History

Weltklasse Zürich has been creating athletic stories and athletics history for almost a century. Even the very first edition of the meeting at Letzigrund Stadium in 1928 featured a living legend. Finland’s nine-time Olympic champion Paavo Nurmi was the first of countless stars (including women as of 1965) to compete in Zurich, and thus the one to initiate the meeting’s rise to fame and its arena’s unabated appeal to athletes, fans, and experts. As many as 25 new world records have been set at Letzigrund Stadium, some them very prestigious. In 1960, German sprinter Armin Hary, for instance, was the first athlete to clock 10.00 in the 100m. Together with Martin Lauer, he put Zurich’s “magic track” on the map of the world’s athletics arenas. They successors, including Usain Bolt, followed in their footsteps. They all have inspired the Zurich crowd ever since.