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World Masters Athletics Championships

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World Masters Athletics Championships
LevelSenior
TypeMasters athletics

The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or older.[1] [2]: 75  Masters athletes are divided into 5-year age groups. [3]: 35 

The outdoor championships began in Toronto, Canada on August 11, 1975 and have continued in odd numbered years. In July 2011, World Masters Athletics changed their constitution to hold Championships in even numbered years, starting in 2016. Perth, Western Australia was selected to hold the first even year meet.[4] Later Road Racing Championships called Non-Stadia Championships were added, starting in Birmingham, England August 29–30, 1992. Indoor championships (World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships, World Masters Athletics Championships Indoor, or WMACi) started at Sindelfingen, Germany, March 10–14, 2004.[5]

The 2020 edition was scheduled to take place at the York Lions Stadium and Varsity Stadium in Toronto, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] World Masters Athletics attempted to postpone the competition to 2021, with Tampere serving as host, but again this was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic. The event was rescheduled to 2022 in Tampere and make-up editions being held in annual succession in 2023 (Edmonton) and 2024 (Gothenburg).[7]

Athletes participating at these Championships consistently outnumber those at Olympic track and field events, making these "the world's largest track meet". [8] [9] For example, The 4,951 participants at the 1989 Outdoor Championships dwarfed the 1,617 athletics competitors at the 1988 Olympics; the 1993 Outdoor Championships drew over 11,000 masters athletes. Four-time Olympic Champion Al Oerter called these Championships "more like the Olympics than the Olympics". [9]

An analysis of jumping and throwing events at the Championships from 1975 to 2016 showed that, as expected, performances usually declined with age, though overall performances improved across calendar years. [10]

Editions

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Outdoor Championships

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Official results are archived at the WMA site. [11]

Edition Year City Country Venue Dates
1 1975 Toronto  Canada Centennial Park Stadium 11-16 August
2 1977 Gothenburg  Sweden Slottsskogsvallen 8-13 August
3 1979 Hanover  West Germany Niedersachsenstadion 27 July-2 August
4 1981 Christchurch  New Zealand Queen Elizabeth II Park 7-14 January
5 1983 San Juan  Puerto Rico Estadio Sixto Escobar 23-30 September
6 1985 Rome  Italy Stadio Olimpico 22-30 July
7 1987 Melbourne  Australia Olympic Park Stadium 29 November-6 December
8 1989 Eugene  United States Hayward Field 27 July-6 August
9 1991 Turku  Finland Paavo Nurmi Stadium 18-28 July
10 1993 Miyazaki  Japan Miyazaki Athletic Stadium 7-17 October
11 1995 Buffalo  United States University at Buffalo Stadium 13-23 July
12 1997 Durban  South Africa Kings Park Athletic Stadium 17-27 July
13 1999 Gateshead  United Kingdom Gateshead International Stadium 29 July-8 August
14 2001 Brisbane  Australia Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre 1-14 July
15 2003 Carolina  Puerto Rico Complejo Deportivo Municipal Roberto Clemente 1-13 July
16 2005 San Sebastian  Spain Anoeta Stadium 22 August-3 September
17 2007 Riccione  Italy Stadio Italo Nicoletti 4-15 September
18 2009 Lahti  Finland Lahden Stadion 28 July-8 August
19 2011 Sacramento  United States Hornet Stadium 6-17 July
20 2013 Porto Alegre  Brazil Centro Estadual de Treinamento Esportivo 15-27 October
21 2015 Lyon  France Stade de Balmont 4-16 August
22 2016 Perth  Australia Western Australian Athletics Stadium 26 October-6 November
23 2018 Málaga  Spain Málaga Athletics Stadium 4-16 September
24 2022 Tampere  Finland Ratinan Stadion 29 June-10 July
25 2024 Gothenburg  Sweden Slottsskogsvallen & Ullevi Stadium 13-25 August

Indoor Championships

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Official results are archived at the WMA site. [12]

Edition Year City Country Venue Date
1 2004 Sindelfingen  Germany Glaspalast Sindelfingen 10-14 March
2 2006 Linz  Austria TipsArena Linz 15-20 March
3 2008 Clermont-Ferrand  France Jean-Pellez Stadium 17-22 March
4 2010 Kamloops  Canada Tournament Capital Centre 2-7 March
5 2012 Jyvaskyla  Finland Hippos Hall 3-8 April
6 2014 Budapest  Hungary SYMA Sports Centre 25-30 March
7 2017 Daegu  South Korea Daegu Athletics Promotion Center 19-25 March
8 2019 Toruń  Poland Arena Toruń 24-30 March
9 2023 Toruń  Poland Arena Toruń 25-31 March
10 2025 Gainesville  USA Alachua County Sports & Events Center 23-30 March

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "History of World Masters Athletics", World Masters Athletics
  2. ^ Kusy, Krzysztof; Zieliński, Jacek (January 2006). Parzy, Wiesława (ed.). Masters athletics. Social, biological and practical aspects of veterans sport. Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego w Poznaniu/Poznan University of Physical Education. ISBN 83-88923-69-2 – via ResearchGate.
  3. ^ Olson, Leonard T. (Nov 29, 2000). Masters Track and Field: A History. McFarland. ISBN 0786408898.
  4. ^ "Perth wins for 2016!", Perth 2016, Australian Masters Athletics Inc - Perth 2016 World Masters Athletics Championships, Western Australia
  5. ^ "WORLD MASTERS (VETERANS) INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS". Athletics Weekly.
  6. ^ "World Masters Athletics Championships 2020 Cancelled". Master Athlete. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  7. ^ World Masters Athletics Postpone Tampere 2021. New Zealand Masters Athletics (2020-12-23). Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  8. ^ "VII World Veterans Games Results" (PDF). Museum of Masters Track & Field. p. 2.
  9. ^ a b "Results of the VIII World Veterans' Championships" (PDF). Museum of Masters Track & Field. p. 3.
  10. ^ Kundert, Alexandra M. L.; Di Gangi, Stefania; Nikolaidis, Pantelis T.; Knechtle, Beat (14 Oct 2018). "Jumping and throwing performance in the World Masters' Athletic Championships 1975-2016". Research in Sports Medicine. 27 (3). Informa UK Limited: 374–411. doi:10.1080/15438627.2018.1528975. PMID 30318929. S2CID 205890435. Retrieved 2021-12-15.
  11. ^ "Championships Outdoor". World Masters Athletics. November 19, 2018. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
  12. ^ "Championships Indoor". World Masters Athletics. February 3, 2020. Retrieved 2021-12-24.
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