Donations of artefacts from current world record-holders Mondo Duplantis, Mary Keitany and Gudaf Tsegay highlight today’s opening of the Indoor Athletics and Out of Stadia Collections room in the 3D virtual Museum of World Athletics (MOWA).

The new gallery in MOWA, the world’s first online fully virtual sports museum, has been created with two distinct spaces. One half of the room is designed to reflect the theatre-like drama of an indoor athletics arena. The other brings the outdoors inside MOWA, with multi-terrain natural elements of cross country courses, and the tarmac routes of athletics’ road events

The new displays in glorious 360˚ 3D – supported by text in English, French and Spanish languages, and illustrated by stunning photographs and videos – celebrate the history of indoor athletics, cross country, road running and race walking, dating back to the early 1800s.

28 global champions representing 17 countries

Highlighting the new additions to the World Athletics Heritage Collection are recent donations from three world record-holders.

Sweden’s high-flying Mondo Duplantis has donated the pair of pastel-yellow spikes which he wore when soaring to the current 6.18m world pole vault record indoors in Glasgow, UK, on 15 February 2020. 

Kenya’s Mary Keitany, the world marathon record-holder (women-only race), who retired this year, has provided the singlet, shorts and shoes in which she ran 2:22:48 to win her fourth New York City Marathon title on 4 November 2018.

Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia has gifted the collection the pair of spikes she wore when taking more than two seconds off the world indoor 1500m record of 3:55.17 in Lievin, France, on 9 February 2021.

In total, new artefacts from 28 global champions and/or world record-breakers, representing 17 countries from across all six continental areas, are entering MOWA today (all athletes and countries are listed below).

World Athletics Heritage Plaques awarded

To mark the opening of the new gallery, seven World Athletics Heritage Plaques have also been announced. The recipients in Asia, Europe, NACAC and South America have been honoured across three plaque categories: Competition, Culture and Legend. 

Competition: Enschede Marathon; New York City Marathon; Thames Hare & Hounds.

Culture: Galeria Olimpica RGM; L’Equipe; Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt. 

Legend: Mikio Oda (JPN).

Click here to read the full announcement.

Athletics artefacts entering MOWA today

The new athletes and artefacts joining the displays across MOWA for the first time today include:

1890s – Montevideo Athletic Sports (URU) programme 1898.
1910s – South American Athletics Championships (URU) medal 1919.
1960s – Jim Beatty (USA) spike, right shoe 1962. 
1970s – Jacqueline Hansen (USA) shoes 1975; Eamonn Coghlan (IRL) spikes 1979.
1980s – Eamonn Coghlan (IRL) Wanamaker Mile trophy 1983; Wendy Sly (GBR) singlet 1983 & blazer 1984; Jon Ridgeon (GBR) medal 1985. 
1990s – Jonathan Edwards (GBR) number 1995; Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) singlet 1995; Stefka Kostadinova (BUL) number 1995; Jan Zelezny (CZE) number 1995; Stacy Dragila (USA) singlet 1997; Paul Tergat (KEN) singlet 1997; Ana Quirot (CUB) number 1997; Sonia O’Sullivan (IRL) spikes 1998; Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) number 1999.
2000s – Hailu Mekonnen (ETH) number 2000; Gabriela Szabo (ROU) number 2001; Jonathan Edwards (GBR) singlet 2001; Gail Devers (USA) singlet and spikes 2004; Jason Gardener (GBR) spikes 2004; Christian Olsson (SWE) singlet 2003 and spikes 2004; Maria Mutola (MOZ) singlet 2004.
2010s – Sally Pearson (AUS) singlet and spikes (2014); Ryan Whiting (USA) singlet 2014; Jakub Holusa (CZE) spikes 2015; Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN) singlet 2016; Ashton Eaton (USA) singlet 2016; Mary Keitany (KEN) singlet and shoes 2018; Neeraj Chopra (IND) number 2018; Tom Walsh (NZL) shot 2018.
2020s – Mondo Duplantis (SWE) spikes 2020; Gudaf Tsegay (ETH) spikes 2021; Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) singlet 2021; Shrewsbury School (GBR) singlet; Thames Hare & Hounds (GBR) singlet.

Donations in detail

Today, and in the coming weeks, we will focus in greater detail on the careers of many of the outstanding retired champions and record-breakers who have recently made donations to our Indoor Athletics and Out of Stadia Collections.

Click here to read a feature on Gail Devers (USA) and here to read a feature on Sally Pearson (AUS).

The World Athletics Heritage Collection and the Museum of World Athletics thank all athletes for their generous donations.

Chris Turner for World Athletics Heritage

 

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