Stockholm, Sweden - Twelve world leaders will figure prominently in the last Super Grand Prix of the season, the DN Galan, at Stockholm’s Olympic Stadium on Friday (31).

The DN Galan is a Super Grand Prix status meeting as part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour 2009, and the final tour stop prior to the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics.

Gay vs Powell in sizzling 100m

Asafa Powell really enjoys competition in Stockholm, and he’ll be looking for his fourth consecutive victory. Usain Bolt’s only ever defeat in the 100m was afflicted by Powell in Stockholm one year ago when he dipped to beat his compatriot by a more 0.01 seconds. This time double World Champion Tyson Gay is the man to beat. The world leader hasn’t lost a 100 or 200m since the Olympics last year and impressed deeply with his 9.75w in Eugene and 9.77 in Rome in spite of the nagging groin pains he is troubled with. Eleven sprinters who have run below 10 seconds are included on start lists, such as Berlin-bound Churandy Martina of the Dutch Antilles and American Darvis Patton who were the two fastest in Tuesday’s Herculis Super Grand Prix in Monaco.

Felix, Ferguson and Stewart in the 200m

Reigning World Champion Allyson Felix faces world leader Debbie Ferguson and the Golden League jackpot contender Kerron Stewart in the 200m. The latter, the Olympic bronze medallist over the half lap, has successfully concentrated on the 100 this year and didn’t take part in the Jamaican Trials in the 200, so this is the only opportunity to see her clash with two of the brightest medal hopes for Berlin.

Borzakovskiy-Kaki rematch in the 800m

[Update 30-July, 12:30 CET: Abubaker Kaki will now be contesting the 1000m, not the 800m.]

Yuriy Borzakovskiy will have a quick occasion to avenge Tuesday’s loss to world leader Abubaker Kaki in the 800m. Monaco’s Stade Louis II was actually the first stadium to witness a duel over two laps between the two prominent 800m runners. The first battle was going to be at the Bislett Games, but at that time the World junior record holder fell to the ground with a major hamstring cramp. Last year in Stockholm Kaki had the better of “Borza” setting a new Stadium record in the 1000m, giving the young Sudanese his first diamond.

Crème de la crème in the men’s High Jump and women’s Long Jump

The bonus of a one-carat diamond to whoever beats a Stadium record at the 1912 Olympic Arena is a tradition that predates next year’s Diamond League. It will however be a tough task for the high jumpers, even though that competition offers the six best contenders of this year. There are still many in the audience who cherish the warm memory of Patrik Sjöberg’s 2.42 World record jump from 22 years ago. There are nevertheless several jumpers who will have a crack at the season’s world best of 2.35m. Ivan Ukhov and Yaroslav Rybakov cleared precisely that height at last week’s Russian Championships, and American Andra Manson did it back in April. They are opposed by Jesse Williams who has jumped at the least 2.30m nine times this year. Actually all but one of the competitors have season’s bests of no less than 2.31m.

The women’s Long Jump is also of extremely high level with five of 2009’s six best in place in Stockholm. World leader Brittney Reese of the USA, still the only one to have managed seven metres this season, is challenged by reigning World champion Tatyana Lebedeva and her compatriots Yelena Sokolova (who won the Russian national title) and Olga Kucherenko who has jumped 6.80m or better in eight competitions this year. They’ll be tangling with American Funmi Jimoh who has improved to 6.96m, the European Indoor Champion Ksenija Balta and newly crowned European Junior Champion Darya Klishina.

Lagat's final pre-Berlin test

In the men's 1000m, reigning double World champion Bernard Lagat will take his final pre-Berlin test after which he will likely decide if he will be defending both his 1500and 5000m titles. The field also includes Berlin-bound Canadian Nate Brannen.

The women's 1500m field includes one of this year's new members of the sub-four minute club, Christin Wurth-Thomas. The American, who finished second at the US championships last month, clocked 3:59.98 in Rome earlier this month, finishing second. The talented field also includes US champion Shannon Rowbury and Olympic silver medallist Iryna Lishchynska of Ukraine.

The women's 5000m will be lead by Ethiopian Sentayehu Ejigu who will contest the event at the World championships, while Americans will be keenly eying national steeplechase record holder Jenny Barringer who earlier this season also joined the sub-4 club after her 3:59.90 run at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.

McLellan and Robles lead sprint hurdles fields

Another contest full of talent is the 100m Hurdles with seven of the world’s top 10 in the field. Australia’s Sally McLellan comes to the Swedish capital fresh off her 12.50 victory in Monaco, in a new Area record. Fellow Olympic medallist Priscilla Lopes-Schliep was second in Monaco and will charge for a self confidence-boosting win ahead of the World Championships. World leading Lolo Jones was denied the possibility to compete in Berlin and should therefore be the most motivated to show her abilities. Jones won the A-race last year while Lopes-Schliep was even faster in the B-race, in a then personal record of 12.61, a first sign of what was to come in Beijing. There is one more previous DN Galan winner in the field, 2003 World champion Perdita Felicien, who was victorious in Stockholm in both 2004 and 2005. Her final metres at last week’s London Super Grand Prix were impressive and indicate she could be a challenger to recognize in Berlin.

Improved form is an understatement for Dayron Robles’ hurdling in Monaco. He battled the only considerable headwind of the tepid Monegasque summer evening, winning in 13.06. DN Galan may be the sight of this year’s first sub-13-second race. Last year the Cuban grabbed a diamond clocking 12.91.

Two other Olympic Champions who cannot be forgotten are Andreas Thorkildsen and Steve Hooker. The Norwegian will be confronted by the two Latvians who were his main contenders in the Olympic finals in Athens and Beijing, world leader Vadims Vasiljevskis and Ainars Kovals. Hooker wants to get even with Sweden’s Alhaji Jeng who won on a countback four years ago, the last time the men’s Pole Vault was contested at DN Galan.

The Stockholm Olympic Arena also provides this summer’s first showing outside Russia of the European Indoor Champion Antonina Krivoshapka. The quarter miler ran three striking races at the Russian Championships. Her semifinal 49.29 is only 0.06 seconds behind Sanya Richards’ world leading time. Olympic silver medallist Shericka Williams and World championships bronze medallist Novlene Williams-Mills are the prime contenders.

‘Big Shots’ take centre stage on Thursday at the Royal Garden

The competition in Stockholm begins one day ahead of the main programme with the DN Galan Big Shot in the Royal Garden of Kungsträdgården, next to the Royal Castle. The audience will be invited to have a try at the shot before the 2005 and 2007 World champions Adam Nelson and Reese Hoffa, and Olympic Champion Tomasz Majewski enter the ring.

Lorenzo Nesi for the IAAF