Two new locations added to this year’s calendar alongside more traditional events in Hengelo, Székesfehérvár and Ostrava
New York and Bermuda have been added to the Continental Tour Gold for 2022 as athletics takes a more global approach outside of the more established European meets.
This year’s calendar will see 12 different Gold events – starting in Bermuda on May 9 and ending in Zagreb on September 11 – as well as more than 140 Silver, Bronze and Challengers.
The idea is to provide a structural ladder in the sport where athletes partake in the various level of meets depending on their ability and status within the sport.
The BDA National Sports Centre, which has a capacity of approximately 4000, will host the first Gold meet of the year while the 5000-seater Ichat Stadium – host of Diamond Leagues before 2016 – will welcome athletes in New York on June 12.
9 APR ?? Bermuda ?
16 APR ?? Mt Sac
7 MAY ?? Nairobi
8 MAY ?? Tokyo
31 MAY ?? Ostrava
3 JUN ?? Bydgoszcz
6 JUN ?? Hengelo
12 JUN ?? New York ?
14 JUN ?? Turku
8 AUG ?? Székesfehérvár
4 SEP ?? Silesia
11 SEP ?? ZagrebTwo new #ContinentalTourGold meetings for 2022 ?
— Continental Tour Gold (@ContiTourGold) March 23, 2022
Seven of the Gold events will take place in Europe, three will be in North America and the Caribbean and there is one each in Africa and Asia.
In 2021, 6682 athletes from 147 countries competed in the Continental Tour, one which included two world records, 12 area records, 99 national records and 1377 personal bests across the 69 meetings.
The two world records were set by Sifan Hassan in the 10,000m at FBK Games in Hengelo (June 6) and by Francine Niyonsaba (September 14) over 2000m in Zagreb.
Double Olympic and world champion Hassan had eclipsed Olympic and double world champion Almaz Ayana’s 29:17.45 – set at Rio 2016 – in the Netherlands, before current world 10,000m record holder Letesenbet Gidey bettered Hassan’s mark on the same track just two days later with 29:01.03.
READ MORE: Gidey breaks world record
Olympic and world silver 800m silver medallist Niyonsaba bettered the previous world record of 5:23.75, set indoors by Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba in 2017.
Full Continental Tour Gold Tour 2022
April 9 – USATF Bermuda Games, Devonshire (BER)
April 16 – Golden Games, Mt SAC (USA)
May 7 – Kip Keino Classic, Nairobi (KEN)
May 8 – Seiko Golden Grand Prix, Tokyo (JPN)
May 31 – Ostrava Golden Spike, Ostrava (CZE)
June 3 – Irena Szewinska Memorial, Bydgoszcz (POL)
June 6 – FBK Games, Hengelo (NED)
June 12 – New York Grand Prix, New York (USA)
June 114 – Paavo Nurmi Games, Turku (FIN)
August 8 – Gyulai Istvan Memorial, Szekesfehervar (HUN)
September 4 – Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, Silesia (POL)
September 11 – Memorial Borisa Hanzekovica, Zagreb (CRO)