by RBR Admin
The Continental Tour is one of the smartest things that World Athletics has done. The Continental Tour gives athletes, fans, and the sport up to 140 events around the world.
The 2022 Continental Tour, art courtesy of World Athletics
Meetings in New York and Bermuda have been added to the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series as part of a 12-strong calendar of events confirmed for the 2022 season.
More than 140 meetings have been included in this year’s tour, which is divided into four levels – Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Challenger. The status of each meeting is determined by the quality of competition and prize money on offer.
The USATF Bermuda Games kicks off the Gold series on 9 April, when some of the world’s best athletes will head to the National Sports Centre in Devonshire. A week later, Mt SAC in California will welcome some of the sport’s stars for the Golden Games, before the Gold tour moves on to Nairobi (7 May), Tokyo (8 May), and Ostrava (31 May).
In June, Continental Tour Gold action returns to Bydgoszcz (3 June), Hengelo (6 June) and Turku (14 June), while the Icahn Stadium will host the New York Grand Prix on 12 June.
The New York meeting was part of the Diamond League series through to 2015 and now forms part of the top tier in the Continental Tour, during a season when the world’s best will be working towards the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, the first time our flagship event will be held on US soil.
After Turku, the tour will break for the global event in Oregon (15-24 July) and will then resume in Szekesfehervar on 8 August, before meetings in Silesia (4 September) and Zagreb (11 September) bring the calendar to a close.
It has already been confirmed that Sweden’s Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis, who raised his own world record to 6.20m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22, will be among the athletes in action during this season’s tour. On 6 June the 22-year-old will return to Hengelo’s FBK Games, where he set a meeting record of 6.10m last year.
In 2021, 6682 athletes from 147 countries competed in the Continental Tour, establishing two world records, 12 area records, 99 national records, and 1377 personal bests across the 69 meetings.
Highlights included Sifan Hassan’s world 10,000m record of 29:06.82 and Duplantis’ 6.10m pole vault win at the FBK Games, the thrilling 100m clash between Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial, and Anita Wlodarczyk’s statement 77.93m hammer win at the Irena Szewinska Memorial.
Currently, TV rights for Gold level meetings have been sold in 140 territories across the globe and for territories where broadcast coverage is not available either live or as delayed highlights, a live stream will be shown on the World Athletics YouTube channel.
The 2022 Tour is already well underway, with 13 meetings held at the Bronze and Challenger levels so far this year.
The Continental Tour Gold meeting organizers unanimously agreed yesterday to exclude all athletes from Russia and Belarus in their events for the foreseeable future in line with the World Athletics Council and Diamond League decisions. World Athletics is requesting that all meetings at all levels of the Continental Tour adopt the same sanctions.
Gold level meetings in the 2022 World Athletics Continental Tour
9 April – USATF Bermuda Games, Devonshire (BER)
16 April – Golden Games, Mt SAC (USA)
7 May – Kip Keino Classic, Nairobi (KEN)
8 May – Seiko Golden Grand Prix, Tokyo (JPN)
31 May – Ostrava Golden Spike, Ostrava (CZE)
3 June – Irena Szewinska Memorial, Bydgoszcz (POL)
6 June – FBK Games, Hengelo (NED)
12 June – New York Grand Prix, New York (USA)
14 June – Paavo Nurmi Games, Turku (FIN)
8 August – Gyulai Istvan Memorial, Szekesfehervar (HUN)
4 September – Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, Silesia (POL)
11 September – Memorial Borisa Hanzekovica, Zagreb (CRO)
Full 2022 World Athletics Continental Tour Gold calendar
