Having problems by winning the races at the big championships Merlene Ottey has always shown her best at the many Grand Prix events all over Europe. On the three Grand Prix pages you find facts and photos from some of Merlene Ottey’s performances at these events as well as links to official homepages of these Grand Prix Meetings. Featured on this page are the Golden Leauge Meetings: Zürich, Brussels, Berlin, Oslo, Monte Carlo, Rome & Paris.

The IAAF Golden League was established in the 1998 season with an overall prize of 1 million dollars to the athletes in selected disciplines that are able to win at every meeting in the Golden League includig the IAAF Grand Prix final at the end of the season. Before 1998 some of the meetings (Oslo, Zürich, Brussels and Berlin) existed as the Golden Four Series. Before that they were part of the traditional Grand Prix Series established in 1985.

No doubt Letzigrund Stadium in Zürich, where the Weltklasse meeting is taking place, count as Merlene Ottey’s "homeground". Here she has run some of her best races and is the most winning athlete with eight victories and participating no less than 17 times! The crowd at Weltklasse appreciates her, as the queen of sprint – especially beloved was her win at Weltklasse in 1996 as a revenge for the defeat in the Olympic 100 metre final. Also very special is her Stadium Record of 21.66 sec. for the 200 metres, which she ran in 1990 into a 1.0 metre headwind.

You find Weltklasse on the Internet at: http://www.weltklasse.ch

Merlene Ottey on a victory round after her 100 metre victory at Weltklasse in 1997

Another big event on the Grand Prix circuit is the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels now part of the IAAF Golden League. At the event in 1991 Merlene Ottey ran one of the very best 200 metres ever (21.64 seconds). This race still stands as stadium record and as her own personal best. All in all Merlene Ottey has won in Brussels no less seven times.

http://www.memorialvandamme.be

Merlene Ottey in Brussels in 1996

The biggest Grand Prix meeting ("ISTAF") in Germany takes place in Berlin and since the beginning of the 1980’s Ottey has visited this meeting 11 times and won six times. In 1990 she ran 10.82 seconds in the 100 metre race, a time that until 1997 counted as stadium record. In 1994 she came back from injury problems and produced her season best result running 22.07 in the 200 metre race.

The official homepage of the ISTAF Meeting: http://www.istaf-berlin.de

Homepage of the 
"Deutscher Leichtathletik Verband": http://www.dlv-sport.de

In the chilly north at the very cosy Bislett Stadium in Oslo (Norway), Merlene Ottey has also produced some rather good races. Among other victories Merlene Ottey won the inaugural 100 metre race in the newly created Golden Four series in 1993.

Visit the Bislett page: www.vg.no/mobilbislettgames/

Ottey winning the 100 metre race at the first Golden 4 meeting of the 1996 season in Oslo

Merlene Ottey lives in Monte Carlo and here she has several times shown that she is rather fast on a track.. Just before the World Championships in 1993 she had a fantastic evening in Monaco as she set stadium records over both 100 and 200 metres metres. Her runs in 10.90 and 21.77 seconds still counts as the second best sprint double ever (best ever is her own races in Zürich in 1990).

The socalled "Herculis Zepter Meeting" can be found at: http://ww.fma.mc

Merlene Ottey, Marion Jones and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor being honoured in Monaco, 1997

One of the cities that from 1998 hosts the IAAF Golden League is Rome. Earlier in her career Ottey has won the sprint races here four times. Furthermore she won two bronzemedals here at the 1987 IAAF World Championships.

http://www.fidal.it/goldengala/

Paris became part of the Golden League in 1999, where Merlene Ottey did not participate. But Ottey holds the 100 metre record at the Charlety Stadium with 10.78 seconds from the 1994 Grand Prix final.

Meeting de Paris