Tyson Gay comes through strong at the end to defeat Asafa Powell in the men's 100m in Thessaloniki (© Getty Images)
Daegu, KoreaWorld silver and bronze 100m medallists Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell look set to renew their rivalry at the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting on 25 September 2009.
Gay (USA) and Powell (JAM) have a 5 to 7 win/loss career record against each other over the dash, with Gay ahead four to one in their encounters so far this season. In their last race, the American recordholder took a great come from behind victory over the Jamaican in the World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki, Greece last weekend, which made-up for Gay's defeat the week before in Brussels in the last ÅF Golden League meeting (4 Sep). Midweek Powell has since produced his quickest run of 2009 with a 9.82 sec 'solo' run in Poland (15).
Not to be outdone, the women’s 100m in Daegu will feature four of the eight finalists at the Berlin 2009 World Championships, including Osaka 2007 and Berlin 2009 bronze medallist Carmelita Jeter (USA), two-time Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM) who was also 2007 World 100m gold medallist, 2005 World 100m champion and reigning Colorful Daegu Meeting record holder Lauryn Williams (USA); and two-time World 100m bronze medallist Chandra Sturrup (BAH).
Jeter made the headlines on Sunday after speeding to a 10.67 clocking in Thessaloniki to win the World Athletics Final, in what was the third fastest 100m time in history.
The men’s and women’s 100 metres races head-up what promises to be a starry night in Daegu, the host city of the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, which will also feature Yelena Isinbayeva and Allyson Felix.
Isinbayeva, who improved her World record in the women’s Pole Vault at the ÅF Golden League in Zürich is a popular crowd-puller for the Colorful Daegu Meeting. The reigning 2-time Olympic champion has been a regular patron of the Meeting since 2006.
Felix won the 200m at the World Championships in Helsinki 2005, Osaka 2007, and Berlin 2009 becoming the first sprinter in history to win three consecutive World titles at this event.
“We are delighted to have some of the biggest superstars in Athletics, here for the 2009 Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting,” exclaimed KIM Bum-Il, mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City. “Their participation is a tremendous shot in the arm for boosting Athletics in Korea.”
“The active support of such top athletes confirms the burgeoning reputation of the Colorful Daegu Meeting as one of the premier Athletics competitions in Asia,” said MOON Dong-Hoo, vice president and secretary general of the Daegu 2011 World Championships.
Moon, who is also the co-president of the Colorful Daegu Meeting Organizing Committee, added that an application has been submitted to the IAAF to include the annual Colorful Daegu Meeting in the new IAAF World Challenge format, which commences in 2010.
Click here to view the provisional entry list
Organisers for the IAAF
