The 6th IAAF World Championships in Athletics - Athens 1997

After spending the last IAAF World Championships in Sweden’s cool climate, the IAAF World Championships moved south in 1997 to the Mediterranean as Athens, Greece was announced as the proud host city of the 6^th IAAF World Championships.

It was just a matter of time before the IAAF World Championships went back to the birth place of athletics competitions. Thought the city had hosted many events, ancient and modern, the World Championships held a special place in the hearts of all of the citizens. Upon learning about the successful bid the city worked tirelessly to host one of the best World Championships ever.

The 6^th IAAF World Championships was held in the 70,000 seat Ολυμπιακό Στάδιο (Olympic Stadium) which was built in 1982. At the time the Olympic Stadium was the best and most high-tech venue, making for a very special World Championships. The venue welcomed out did previous editions with the attendance of 1,882 athletes from 198 member federations during the competition period.

This year was a great one for the United States, as Maurice Greene retook the gold medal in the Men’s 100m beating the current World Champion, Donovan Bailey (CAN) with a blistering time of 9.86.

Korea submitted LEE Jin-Taek, a promising young athlete in the Men’s High Jump. Lee was expected to be the first Korean to ever place in the World Championships but his jumps came up short and finished in eight place.

It was because of the unrelenting efforts of the Organizing Committee, the athletes’ spirit, and the spectators’ excitement that the 6^th IAAF World Championships Athens 1993 was a success. With a sold out Opening Ceremony and a total of 730,000 spectators attending the events (20,000 spectators more than Gothenburg) Athens proved once again to the world that it is the home of athletics.

We will see you again in 1999 in Seville, Spain for the 7^th IAAF World Championships in athletics.