Usain Bolt's final surge secures victory in Rome (© Giancarlo Colombo)
Rome, ItalySeveral dozen leading stars of this year’s Compeed Golden Gala, the third leg of the 2012 Samsung Diamond League series set for 31 May, were unveiled in Rome today.
Usain Bolt, the triple Olympic champion and World record holder in the 100 and 200m and the 4x100 Relay and reigning 200m and 4x100m Relay World champion, will be in the spotlight again one year after his first ever appearance on Italian soil.
Bolt, Powell and Lemaitre rematch
In 2011 Bolt grabbed the headlines at the historic Olympic Stadium when he edged out his compatriot and former 100m World record holder Asafa Powell and triple European sprint champion Christophe Lemaitre to win in 9.91. Powell finished second in 9.93 ahead of Lemaitre, third in 10.00. The Jamaican superstar fulfilled his promise to return to the Eternal City this year and the clash between Bolt, Powell and Lemaitre will be renewed this year.
Last year Bolt helped attract more than 47,000 spectators and the hope of the Golden Gala organisers is to break the attendance record this year.
The star-studded 100m race will certainly headline this year’s edition but will not be the only attraction of the 32nd edition of the major Italian athletics meeting.
More than 60 names were announced at today's press conference. Most of the competitions feature the reigning Olympic champion or the World champion, indoors or outdoors. It will be one of the first big tests for most of the athletes in the build-up to the European Championships in Helsinki and the Olympic Games in London.
Cheruiyot vs Defar at 5000m, red-hot women’s 800m
Middle distance races have always produced fast times and exciting competitions and this year it will not be no exception. The stand-out name in the women’s 5000m will be the 5000m and 10,000m World champion Vivian Cheruiyot who won the first two editions of the Diamond Race in the 5000m. The Kenyan 5000m record holder will take on former Olympic champion and former World record holder Meseret Defar from Ethiopia and double world silver medallist Sylvia Kibet.
South Africa’s 2009 World 800m champion Caster Semenya, who has already made her season’s debut running 1:59.58 on home soil, will make her debut in Rome in a high-quality 800m contest which features Daegu 2011 World champion Maria Savinova from Russia, reigning Olympic champion and Istanbul 2012 World Indoor champion Pamela Jelimo from Kenya and 2007 World champion Janet Jepkosgei, also from Kenya.
Greene and Demus in the 400m Hurdles
The Golden Gala features a long list of 2011 World champions. The top names who have confirmed their participation are Great Britain’s 400m Hurdles World, European and Commonwealth champion David Greene who will face 2005 World champion Bershawn Jackson.
In the women’s 400m Hurdles, World champion and US record holder Lashinda Demus goes against 2010 and 2011 Diamond League winner Kaliese Spencer and Olympic champion Melaine Walker from Jamaica.
In the Discus Throw two-time defending World champion Robert Harting from Germany will head a superb competition with Olympic champion Gerd Kanter from Estonia and European champion Piotr Malachowski.
In the women’s Shot Put World and Olympic champion Valerie Adams from New Zealand meets up against her arch-rival Nadezhda Ostapchuk from Belarus while Russian World champion Mariya Abakumova will take on last year’s Diamond League winner Christina Obergfoll from Germany in the women’s javelin throw.
Relay qualification opportunities
The press conference was attended by Daegu 100 metres finalist Ivet Lalova from Bulgaria and 4x100m Relay European silver medallist Simone Collio. Lalova, who has been training for two years in Rieti with her boyfriend Collio under the guidance of Roberto Bonomi, will line up in the women’s 100m in Rome on 31 May against top Jamaican sprinters Shelly Ann Fraser, Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson.
The meeting will end with 4x100m and 4x400m Relays which will offer the chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in London where only the best 16 teams of the ranking will be entered. Italy will take on Great Britain, Canada, The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland in the 4x100.
The 4x400 relay will feature Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, South Africa, The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.
Organisers for the IAAF
Samsung Diamond League - 2012 Calendar
Doha, QAT - 11 May
Shanghai, CHN - 19 May
Rome, ITA - 31 May
Eugene, USA - 2 June
Oslo, NOR - 7 June
New York, USA - 9 June
Paris, FRA - 6 July
London, GBR - 13 / 14 July
Monaco, MON - 20 July
Stockholm, SWE - 17 August
Lausanne, SUI - 23 August
Birmingham, GBR - 26 August
Zurich, SUI - 30 August
Brussels, BEL - 7 September
Click here for the Samsung Diamond League website
Usain Bolt, the triple Olympic champion and World record holder in the 100 and 200m and the 4x100 Relay and reigning 200m and 4x100m Relay World champion, will be in the spotlight again one year after his first ever appearance on Italian soil.
Bolt, Powell and Lemaitre rematch
In 2011 Bolt grabbed the headlines at the historic Olympic Stadium when he edged out his compatriot and former 100m World record holder Asafa Powell and triple European sprint champion Christophe Lemaitre to win in 9.91. Powell finished second in 9.93 ahead of Lemaitre, third in 10.00. The Jamaican superstar fulfilled his promise to return to the Eternal City this year and the clash between Bolt, Powell and Lemaitre will be renewed this year.
Last year Bolt helped attract more than 47,000 spectators and the hope of the Golden Gala organisers is to break the attendance record this year.
The star-studded 100m race will certainly headline this year’s edition but will not be the only attraction of the 32nd edition of the major Italian athletics meeting.
More than 60 names were announced at today's press conference. Most of the competitions feature the reigning Olympic champion or the World champion, indoors or outdoors. It will be one of the first big tests for most of the athletes in the build-up to the European Championships in Helsinki and the Olympic Games in London.
Cheruiyot vs Defar at 5000m, red-hot women’s 800m
Middle distance races have always produced fast times and exciting competitions and this year it will not be no exception. The stand-out name in the women’s 5000m will be the 5000m and 10,000m World champion Vivian Cheruiyot who won the first two editions of the Diamond Race in the 5000m. The Kenyan 5000m record holder will take on former Olympic champion and former World record holder Meseret Defar from Ethiopia and double world silver medallist Sylvia Kibet.
South Africa’s 2009 World 800m champion Caster Semenya, who has already made her season’s debut running 1:59.58 on home soil, will make her debut in Rome in a high-quality 800m contest which features Daegu 2011 World champion Maria Savinova from Russia, reigning Olympic champion and Istanbul 2012 World Indoor champion Pamela Jelimo from Kenya and 2007 World champion Janet Jepkosgei, also from Kenya.
Greene and Demus in the 400m Hurdles
The Golden Gala features a long list of 2011 World champions. The top names who have confirmed their participation are Great Britain’s 400m Hurdles World, European and Commonwealth champion David Greene who will face 2005 World champion Bershawn Jackson.
In the women’s 400m Hurdles, World champion and US record holder Lashinda Demus goes against 2010 and 2011 Diamond League winner Kaliese Spencer and Olympic champion Melaine Walker from Jamaica.
In the Discus Throw two-time defending World champion Robert Harting from Germany will head a superb competition with Olympic champion Gerd Kanter from Estonia and European champion Piotr Malachowski.
In the women’s Shot Put World and Olympic champion Valerie Adams from New Zealand meets up against her arch-rival Nadezhda Ostapchuk from Belarus while Russian World champion Mariya Abakumova will take on last year’s Diamond League winner Christina Obergfoll from Germany in the women’s javelin throw.
Relay qualification opportunities
The press conference was attended by Daegu 100 metres finalist Ivet Lalova from Bulgaria and 4x100m Relay European silver medallist Simone Collio. Lalova, who has been training for two years in Rieti with her boyfriend Collio under the guidance of Roberto Bonomi, will line up in the women’s 100m in Rome on 31 May against top Jamaican sprinters Shelly Ann Fraser, Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson.
The meeting will end with 4x100m and 4x400m Relays which will offer the chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in London where only the best 16 teams of the ranking will be entered. Italy will take on Great Britain, Canada, The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland in the 4x100.
The 4x400 relay will feature Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, South Africa, The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland.
Organisers for the IAAF
Samsung Diamond League - 2012 Calendar
Doha, QAT - 11 May
Shanghai, CHN - 19 May
Rome, ITA - 31 May
Eugene, USA - 2 June
Oslo, NOR - 7 June
New York, USA - 9 June
Paris, FRA - 6 July
London, GBR - 13 / 14 July
Monaco, MON - 20 July
Stockholm, SWE - 17 August
Lausanne, SUI - 23 August
Birmingham, GBR - 26 August
Zurich, SUI - 30 August
Brussels, BEL - 7 September
Click here for the Samsung Diamond League website
