: | Track and field |
| Iaaf Category: | GW[1] |
| Homepage: | London Anniversary Games |
The London Athletics Meet, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games and London Diamond League, is an annual athletics event held in London, England.Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. As the London Grand Prix, until 2012 all editions were held at the National Sports Centre in Crystal Palace. The 2013 edition was renamed the Anniversary Games as it took place at the Stadium in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, exactly one year after the Olympic Games were held in the same venue and have been followed by an IPC London Grand Prix, making it a three-day event. In 2014 the meet was held in Glasgow, Scotland, as preparation for the Commonwealth Games held there later that month.
The event has been sponsored by a variety of companies including Norwich Union, Sainsbury's and Müller.
| Years | Name | Sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–1979 | International Games | Rotary Watches Ltd[2] | |
| 1980–1988 | British Games | Peugeot / Talbot | |
| 1989 | British Games | Royal Mail[3] | |
| 1990–1991 | British Games | Parcelforce | |
| 1992 | London Grand Prix | none | |
| 1993 | IAAF Grand Prix Final | ||
| 1994 | London Grand Prix | Trustee Savings Bank | |
| 1995–1996 | London Grand Prix | KP Nuts | |
| 1997–1998 | London Grand Prix | none | |
| 1999–2001 | British Grand Prix | CGU plc[4] [5] [6] | |
| 2002–2007 | London Grand Prix | Norwich Union | |
| 2008–2012 | London Grand Prix | Aviva | |
| 2013, 2015 | Anniversary Games | Sainsbury's | |
| 2014 | Glasgow Grand Prix | ||
| 2016–2019 | Anniversary Games | Müller | |
| 2020 | Not held[7] | ||
| 2021 | British Grand Prix[8] | ||
| 2022 | Birmingham Diamond League | Müller | |
| 2023 | London Diamond League[9] / London Athletics Meet[10] | ||
| 2024 | London Athletics Meet (Wanda Diamond League series)[11] | Wanda | |
| Years | Venue | Region | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–2012 | National Sports Centre | Crystal Palace, London | England | |
| 2013, 2015–2019, 2023-2024 | London Stadium | Stratford, London | England | |
| 2014 | Hampden Park[12] | Mount Florida, Glasgow | Scotland | |
| 2021 | Gateshead International Stadium | Gateshead | England | |
| 2022 | Alexander Stadium | Birmingham | England |
The Emsley Carr Mile remains a fixture at the annual meeting, with a history spanning back to 1953 at the White City Stadium. Emsley Carr, an athletics fan and the editor of The News of the World, created an annual mile race in the hope that the first four-minute mile would be achieved on British soil. Gordon Pirie won the first race, but Roger Bannister had run under 4 minutes in Oxford by time that the second race was competed. However, the tradition continued, with the winner signing his name in a red leather-bound book identical to the Bible used in Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. Derek Ibbotson achieved the first sub-4-minute run at the race in 1956, and many of the best middle-distance runners have won at the Emsley Carr Mile since, including Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Hicham El Guerrouj.[13]
The Millicent Fawcett Mile, a women's race, was first held in the 2018 Anniversary Games and won by Sifan Hassan in 4:14.71.[14] It commemorates suffragist Millicent Fawcett.[15] There had been a women's mile event at previous games, without this title, the previous record being held by Hellen Obiri who ran in 2017 in 4:16.56.
In 2009 pole vault favourite Yelena Isinbayeva lost for the first time in 18 competitions, beaten by Anna Rogowska. Kate Dennison set an eighth British record in the pole vault.[16]
On 24 January 2013 it was announced that London Grand Prix would be moved to the Olympic Stadium for 2013. The London Legacy Development Corporation had expressed interest in holding an athletics event at the stadium to coincide with the first anniversary of the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics.[17] After the 2013 event, a return to Crystal Palace was ruled out as according to Ed Warner it would be a backward step.
Hampden Park, which was due to host the athletics events at the Commonwealth Games and a temporary venue in Horse Guards Parade and the Mall, were mooted for the 2014 edition, before a return to the Olympic Stadium in 2015 due to a gap in the reconstruction schedule.[18] A four-year sponsorship deal with Sainsbury's was announced in January 2014.[19] In February 2014 it was confirmed that the Grand Prix event would move to Hampden Park and be known as the Glasgow Grand Prix. The event returned to London in 2015 and continued to be known as the Anniversary Games until 2021.
The 2021 event, due to be held on 13 July, was moved away from London Stadium to Gateshead International Stadium due to the difficulty of reconfiguring the stadium for a single athletics event.[20]
Over the course of its history, a number of world records have been set at the London Grand Prix.
| Year | Event | Record | Athlete | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Pole vault | 4.90 m | |||
| 2005 | Pole vault | 5.00 m | |||
| Pole vault | 4.96 m | ||||
| 2016 | 12.20 (+0.3 m/s) | ||||
| 2018 | 25.93 | ||||
| 16.80 | |||||
| 10:43.84 | |||||
| 2023 | 14:16.54 |
| Event | Record | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Place | Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 9.78 (-0.4 m/s) | Tyson Gay | 13 August 2010 | Crystal Palace | |||
| 200 m | 19.47 (+1.6 m/s) | Noah Lyles | 23 July 2023 | Stratford | [21] | ||
| 400 m | 43.74 | Matthew Hudson-Smith | 20 July 2024 | Stratford | [22] | ||
| 800 m | 1:42.05 | Emmanuel Korir | 22 July 2018 | Stratford | [23] | ||
| Mile | 3:45.96 | Hicham El Guerrouj | 5 August 2000 | Crystal Palace | |||
| 3000 m | 7:27.64 | Mohamed Katir | 13 July 2021 | Gateshead | [24] | ||
| 5000 m | 12:55.51 | Haile Gebrselassie | 30 July 2004 | Crystal Palace | |||
| 110 m hurdles | 12.93 (+0.6 m/s) | Aries Merritt | 13 July 2012 | Crystal Palace | [25] | ||
| 400 m hurdles | 47.12 | Karsten Warholm | 20 July 2019 | Stratford | [26] | ||
| 3000 m steeplechase | 8:06.86 | Brimin Kiprop Kipruto | 27 July 2013 | Stratford | [27] | ||
| High jump | 2.41 m | Javier Sotomayor | 15 July 1994 | Crystal Palace | |||
| Pole vault | 6.03 m | Renaud Lavillenie | 25 July 2015 | Stratford | [28] | ||
| Long jump | 8.58 m (+0.2 m/s) | Luvo Manyonga | 22 July 2018 | Stratford | [29] | ||
| Triple jump | 17.78 m (+0.6 m/s) | Christian Taylor | 22 July 2016 | Stratford | [30] | ||
| Shot put | 23.07 m | Ryan Crouser | 23 July 2023 | Stratford | [31] | ||
| Discus throw | 68.56 m | Daniel Ståhl | 21 July 2019 | Stratford | [32] | ||
| Javelin throw | 90.81 m | Steve Backley | 22 July 2001 | Crystal Palace | |||
| 3000 m walk (track) | 10:43.84 | Tom Bosworth | 21 July 2018 | Stratford | [33] | ||
| 4 × 100 m relay | 37.60 | Chijindu Ujah Zharnel Hughes Richard Kilty Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake | 21 July 2019 | Stratford | [34] | ||
| 37.46 | Racers Track Club Daniel Bailey Yohan Blake Mario Forsythe Usain Bolt | / | 25 July 2009 | Crystal Palace | [35] | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcAowT6SuFI |
| Event | Record | Athlete | Nationality | Date | Place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m | 10.75 (+1.2 m/s) | Marie-Josée Ta Lou | 23 July 2023 | Stratford | [36] | ||
| 200 m | 21.82 (-0.9 m/s) | Gabrielle Thomas | 20 July 2024 | Stratford | [37] | ||
| 400 m | 48.57 DLR | Nickisha Pryce | 20 July 2024 | Stratford | [38] | ||
| 800 m | 1:54.61 | Keely Hodgkinson | 20 July 2024 | Stratford | [39] | ||
| 1500 m | 3:57.49 | Laura Muir | 22 July 2016 | Stratford | [40] | ||
| Mile | 4:14.71 | Sifan Hassan | 22 July 2018 | Stratford | [41] | ||
| 3000 m | 8:21.64 | Sonia O'Sullivan | 15 July 1994 | ||||
| 5000 m | 14:12.29 | Gudaf Tsegay | 23 July 2023 | Stratford | [42] | ||
| 100 m hurdles | 12.20 (+0.3 m/s) DLR | Kendra Harrison | 22 July 2016 | Stratford | [43] | ||
| 400 m hurdles | 51.30 DLR | Femke Bol | 20 July 2024 | Stratford | [44] | ||
| 3000 m steeplechase | 8:57.35 | Jackline Chepkoech | 23 July 2023 | Stratford | [45] | ||
| High jump | 2.05 m | Kajsa Bergqvist | 28 July 2006 | Crystal Palace | |||
| Pole vault | 5.00 m | Yelena Isinbayeva | 22 July 2005 | Crystal Palace | |||
| Long jump | 7.02 m (-0.5 m/s) | Malaika Mihambo | 21 July 2019 | Stratford | |||
| Triple jump | 15.27 m (+1.2 m/s) | Yamilé Aldama | 8 August 2003 | ||||
| Shot put | 20.90 m | Valerie Adams | 27 July 2013 | Stratford | [46] | ||
| Discus throw | 69.94 m | Sandra Perković | 23 July 2016 | Stratford | [47] | ||
| Javelin throw | 68.26 m | Barbora Špotáková | 9 July 2017 | [48] | |||
| 4 × 100 m relay | 41.55 DLR | Dina Asher-Smith Imani Lansiquot Amy Hunt Daryll Neita | 20 July 2024 | Stratford | [49] |