The 5th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Gothenburg 1995

In 1995 the fifth city selected to host the prestigious IAAF World Championships was Sweden’s second largest city, Gothenburg. No stranger to hosting international events the city’s 50,000 citizens warmly welcomed the World Championships.



Moscot & Emblem of the IAAF World
Championships Gothenburg 1995



Economically this city has been known as the largest shipbuilding city in Scandinavia since the early 17^th century in addition to being a local automotive, textile, paper and flour powerhouse.

The host venue for the 5^th IAAF World Championships was the stunning Ullevi Stadium. As the largest stadium in Scandinavia, the venue boasts a seating capacity of 43,000 and 60,000 in a concert setting. Ullevi Stadium was originally built to host the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but has been used to host a variety of international sporting events to include the IAAF World Championships, UEFA cup, Championships in Athletics and many high profile concerts.

During the 5^th IAAF World Championships, Gothenburg welcomed the largest number of athletes, federations, and spectators in IAAF History, with 1804 athletes from 191 member federations and 590,000 spectators attending the events. The event was an unprecedented success.

The most notable thing about this edition of the World Championships was the diverse spread of nationalities in medal spread. It was this year that Canada surprised the world and took the top two spots in the 100m and took the gold in the Men’s 4x100m with Donovan Bailey leading the team to victory. USA’s Michael Johnson also did the unthinkable when he secured the gold medal in the Men’s 200m, 400m, and 4x400m Relay.

Though the United States lost the Men’s 100m, they still came out on top in overall medal count with 19 medals (12 of them gold). There was a great disparity in the medal table as the closest competitor was Belarus with 7 medals (2 gold). Many believe that the great difference in medals earned was partially due to the division of the former Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe’s focus on rebuilding their nations financially and not on athletics.

See you next time in 1997 for the Athens, Greece for the 6^th IAAF World Championships in Athletics!