David Oliver and Liu Xiang at the Samsung Diamond League press conference in Shanghai, 14 May (© Errol Anderson)
At last year’s Prefontaine Classic, David Oliver stormed to an American Record-equaling 12.90 in the 110m Hurdles, crushing a world-class field by over 2 ½ tenths. That continued a winning streak that lasted throughout 2010 and earned him the No. 1 ranking in the world from Track & Field News.
The streak lasted right up until the Shanghai Samsung Diamond League meet on May 15th, where he ran against comebacking Liu Xiang, the former World record holder, and had his wings clipped by the Chinese star, 13.07 to 13.18. The race caused a sensation in Liu’s hometown of Shanghai, where the race was run, and indeed, throughout China.
As for Oliver, he took the loss in stride and said candidly, “I wish I had the answer to why I underperformed tonight. I will just have to go away and train harder and be ready for my next major competition.”
Which just happens to be the 37th annual Prefontaine Classic this Saturday at Hayward Field, the 4th stop of the Samsung Diamond League circuit.
What a matchup: Xiang, the 2004 Olympic Champion and 2007 World Champion, hampered for the past three years by foot injuries that required surgery, but now on the comeback trail….versus….Oliver, the American Record holder, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist and undefeated in 15 races last year, with the 3rd fastest time ever run, 12.89.
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The latest updates to the Provisional entry lists (as at 2 June) are now available for the Samsung Diamond League meeting in Eugene, the fourth competition of the 14-meeting Samsung Diamond League series, set for Saturday, 4 June.
You can download the PROVISIONAL entry lists from the 'Related Content' section at the right of this page.
