• Eight of the world’s top athletics nations will battle for The Platinum Trophy and Platinum Team Medals at the inaugural Athletics World Cup
• Inaugural event to feature the world’s top eight track and field nations at the London Stadium
• Tickets on public sale now via athleticsworldcup.org

Sporting history is to be made this summer as the winning country at July’s inaugural Athletics World Cup will be presented with what is believed to be the most valuable global sporting trophy ever made.

Costing over a quarter of a million US dollars, The Platinum Trophy will be revealed ahead of the event and is expected to become one of the world’s most coveted sporting awards alongside the $2m prize pot on offer.

While the true value lies in winning the Athletics World Cup and lifting The Platinum Trophy, platinum’s status as the most precious metal, 30 times rarer than gold, sees the trophy surpass the likes of the FIFA World Cup, The Masters and the Stanley Cup when it comes to its precious material value.

Alongside the trophy being presented to the inaugural winning nation, the top three competitors in each individual event will be rewarded with traditional gold, silver and bronze medals. Only the champions representing the winning nation, however, will receive the ultimate rewards in the form of Platinum Team Medals, which, like the trophy, are also made from solid platinum.

The first championships of its kind, the Athletics World Cup sees the world’s top eight athletics nations – USA, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Poland, China, Germany, France, Jamaica and South Africa – compete in track and field events up to and including 1500m, with tickets for the event at the London Stadium going on public sale today.

Just one man and one women from each nation will compete in each event, in an all-straight final format, with the competition taking place under floodlights on the evenings of Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 July.

World 4x100m gold medallist and 2014 200m European champion, Adam Gemili said:

“Having the first ever Athletics World Cup in London is really exciting and something that I know many athletes will be looking forward to. With only one place per event for each country, there’ll be some great battles for qualification at The British Championships next month.”

“Representing Great Britain is always a huge honour, especially on home soil, so having this new global event launch here in London with such amazing awards is brilliant, and I’m sure that both nights of competition will be fantastic.

Chief Executive of the Athletics World Cup and UK Athletics, Niels de Vos said:

“The first ever global sporting Platinum Trophy and Platinum Team Medals at the Athletics World Cup will reflect the prestige and innovation of this new global athletics event, at the world’s best stadium for track and field.”

“The Athletics World Cup is all about the highest level of team competition, between the world’s top athletics nations. To celebrate this, we wanted to create exceptional awards that are unlike any existing rewards. By using the world’s most precious metal, platinum, we have created a unique edge to the event, which is sure to excite athletes across the world.”

The Platinum Trophy and Platinum Medals have been supplied to the Athletics World Cup by the World Platinum Investment Council, a global market authority on physical platinum investment.

Chief Executive of the World Platinum Investment Council, Paul Wilson said:

“Platinum is one of the Earth’s rarest and most sought-after precious metals. Therefore, it’s a natural choice for recognising the pinnacle of athletic achievement. This historic event is the first chance for platinum to be seen in this context. We’re thrilled to support UK Athletics by providing the competition’s platinum awards.“

The Athletics World Cup follows on from the success of London 2017 which saw the capital become the first city ever to stage both the World Para Athletics and IAAF World Athletics Championships in the same year.

To mark 100 years since women were given the right to vote, and as part of the Mayor of London’s #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign, the first edition of the event will see all Nations select a female athlete as team captain.

Tickets for the Athletics World Cup London 2018 are on sale now at www.athleticsworldcup.org