The Ponce Grand Prix de Atletismo is a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

competition held yearly in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

at the

Francisco Montaner Stadium The Estadio Francisco ("Paquito") Montaner (English: ''Francisco ("Paquito") Montaner Stadium'') is a multi-use stadium in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is home to the Leones de Ponce team of the Puerto Rico Baseball League (LBPPR) and FC Leones of ...

. The event started in 2007, after the successful hosting of the 2006 Ibero-American Championships.Robinson, Javier Clavelo (2012-05-13)
Culson runs world lead and Wilson surprises Robles and Richardson in Ponce – IAAF World Challenge
IAAF. Retrieved on 13 May 2012. It was considered among the most important athletic events in the Caribbean based on the competitive and organizational quality of the event. Starting with the 2012 season, the Ponce Grand Prix joined the

IAAF World Challenge The IAAF World Challenge was an annual, global circuit of one-day track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). First held in 2010, it replaced the IAAF Grand Prix and IAAF Super Grand Pri ...

competitions until 2015 and represented the only other city in

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

, outside

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, and

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

in the circuit. The event was relaunched in 2022 named Puerto Rico International Athletics Classic as part of the silver level scheduled

World Athletics Continental Tour The World Athletics Continental Tour is an annual series of independent track and field athletic competitions, recognised by World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF). The Tour forms the second tier of international one-day meetings after the ...

History

In early seasons the event was one of three competitions in the

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

- NACAC circuit beside the

Adidas Track Classic The Adidas Track Classic is an American track and field athletics meeting which has taken place annually in Carson, California since 2005. The meeting forms part of the USA Track & Field Visa Championship Series and is also one of the few area mee ...

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

, and the Jamaica Invitational in

, where competitors accumulated points in the IAAF rankings system.''Athletes Face Off in Porta Caribe at the 2008 Ponce Grand Prix.'' Let’sGoToPonce.
Retrieved 23 April 2010. The 2009 Ponce Grand Prix was witnessed live by some 9,000 fans at the

, plus hundreds of thousands more throughout

via satellite television. This edition was considered to have initiated “the greatest feat in Puerto Rican sports history”, as new records were established, and a local hero surfaced, Javier Culson, competing in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...

. ''Javier Culson: Más que preparado para el Grand Prix.'' By Carlos Uriarte González. Periodico La Perla del Sur. 23 April 2010.
/ref> He was later crowned Athlete of the Year in Puerto Rico. The relaunched 2022 edition saw eleven meet records fall with eight of them were Puerto Rican all-comers' records.

Meet records

Men

Women

References

External links

Puerto Rico International Athletics Classic official websitePonce Grand Prix de Atletismo archieved website
{{Coord, 18.002422, -66.631785, type:landmark, display=title Sports events in Ponce, Puerto Rico Athletics in Puerto Rico Recurring sporting events established in 2007 May sporting events Annual events in Puerto Rico 2007 establishments in Puerto Rico World Athletics Continental Tour meetings