1993 Track World Championships, Stuttgart
12 Legendary Performances Run on Rekortan
Rekortan has been part of Track’s biggest moments for more than 50 years and the 1993 IAAF Track World Championships is no exception. August 2023 will mark 30 years since Neckarstadium in Stuttgart, Germany, hosted the event. It was marked by legendary performances from some of the all-time greats of Athletics on a Rekortan track. Here are 12 Golden moments from that meet.
World Records Run on Rekortan
Three World Records were set at this storied meet, two of them in the hurdles;
1. Great Britain’s Colin Jackson (GBR) was victorious in the 110m Hurdles in a time of 12.91.
2. Sally Gunnell took gold in the Women’s 400m Hurdles in 52.74. Both athletes were crowned IAAF World Athletes of the Year with Gunnell also taking the female European Athlete of the Year crown that year.
Relay Magic on Rekortan
3. The USA’s relay teams never fail to dazzle and at Stuttgart, the men established a blistering World Record in the 4 x 400m relay in 2:54.29, ahead of Kenya and Germany, both over five seconds behind the winning time.
4. The US men won Gold in the 4 x 100m relay in 37.48 which, 30 years on, is still the 11th fastest 100m men’s relay of all time.
“Linford Christie GBR took Gold in the Men’s 100m in 9.87 – the fastest time recorded that year and a performance which earnt him male European Athlete of the Year.”
Legendary Performances over 100m, 200m, 400m and 10,000m
5. Linford Christie GBR took Gold in the Men’s 100m in 9.87 – the fastest time recorded that year and a performance which earnt him male European Athlete of the Year.
6. Other standout performances witnessed at Neckarstadium came from Michael Johnson (USA) in the 400m which he ran in 43.65, a Championship Record.
7. Frankie Fredericks (NAM) won the Men’s 200m in 19.85 and Carl Lewis (USA) came in third in 19.99, to claim his first World Championship medal and the last major medal of his career
8. Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) was victorious over 10,000m in 27:46.02.
Devers v Ottey: A Nail-Biting Comeback
9. The Women’s races provided nail-biting finishes, such as the dead-heat photo finish between legendary sprinters Gail Devers (USA) and Merlene Ottey (JAM) in the Women’s 100m Final. Both clocked a time of 10.82 (the USA’s Gwen Torrance claimed bronze in a time of 10.89). The race capped a remarkable comeback for the American runner, who had been facing possible amputation of her feet after radiation treatment for Grave’s disease some years before.
10. Devers went on to win the 100m hurdles title at the Championships.
11. She was also part of another dead-heat finish, this time with the US team in the Women’s 4 x 100m Relay, coming up against gold-medal winners Russia in 41.49 (the fourth-fastest time ever for this event).
The last ever 3,000m race at a World Champs was run on Rekortan
12. China took all three podium spots in the 3,000m with the winning time of 8:28.71 marking a World Championship Record. This record was never contested again as the event was replaced by the 5,000m at subsequent Championships, but it did mark the first appearance at a World Championships for Paula Radcliffe (GBR), who finished 7th in a time of 8:40.40. It was the end of one race, but the start of an incredible long-distance career for the young British athlete.