[3] 1997 marked the first time that South Africa, or any African country, has hosted a Championships in this series.

[4]: 54 Other African countries that were represented for the first time were  Botswana,  Ivory Coast,  Morocco,  Zambia, and  Zimbabwe.

[citation needed] The governing body of this series is World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA).

[8] [4]: 56 This Championships was organized by WAVA in coordination with a Local Organising Committee (LOC) led by Monty Hacker, Harry Naidu, and Linda Barron.

Among the notable performances, Phil Raschker set 7 W50 world records, [6]: 20 [14]: 188 [4]: 54 and the blind athlete Ivy Granstrom, who ran with a wrist tether attached to her guide, set 4 W85 world records.