Swiss athletics fans will be enjoying an action-packed summer this year. Eleven days after the European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014 (12 – 17 August), Letzigrund Stadium will be the venue for yet another highlight of the season: Weltklasse Zürich 2014 (28 August). The traditional gathering of the world’s athletics superstars will once again feature Usain Bolt. The fastest man of the world has already confirmed his appearance at the IAAF Diamond League final event. “I always look forward to running in Zurich,” said the six-time Olympic champion and triple world record holder. “The event is always extremely well organised. The atmosphere at Letzigrund Stadium is unique, and the crowd is world-class.” Bolt will run for the seventh time in Zürich and again lead a field of the world’s best athletes.
A new surface for the track at Letzigrund Stadium
For all track athletes competing at Weltklasse Zürich this year, the organisers have great news, a new top-performance track surface. The renowned Swiss company CONICA has developed a solution system that is designed to help athletes run even faster times. The existing track will not be replaced but retopped with a new surface. Extensive tests conducted by the Institute of Biomechanics and Orthopaedics of the German Sport University Cologne have confirmed the benefits of the new system. „The new surface provides athletes with better stability of the big toes, ankles, and in particular of their knees. This effect results in a smaller loss of energy in these joints, and therefore in less oscillation of the body’s centre of gravity. The new surface of the track therefore creates even better conditions for fast times,” explained Professor Gert-Peter Brüggemann, who led the studies. Jürgen Widler, Head of Technology at CONICA, is justifiably proud of the company’s new product: “We are convinced that we managed to launch a new generation of artificial surfaces with this solution system.”
Early Renovation
The new surface will be installed as of 12 June. The cost of CHF 800 000.00 will be paid by the City of Zurich, the owner of Letzigrund Stadium. „We would like Letzigrund Stadium to be ready for the series of athletics highlights of this summer,“ said City Councillor and Head of the Department of School and Sport Gerold Lauber. The track is due to be renovated in two or three years in any case. “But as we will have both the European Athletics Championships Zürich 2014 and Weltklasse Zürich at the stadium this year, we think it’s worthwhile bringing the track into shape a little earlier than initially planned,“ Lauber explained.
Meeting Director looking forward to another world-class feature for Weltklasse Zürich
Patrick Magyar, Weltklasse Zürich Meeting Director is optimistic that the new track surface will indeed help stage an even more thrilling IAAF Diamond League final event. “We have had the best line-up in the world for eleven years in a row. The new surface is another big step in the meeting’s constant efforts to create the best possible conditions for the best athletes in the world.”
12 May, 2014
