Golden Gala


Golden Gala is an annual track and field event normally held at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 death of Italian sprinting legend Pietro Mennea, the organizers added his name to the title of the meet.
The 2021 and 2023 events were temporarily relocated to Florence.

History

, the Italian president of IAAF since 1981, was the founder of the Golden Gala and had the idea to bring the athletes and the people from the United States and the NATO countries together after their boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Nebiolo died of a heart attack at age 76 in 1999.
At the 2009 edition of the Golden Gala, Kenenisa Bekele, Kerron Stewart, Sanya Richards and Yelena Isinbayeva all remained on target for the 2009 Golden League jackpot. In the 100 m, Tyson Gay equalled his American record and Daniel Bailey set an Antiguan record in the men's race. Antonietta Di Martino brought the sole Italian victory in Rome by beating off favourite Blanka Vlašić in the high jump.

Editions

In 1981 the IAAF World Cup was held in Rome, so no Golden Gala meeting was organized.
MeetingSeriesDate
1980 Golden Gala5 Aug 1980
1982 Golden Gala14 Sep 1982
1983 Golden Gala1 Sep 1983
1984 Golden Gala31 Aug 1984
1985 Golden Gala1985 IAAF Grand Prix9 Jul 1985
1986 Golden Gala1986 IAAF Grand Prix10 Sep 1986
1987 Golden Gala1987 IAAF Grand Prix22 Jul 1987
1988 Golden Gala1988 IAAF Grand Prix27 Jul 1988
1989 Golden Gala1989 IAAF Grand Prix19 Jul 1989
1990 Golden Gala1990 IAAF Grand Prix18 Jul 1990
1991 Golden Gala1991 IAAF Grand Prix17 Jul 1991
1992 Golden Gala1992 IAAF Grand Prix9 Jun 1992
1993 Golden Gala1993 IAAF Grand Prix9 Jun 1993
1994 Golden Gala1994 IAAF Grand Prix8 Jun 1994
1995 Golden Gala1995 IAAF Grand Prix8 Jun 1995
1996 Golden Gala1996 IAAF Grand Prix5 Jun 1996
1997 Golden Gala1997 IAAF Grand Prix5 Jun 1997
1998 Golden Gala1998 IAAF Golden League14 Jul 1998
1999 Golden Gala1999 IAAF Golden League7 Jul 1999
2000 Golden Gala2000 IAAF Golden League30 Jun 2000
2001 Golden Gala2001 IAAF Golden League29 Jun 2001
2002 Golden Gala2002 IAAF Golden League12 Jul 2002
2003 Golden Gala2003 IAAF Golden League11 Jul 2003
2004 Golden Gala2004 IAAF Golden League2 Jul 2004
2005 Golden Gala2005 IAAF Golden League8 Jul 2005
2006 Golden Gala2006 IAAF Golden League14 Jul 2006
2007 Golden Gala2007 IAAF Golden League13 Jul 2007
2008 Golden Gala2008 IAAF Golden League11 Jul 2008
2009 Golden Gala2009 IAAF Golden League10 Jul 2009
2010 Golden Gala2010 Diamond League10 Jun 2010
2011 Golden Gala2011 Diamond League26 May 2011
2012 Golden Gala2012 Diamond League31 May 2012
2013 Golden Gala2013 Diamond League6 Jun 2013
2014 Golden Gala2014 Diamond League5 Jun 2014
2015 Golden Gala2015 Diamond League4 Jun 2015
2016 Golden Gala2016 Diamond League2 Jun 2016
2017 Golden Gala2017 Diamond League8 Jun 2017
2018 Golden Gala2018 Diamond League31 May 2018
2019 Golden Gala2019 Diamond League6 Jun 2019
2020 Golden Gala2020 Diamond League17 Sep 2020
2021 Golden Gala2021 Diamond League10 Jun 2021
2022 Golden Gala2022 Diamond League9 Jun 2022
2023 Golden Gala2023 Diamond League2 Jun 2023
2024 Golden Gala2024 Diamond League30 Aug 2024
2025 Golden Gala2025 Diamond League6 Jun 2025

World records

Over the course of its history, ten world records have been set at the Gala. The 1500 metres and Mile records by Hicham El Guerrouj still stand. In 2014 Joanne Pavey's 15:04.87 in the 5000 metres bettered the existing masters world record in the W40 division by almost 16 seconds.
YearEventRecordAthleteNationality
1983Pole vault5.83 mFranceSortname|Sergey|Bubka

Meeting records

Men

EventRecordAthleteNationalityDateMeet
100 m9.75 Justin GatlinUnited Stateswind|+0.7

Women

EventRecordAthleteNationalityDateMeet
100 m10.75 Marion JonesUnited Stateswind|+0.4