BBC SPORT | Special Events | 2001 | World Athletics

Edmonton has made its wealth on the back of the oil industry.

But for 10 days in August, gold will replace the black stuff as the most coveted object in Alberta's provincial capital.

The International Amateur Athletic Federation is taking its biennial celebration of track and field to Canada's fifth city, and the quest for gold will rekindle images of Edmonton 1897.

Stories of untold wealth in the Yukon led to the Klondike gold rush, but it was a bogus trail and those who gave up the chase and returned to Edmonton became the city's forefathers.

Canada's Simon Whitfield in the Triathlon
Canada's Simon Whitfield in triathlon action
In late July Edmonton still celebrates the Klondike gold rush and this year the festivities will continue through to the IAAF World Championships.

The 2001 World Championships will be the first to be held in North America, and at first glance Edmonton may seem a strange destination.

But the city has a rich sporting tradition.

At an international level it has hosted the 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 1983 World University Games, the 1996 World Figure Skating Championships and, most recently, the World Triathlon Championships in July this year.

At a national level it has hosted a range of events and is home to baseball's Trappers, Canadian football's Eskimos and ice hockey's Oilers.

Ice hockey is the predominant sport in Canada and in Edmonton it is the Oilers who help bridge the sporting and cultural divide by practising on the ice in the city's major attraction - the West Edmonton Mall.

A shopping mall may not have the romance and history of some of the iconic attractions around the world, but in Edmonton the local mall just happens to be the largest in the world.

Tommy Salo of the Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers are the major sporting attraction in Edmonton
Covering an area of over 48 hectares it is a self-contained city housing over 800 shops and a host of facilities as well as a full size ice rink.

An amusement park, a life sized replica of a Spanish galleon, a mini-golf course, a sea world with dolphin shows, and a water world with the the world's largest indoor wave pool, the opportunity to surf and bungee-jump are just some of pursuits open to locals under the roof of the mall.

The Space and Science Centre, which includes the largest planetarium in Canada, is Edmonton's other major attraction, but by no means its last.

The Muttart Conservatory, which is made up of five glass pyramids, houses flora and fauna from around the world.

The historic area of Old Strathcona and the Provincial Museum both offer a glimpse into Canada's past.

For 10 days in August the gold rush at the Commonwealth Stadium will remind locals of another part of their past as well.


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