Justin Gatlin after winning the men's 60m final (© Getty Images)
The Asics Grand Prix which takes place in the Finnish capital’s 1952 Olympic stadium on Monday evening (18 August) is the very last IAAF Grand Prix stop on the circuit before the 9th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Paris 2003 Saint-Denis begin on 23 August.
The Helsinki organisers have very much gone for the niche market, focussing either on Paris competitors who need further competition as the final step to a World Championships' peak, or on the miriad of other international athletes who missed selection for the 'Worlds' altogether.
Gatlin, Trammell, Herbert, Frietag, Lobinger, Hartwig, Gaines, Shikolenko, Aldama, Mbango…are just some of the featured names.
Mr Esa Honkalehto, the General Secretary of the meet confirms, “it’s a pleasure to see the list of athletes participating in the Asics GP because on the basis of this list, there will be an extremely exciting evening with a number of tough competitions, in almost every event.”
10,000 tickets have already been sold in advance for the meet and Honkalehto confirmed that he expects approximately 18,000 paying spectators which would be the same as in 2002.
The highlights of the evening will include the men’s sprints both the flat and over the barriers, 800m, Shot Put, and Pole Vault, and the women’s 200m, Triple Jump and Javelin.
World Indoor 60m Champion Justin Gatlin is the inform sprinter in the men’s 100m, and will face veteran Namibian ace Frank Fredericks, Nigeria’s World Cup winner Uchenna Emedolu, Britain’s double European 60m Indoor champion Jason Gardener, among others in a packed star line-up.
Reigning World Indoor champion Marlon Devonish (GBR) takes on the 2001 holder of that title Shawn Crawford of the USA, in the 200m.
The men’s 110m Hurdles has a line up of seven Americans led by the USA Paris squad of Terrence Trammmell, Larry Wade, and Chris Phillips, as well as Duane Ross who pipped World champion Allen Johnson in Berlin last Sunday but is not in the team. NB. Johnson is also in the American team for Paris as defending champion.
Two of the USA Paris team also contest the men’s 400m Hurdles in Helsinki – Joey Woody and Eric Thomas – and will face South Africa’s Llewellyn Herbert, the Olympic bronze medallist.
Jacques Frietag is another top line South African competing in Helsinki, the 21 year-old who has a personal best of 2.37m, has come back from a broken ankle sustained last year to win this season's Rome Golden Gala with a leap of 2.35m.
The Men’s Pole Vault is possibly the strongest of the men's jumps on the programme. Again two of the American’s Worlds team will compete, Jeff Hartwig their champion and Derek Miles who was second in the nationals. Pushing them to the heights will be Germany’s World Indoor champion Tim Lobinger, and 2000 Olympic champion Nick Hysong (USA).
European Shot champion Juri Belonog (UKR) and Denmark’s Joachim Olsen who was the silver medallist behind the Ukrainian last summer in Munich, take on USA Paris entrant Reese Hoffa, and 21m putter Christian Cantwell, who is not in the USA squad.
In the Javelin, Germany’s Boris Henry and Raymond Hecht should be the stars.
Back on the track there are also returns from suspension for Andrea Longo (Italy) and Ali Saidi-Sief (Algeria) in the men’s 800m and 3000m.
Chryste Gaines, who like Justin Gatlin in the men’s dash is an inform American sprinter who did not make it to the Paris squad, will be the star of the women’s 200m. Bulgarian young sprint sensation Ivet Lalova, the double 2003 European Junior champion will also line up.
A classy women’s 800m pits Britain’s Kelly Holmes against, Romania’s Maria Cioncan and Russian Olga Raspopova.
However, perhaps the two highlights of the meeting will come in the women’s Triple Jump and Javelin.
In the Finnish parade event of the javelin, new national record holder Paula Huhtaniemi (64.90), the second longest thrower in the world in 2003, will face world season’s leader Tatjana Shikolenko whose 66.00m best was established last Sunday, the same day as the Finn’s personal best. European bronze medallist Mikaela Ingberg is also in the line-up for Finland.
World Triple Jump leader Yamile Aldama of Cuba who will not be competing in Paris due to an on-going issue over a change of nationalities, is the undoubted star of the infield. Leading the world in 2003 with a leap of 15.29m, she will face new African record holder Francoise Mbango who leapt to 15.03m on 3 August, and Finland’s European silver medallist Heli-Koivula-Kruger (14.39m) , who while not yet over 15 metres is in a fine run of form at the moment.
IAAF
