Yohan Blake celebrates winning the men's 100m gold medal in Daegu (© Getty Images)
World 100m champion Yohan Blake of Jamaica kicks off a scintillating lineup of superstars expected at the 2012 adidas Grand Prix on 9 June in a preview of the action expected later this summer in London.
The eighth-annual adidas Grand Prix, one of the premier track-and-field events in the world, is the sixth stop on the international Samsung Diamond League series.
Just 22, Blake joins a long list of sprint champions who have thrilled fans at the adidas Grand Prix in the past, including Maurice Greene, Tyson Gay, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Allyson Felix and, of course, Usain Bolt, who in 2008 set his first 100m World Record here to kick off his history-making Olympic campaign.
“The Gibson Relays last weekend were a great start for my 2012 season,” said Blake, of the event at National Stadium in Kingston on 25 Februar in which he came from behind to anchor his 4x400m and 4x100m Relay teams to victory. “I am already looking forward to that fast track in New York City on June 9th.”
More athlete announcements for the 2012 event are expected soon.
Last summer in Daegu, Korea, Blake became the youngest 100m gold medallist at the World Championships since it began in 1983. “I would like to be a legend,” he said before capping off his historic week by running the third leg and handing off to his training partner, Bolt, on the 4x100m Relay team that broke its own World record.
This is not the first time Blake will compete at the adidas Grand Prix. The youngster made his debut here way back in 2007 when he anchored his St. Jago team to victory in the boys’ 4x400m high school relay, and competed over 100m in 2009 and 2010.
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
