International Athletics Association

The International Athletics Association (ITA) was formed in 1972 after the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich . ITA brought professionalism, defined as "athletes who earn revenue from their sports activities." The goal of ITA was to hold a series of meetings with the participation of about 50 of the best athletes, similar to those that exist in golf and tennis. The competition was originally planned only in the USA and Canada, but in the future it was planned to expand ITA's activities in Europe and the Far East. ^[one]

Before the ITA was established, athletes were amateur athletes, as required by the Olympic ideals of the time. ^[2] The only income they received from their sport was “under the table”. As a result, the careers of many American athletes were often interrupted shortly after the subsidies for their participation in college competitions ended, while East Block athletes and other international athletes usually continued their careers, allegedly serving in the army or police.

Long-term pressure from athletes required an answer. discussed this topic in an article on the cover of “Take the Money and Run” in November 1971. ^[3]

The ITA was the brainchild of former Los Angeles volleyball player Michael O'Hara, who already had experience creating new leagues in basketball and ice hockey (the American Basketball Association and the World Hockey Association, respectively) that competed with existing leagues. ^[four]

ITA officially launched on October 25, 1972. It was immediately hostile to the then governing body of the US Athletics . AAU disqualified all athletes and officials who participated in ITA competitions, and put pressure on television companies not to broadcast ITA meetings. Athletes were also banned from competing in any Olympic Games .

To help protect athletes from AAU sanctions, should the company fail, O'Hara placed special reservations on their contracts. ^[four]

O'Hara, for his part, tried to smooth relations with AAU, avoiding conflicts in the competition calendar and promising not to attract college athletes. ^[four]

ITA has attracted many of the top athletes of the time, including: ^[5]

• Jim Ryan , 1,500 m / mile, who was also a publicist;
• Bob Sigren , pole vault;
• Lee Evans , 400 m;
• Larry James , 400 m;
• Brian Oldfield , shot put;
• Kip Keino (1972-1974), 1,500 m / mile;
• Ben Gippcho (since 1974), 1,500 m / mile; ^[6]
• , an endurance runner who performed as master of ceremonies in competitions.

Other Athletes

• Jim hines
• Vincent Matthews
• Robert Beamon
• Barbara Ferrell
• Wyomia Tayes (1972-1974)

The first ITA competitions were successfully held on March 3, 1973 at the indoor arena by . Three world records for premises were exceeded:

• 100 m Warren Edmonson;
• 600 m Lee Evans;
• High jump .

It should be noted that these records, like all those shown by ITA athletes, will never be recognized as world records by the IAAF , the world governing body of athletics, as they were achieved by professional athletes in competitions that it did not authorize. ^[4] ITA was attractive to athletes not only with a prize pool, but also with the freedom to realize other commercial opportunities, for example, with advertising that was forbidden to them while they were amateurs.

During its existence, ITA has held many high-level competitions. 34 world records were exceeded. Of particular note are Brian Oldfield's shot put shots for indoor and stadiums. The record for the premises was shown on April 4, 1975 in Daily City (California) . Oldfield pushed the core at 22.1107 m. At the stadium on May 10 of that year in El Paso (Texas), Oldfield reached 22.86 m. In another attempt, 22.25 m. ^[7] The official world record at that time was 21 , 85 m ( Terry Albritton ). ^[8] This result was selected by Track and Field News as the best single achievement of 1975. Other world records included John Radetich's high jumps and pole vault. However, in addition to high-quality competitions, there were also lower level competitions than amateur competitions of that time. ^[9]

Non-standard competitions were also frequent. For example, Brian Oldfield ran against women sprinters with a distance of more than 30 meters. In the short run, this attracted spectators, but in the long run damaged the credibility of ITA. The lack of women and women's competitions in general also hurt ITA. Due to this lack of competition, Wyomiya Thyes , who was unbeatable in the 1974 season, left ITA. ^[four]

ITA viewers were promised the resumption of previously known rivalry, which would lead to new records. The rivalry between Bob Sigren and in pole vaults was further enhanced their well-known personal animosity. Jim Ryan vs. Kip Keino at 1,500 m / mile was another such rivalry, although in this case it was limited exclusively to sports. ^[10] However, Ryan’s injury and lack of form and Kaino’s departure from the ITA in 1974 meant that Ben Gippcho would dominate these distances. This, unfortunately, has become typical for many other species, where competition was even less.

During its existence, ITA has successfully held 51 competitions. They were watched by 500,000 viewers and 300 million viewers. However, the ITA suffered from organizational difficulties, as well as from the uneven participation of its stellar athletes. ^[eleven]

Ultimately, ITA was not able to attract enough television money, and the money received from the sale of tickets was not enough to maintain it. Television companies have been reluctant to support ITA because of their reluctance to offend AAU and hurt US chances at the next Olympics. ^[four]

The death knell sounded at the end of 1976 when, after the Olympics in Montreal, O'Hara was unable to attract new stars. A special blow was that it was not possible to attract three New Zealand middle- aged stars John Walker , Dick Quax and Rod Dickson . ^[12] Negotiations with John Akia-Bois , to whom the O'Hara emissaries offered $ 1,000,000, dragged on. Philbert Baye flatly refused.

Athletes were less and less willing to become professionals when it became clear that they often could earn more “under the table” by competing in so-called amateur starts than they could get openly at ITA starts. For example, the high jumper quotes, explaining why he would not sign a contract with ITA: “Why cut your salary?” ^[13]

The last ITA competition was on August 25, 1976 in Gresham, Oregon . The final three competitions of the 1976 season were canceled.

Shortly before, a similar speed skating circus went out, in which Ard Schenk and Case Ferkerk participated.

The ITA’s main legacy was the empowerment it gave athletes to challenge existing . This shaped the movement, which ultimately allowed athletes to get paid for their sports activities.

Many of the ideas of ITA were perceived as quirky at one time, but now they are applied, for example, in the IAAF Diamond League and include such innovations as cash prizes and points system during the season.

After the end of the ITA, many participating athletes sued to regain their “amateur” status in order to continue their participation in the sport. After 1988, the IOC voted to allow athletes to receive money for their efforts, ending the amateur restriction on participation in the Olympic Games. ^[2]

• S. Bliznyuk, editor of the international department of the newspaper " Soviet Sport " . Who called them losers? // Athletics: Journal. - M. , 1973. - No. 2 . - S. 26-28 .
• B. Bukhovtsev. End of performance // Athletics: Journal. - M. , 1977. - No. 5 . - S. 28-29 .