Weltklasse in Köln


The Weltklasse in Köln was an annual one-day outdoor track and field meeting at the Müngersdorfer Stadion in Cologne, Germany. First held in 1934, it was organised by ASV Köln each August until 1999, when the meeting folded after its fiftieth edition due to financial reasons. Despite the meeting's long history, it was not included in the IAAF's international circuit, though it did receivw IAAF Grand Prix status for its final edition.
Earlier in its history, the meeting was known as the ASV-Sportfest or Internationale Leichtathletik-Sportfest. Following its establishment in 1934, the meeting's second edition hosted several newly-crowned Olympic champions in 1936 after the Berlin Olympics. It played host to the German Athletics Championships in 1947. The meeting returned after World War II with a meeting in 1952 and the first world record was set at the stadium in 1958, courtesy of the German men's 4 × 100 metres relay team. The 1980s and 1990s saw several more world records set at the Müngersdorfer Stadion. Former sprinter Manfred Germar was head of the organising committee for its final three decades.

World records

DateAthleteEventMark
29 August 1958
Manfred Steinbach
Martin Lauer
Heinz Fütterer
Manfred Germar
4 × 100 metres relay39.5 s
28 August 1983Pierre QuinonPole vault5.82 m
28 August 1983Sydney Maree1500 metres3:31.24 min
17 August 1986Yordanka Donkova100 metres hurdles12.29 s
17 August 1986Yordanka Donkova100 metres hurdles12.35 s
20 August 1989Saïd Aouita3000 metres7:29.45 min
17 August 1992Moses Kiptanui3000 metres7:28.96 min
18 August 1995Daniela BártováPole vault4.20 m
24 August 1997Bernard Barmasai3000 metres steeplechase7:55.72 min
24 August 1997Wilson Kipketer800 metres1:41.11 min