GERMAN MEETINGS – BERLIN – ISTAF BERLIN – The History of ISTAF – First organized on March 23rd 1937

ISTAF Berlin is one of the most popular athletic festivals in the world, and one of the most steeped in tradition. Since the very first ISTAF in Berlin, spectators have been treated to personal best performances and numerous records.

First organized by Berlin's three preeminent athletics associations, the BSC, SCC, and the swimming club Poseidon, the meeting received its current name, when, on March 23rd 1937, the Berliner Sport-Club (BSC), the Deutsche Sport-Club (DSC, later renamed into OSC), and the Sport-Club Charlottenburg (SCC) joined in staging the ISTAF to avoid conflicting meeting dates.

Tonique Williams-Darling and Christian Olsson with "their" jackpot at ISTAF 2004

 

70th Birthday of the ISTAF

On August 1st 1937, thanks to the preceding Olympic Games at Berlin, the ISTAF saw its first major success, when two world and one European record could be seen live by an audience of 85,000. Since then, there have been 61 other Internationale Stadionfeste, some which were also staged at the famous Deutschlandhalle.

The ISTAF was organized annually – and almost uninterrupted. In 1940, as well as between 1943 and 1948, the meeting was cancelled, due to the harsh war and post war conditions in Germany.

Later, it was only cancelled in 1950 and 1951 (due to Germany's economic recovery), and in 1972 and 1973 as a result of the attack on the Israel Olympic team in Munich.

 

Maurice Green thanks the spectators in the stadium for their support, ISTAF 2003

 

Dwight Thomas in Siegerpose beim ISTAF 2005

 

Heike Drechsler at one of the last official jumps of her career, 2004

Since then, despite strong competition, the meeting has been established among the world's leading meetings. With the introduction of the IAAF Grand Pric in 1985, athletes can win qualifying points for the Grand Prix at the ISTAF Berlin; in 1988, the ISTAF also served as the IAAF Mobil Grand Prix Finale.

The ISTAF and its former partner UFA (1990-1997) also played a crucial part in founding and establishing the Golden Four Series (1993-1997). The Golden Four Finale was staged four times in Berlin. Between 1998 and 2002, the ISTAF was the final station of the Golden League, a new series of the world' s six leading meetings, founded by the IAAF.

 

Isabellah Ochichi leads the 5000m race on the highest level, 2004

 

Sanya Richards, 2007

 

the jackpot: 1 million US$

Due to a considerable reconstruction works at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, which is the traditional location for ISTAF, the event took place at Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahnsportpark in 2002 and 2003.

In 2004 the great finale of the Golden League series became a triumphal return to its original location, that is now equipped with an unique blue track.

The 69th Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) also benefited from the high spirits surrounding the World Championships of the previous year and the success of German athletes at the 2010 European Championships.

For the first time in its history the ISTAF was included in the calendar of the IAAF World Challenge, the second highest category of athletics events after the Diamond League. 46,512 spectators watched Kenya's David Rudisha set a new world record of 1:41:09 over 800 metres, saw the Ethiopian Tariku Bekele run the quickest 3,000 metres of that year and witnessed five German victories from a total of 17 disciplines.

With the sponsorship contract with the Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB) having run its course, the energy supplier Vattenfall took over as the new and powerful sponsor. The event had a new, first-time organiser, the Berlin Athletics Association, who engaged the TOP Sportmarketing GmbH agency to produce and market the athletics meeting.

In 2011, the ISTAF celebrated its 90th birthday together with ten current world champions and four world record holders and more than 50,000 spectators.

The 71st edition of the ISTAF will take place on the 2nd of September 2012 in the Berlin Olympic Stadium.