The Aviva London Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre in London, England as part of the IAAF Super Grand Prix.

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History

The Emsley Carr Mile remains a fixture at the annual meeting, with a history spanning back to 1953 at the White City Stadium. Emsley Carr, an athletics fan and the editor of The News of the World , created an annual mile race in the hope that the first four minute mile would be achieved on British soil. Gordon Pirie won the first race, but Roger Bannister had run sub-4 minutes in Oxford by time that the second race was competed. However, the tradition continued, with the winner signing his name in a red leather-bound book identical to the Bible used in Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Derek Ibbotson achieved the first sub-4 minute run at the race in 1956, and many of the best middle-distance runners have won at the Emsley Carr Mile since, including Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Hicham El Guerrouj. ^[1]

Editions

On the first day of 2009 edition, blustery winds halted a number of athlete's record ambitions. Usain Bolt saw off Asafa Powell in the 100 metres main event, but pole vault favourite Yelena Isinbayeva lost for the first time in 18 competitions, beaten by Anna Rogowska. Christian Cantwell won a competitive shot put event against World and Olympic champions Reese Hoffa and Tomasz Majewski. A number of Britons won on home-turf: Mo Farah took the 5000 metres, Nicola Sanders the 400 metres, and Jemma Simpson, Jenny Meadows and Marilyn Okoro made it 1-2-3 in the 800 metres. Also, Kate Dennison set an eighth British record in the pole vault. ^[2]

Two stadium records were set on the second day, by Tirunesh Dibaba in the 5000 metres, and Lashinda Demus in the 400 metres hurdles (which was the fastest ever on UK soil). Carmelita Jeter won the 100 m with a personal best and Bernard Lagat won the historical Emsley Carr Mile title. 400 m runner Michael Bingham was the only UK victor that day. The event ended as Usain Bolt anchored the Racers Track Club team to the fourth fastest 4×100 metres relay ever. ^[3]

References

1. Powell, David (2003-08-07). Emsley Carr Mile stands test of time. ''The Times''. Retrieved on 2009-07-31.
2. Brown, Matthew (2009-07-24). Against the wind Bolt blasts 9.91, Isinbayeva's win streak halted at 18 - London Day 1 - IAAF World Athletics Tour. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-07-25.
3. Brown, Matthew (2009-07-25). Bolt and Gay highlight; Demus and Dibaba world leads in London, Day 2 - IAAF World Athletics Tour. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-07-31.