The Golden Gala is the most important international athletics meeting in Italy and one of the most awaited events among the sports’events in Rome. The Golden Gala was born in 1980 thanks to the intuition of Primo Nebiolo, then the FIDAL President, who realized how Rome could become the stage for spectacular clashes in the year of the boycott of many countries at the Olympic Games in Moscow and give the chance of a re-match to those athletes who could not take part in the Olympic Games. That night the stars were Pietro Mennea and Sara Simeoni, but above all there were 60000 spectators who packed the Olympic Stadium.

All athletics stars of the last three decades have competed at the Rome Olympic Stadium and historic pages of world athletics have been written, like the magic night of pole vault in 1984 when Sergey Bubka (USSR) and Thierry Vigneron (Fra) engaged a memorable clash in which both set world records in their rise to the sky, until the star from the former Soviet Union vaulted 5.94 before attempting the 6 metres barrier which he would have broken later in his career

The Golden Gala has produced many other world records. In 1987 Moroccan Said Aouita broke the historic 13 minutes barrier in the 5000 metres clocking 12:58.39. This has been the first of many times under the 13 minutes barrier, which have have made the Rome track  the venue with the highest number of sub-13 minutes performances in the world. In 1995 the 5000 metres race produced another world record set by Kenyan Moses Kiptanui, a great 3000 metres steeplechase star who clocked a fabulous 12:55.30 in a rare appearance over the flat distance.

The great middle-distance star Hicham El Guerrouj set two world records in Rome. In 1998 the Moroccan star set a fabulous world record in the 1500 metres with 3:26.00 which is still unbeaten. The following year the runner from Maghreb improved the Mile world record to 3:43.13 when he was pushed to the limit by his young Kenyan rival Ngeny. The last world record in chronological order was set in 2008 when pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva vaulted 5.03 setting one of her many records.

Since 2013, the meeting was dedicated to the Olympic champion and former world record holder of the 200 meters Pietro Mennea, who died in March of that year .

The meeting records
The fabulous tradition of the Golden Gala has been also built on the great performances achieved by the stars who highlighted every edition. From sprint to middle-distance races, from jump events to throws all disciplines have produced prestigious results which contributed to make the history of the meeting over the years. Here follow the meeting records updated to 2nd June 2023.

Men

Women

The World Record at the Golden Gala

Golden Gala also means world records. Over the years the meeting has been the perfect stage for great athletics stars to break world records. Among the stand-out records there are the world record clash between Bubka and Vigneron in the pole vault, the first sub-13 minutes race for Said Aouita in the 5000 metres, but also the feats of El Guerrouj and Kiptanui in middle distance races and Hattestad in the women’s javelin. Always the excitement to experience history for the Rome’s crowd. Here follows the list with all world records set during the 33-year-old history of the Golden Gala.

PV  Thierry Vigneron   (FRA) 5.83  01/09/1983
PV  Thierry Vigneron   (FRA) 5.91  31/08/1984
PV  Sergey Bubka         (URS) 5.94  31/08/1984
5000       Said Aouita       (MAR) 12:58.39 22/07/1987
5000       Moses Kiptanui  (KEN) 12:55.30 08/06/1995
1500       Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)  3:26.00 14/07/1998
Mile Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR)  3:43.13 07/07/1999
JT Trine Hattestad (NOR) 68.22  30/06/2000
PV  Yelena Isinbayeva  (RUS)  5.03  11/07/2008
PV Armand Duplantis (SWE) 6,15 17/09/2020 (Best outdoor performance)
1500 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) 3:49.11 02/06/2023