News - 12.05.2010

Eighteen Global Champions, Four Diamond League Ambassadors Added to adidas Grand Prix Field

NEW YORK (May 12, 2010) — Recently crowned world indoor champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica and American sprinter Allyson Felix are among the 18 Olympic and World champions and four IAAF Diamond League ambassadors added to the lineup of athletes slated to compete at the adidas Grand Prix on Saturday, June 12, organizers announced Wednesday. The adidas Grand Prix, held at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island, will be the fifth stop on the inaugural 14-meet, international Diamond League circuit.

In addition to Felix in the women’s 200 meters, other Diamond League ambassadors added to the field include Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen and Finland’s Tero Pitkämäki in the men’s javelin and Valerie Vili of New Zealand in the women’s shot put. The other two ambassadors already announced for the New York meeting are Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt and Australian pole vault king Steve Hooker. A total of 32 Olympians from 16 different countries have been announced.

Campbell-Brown and Felix will meet at 200m for the first time on U.S. soil. The two have raced eight times at the distance with Felix holding the 6-2 advantage. However, both of Campbell-Brown’s victories came in Olympic finals.

“New York is one of those cities you just love to compete in; after all, it is the ‘world capital,’” Campbell-Brown said. “I especially love the world-renowned Jamaican track fans that are always in attendance.”

Campbell-Brown, 27, made headlines recently with her victory in the women’s 60m dash at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha in early March. It was her first World Indoor title and her first major championship title since earning gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Campbell-Brown is a four-time Olympic medalist—including two individual golds in the 200m—and a seven-time World Championship medalist.

Felix, 24, of Santa Clarita, Calif., won Olympic gold in 2008 in the 4x400m and is a two-time Olympic 200m silver medalist. She is the reigning three-time World champion at 200m. One of 14 official IAAF Diamond League ambassadors, Felix will open her Diamond League season in Doha on May 15.

Also lining up for the women’s 200m are Americans Carmelita Jeter and Marshevet Myers (née Hooker). Jeter, 30, of Gardena, Calif., is known for her prowess at 100m distance as the reigning two-time World Outdoor Championship bronze medalist and as the second-fastest woman ever over 100m (10.64 seconds). She last raced at 200m in May 2009. Myers, 25, of Grand Prairie, Texas, was a 2008 Olympic finalist at 200m.

Intriguing match-ups are expected for each event in this year’s edition of the adidas Grand Prix:

The men’s javelin will pit Thorkildsen vs. Pitkämäki—two-time Olympic champion and 2009 World champion vs. Olympic bronze medalist and 2007 World champion—as both compete for the first time in the United States. Thorkildsen, 28, has established himself as one of the most accomplished javelin throwers in history, while Pitkämäki, 27, has proved himself a worthy competitor. The two will first go head-to-head in Diamond League competition in Oslo on June 4.

Olympic silver medalist Richard Thompson, 24, of Trinidad and Tobago, will face off against Bolt, the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder, and his previously announced Caribbean training partners Yohan Blake (JAM) and Daniel Bailey (ANT) in the 100m, the marquee men’s event. Thompson, who competed for Louisiana State University, was the 2008 NCAA 100m champion.

In the men’s 1500m, Ethiopian middle distance star Deresse Mekonnen, 22, the reigning two-time World Indoor champion and 2009 World Outdoor Championships silver medalist, will once again compete against previously announced American distance star Bernard Lagat. The two raced over 1500m in Birmingham in February, and Mekonnen notched the eighth-fastest time in history (3:33.10), making him the fifth-fastest performer of all time.

Javier Culson, from Puerto Rico, will clash against American Olympic bronze medalist Bershawn Jackson in the men’s 400m hurdles. Culson, 25, is on fire after running a world leading and national record time of 47.72 at the Ponce Grand Prix on May 8. Jackson, 27, of Champaign, Ill., owns the third-fastest time in the world this year (48.36). Both finished on the podium at the 2009 World Championships, with Culson claiming the silver medal and Jackson earning bronze. Jackson was the 2005 World champion in this event.

Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsiele Koech, both Kenyan Olympic medalists, will renew their rivalry in the 3000m steeplechase. Kipruto, 24, won Olympic gold in 2008 and the World title in 2007. Koech, 28, was the 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and was ranked No. 1 in the world from 2007-08. He was the 2008 Reebok Grand Prix champion in this event, winning in 8:01.85, the fastest time ever on U.S. soil.

In the men’s triple jump, recent World Indoor champion Teddy Tamgho of France will compete against two-time U.S. Olympian Walter Davis. Tamgho, 20, set a new world indoor record of 17.90m in winning his first World title in Doha in March. Davis, 30, of Baton Rouge, La., was the 2005 World champion and 2006 World Indoor champion in this event.

South Africa’s Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, 29, is the top entrant in the men’s 800m. He is the reigning 2009 World champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist at 800m.

The women’s 1500m is stacked from top-to-bottom with all three medalists from the 2009 World Championships—reigning champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, silver medalist Lisa Dobriskey of Great Britain and bronze medalist Shannon Rowbury of the United States—in addition to 2008 World Indoor champion Gelete Burka of Ethiopia and American Olympic finalist Anna Pierce (née Willard). Jamal, 25, set the Asian indoor record in the mile at Birmingham in February and had the fastest time in the world last year over 1500m (3:56.55). Dobriskey, 26, was the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medalist at 1500m. Rowbury, 25, of San Francisco, finished seventh in the 1500m at the 2008 Olympic Games, the best finish ever by an American woman. Burka, 24, was the bronze medalist at the 2010 World Indoor Championships. Pierce, 26, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., was the fastest American at 1500m in 2009 and was ranked No. 2 in the world at 800m.

The women’s 100m hurdles is packed with talent, as 2008 Olympic champion Dawn Harper will line up against Sweden’s Susanna Kallur and previously announced American Lolo Jones and Jamaican Delloreen Ennis-London. Harper, 26, of Los Angeles, Calif., won Olympic gold when Jones, the top-ranked American in 2008, tripped on the ninth hurdle in the Olympic final. Kallur, 29, was the 2006 European champion and is the current world record holder at 60m hurdles indoors.

The women’s field events will be a championship affair, with Vili, the Olympic and World champion, headlining the shot put; and American Chelsea Johnson taking on previously announced Jenn Suhr (née Stuczynski) in the pole vault. Vili, 25, dominated the international scene as the No. 1-ranked shot putter from 2007-09 and is a three-time World champion. Johnson, 26, of Atascadero, Calif., was the 2009 World Championship silver medalist.

Media interested in covering the event can access the accreditation application at www.adidasgrandprix.com. The deadline for applying is Friday, June 4. Updates, photos, and additional information can found at the adidas Grand Prix pages on Facebook and Twitter.

The adidas Grand Prix, in its sixth year, is the nation’s premier outdoor track & field invitational meet. It features Olympic stars, the Jim Ryun High School Dream Mile for top high school athletes and the Mayor’s Cup Fastest Kid competition for youth in the tristate area. Increased and upgraded backstretch seating at track level is being added to accommodate the growing demand and interest from fans in the New York area. Tickets and transportation information is available now at www.adidasgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-TIX-TRAC.

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All athletes announced for the adidas Grand Prix (as of May 13) include:

MEN
Daniel Bailey (ANT): men’s 100m; World Championship bronze medalist
Yohan Blake (JAM): men’s 100m; World Junior Championship bronze medalist
Usain Bolt (JAM): men’s 100m; three-time Olympic and World champion
Richard Thompson (TRI): men’s 100m; Olympic silver medalist
Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (RSA): men’s 800m; two-time World champion and Olympic silver medalist
Bernard Lagat (USA): men’s 1500m; four-time World champion and two-time Olympic medalist
Deresse Mekonnen (ETH): men’s 1500m; two-time World champion
Javier Culson (PUR): men’s 400m hurdles; World Championship silver medalist
Bershawn Jackson (USA): men’s 400m hurdles; World champion and Olympic and World medalist
Danny McFarlane (JAM): men’s 400m hurdles; two-time Olympic silver medalist
Isa Phillips (JAM): men’s 400m hurdles; Olympian
Brimin Kipruto (KEN): men’s steeplechase; Olympic and World champion
Paul Kipsiele Koech (KEN): men’s steeplechase; Olympic bronze medalist
Teddy Tamgho (FRA): men’s triple jump; World champion
Walter Davis (USA): men’s triple jump; two-time World champion
Steve Hooker (AUS): men’s pole vault: Olympic and World champion
Tero Pitkämäki (FIN): men’s javelin; World champion and Olympic bronze medalist
Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR): men’s javelin; Olympic, World and European champion

WOMEN
Kelly-Ann Baptiste (TRI): women’s 200m; Olympian
Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM): women’s 200m; two-time Olympic and two-time World champion
Allyson Felix (USA): women’s 200m; three-time World champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist
Carmelita Jeter (USA): women’s 200m; three-time World Championship bronze medalist
Marshevet Myers (USA): women’s 200m; Olympic finalist
Gelete Burka (ETH): women’s 1500m; two-time World champion
Lisa Dobriskey (GBR): women’s 1500m; World Championship silver medalist
Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BRN): women’s 1500m; two-time World champion
Anna Pierce (USA): women’s 1500m; Olympic finalist
Shannon Rowbury (USA): women’s 1500m; World Championship bronze medalist
Delloreen Ennis-London (JAM): women’s 100m hurdles; three-time World Championship medalist
Dawn Harper (USA): women’s 100m hurdles; Olympic champion
Lolo Jones (USA): women’s 100m hurdles; two-time World champion
Susanna Kallur (SWE): women’s 100m hurdles; European champion
Chelsea Johnson (USA): women’s pole vault; World Championship silver medalist
Jenn Suhr (USA): women’s pole vault; Olympic and World Championship silver medalist
Valerie Vili (NZL): women’s shot put; Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion
Jessica Ennis (GBR): women’s multi; two-time World champion
Hyleas Fountain (USA): women’s multi; Olympic silver medalist

About RISF
Icahn Stadium, a state-of-the-art facility on Randall’s Island featuring a 400-meter Mondo track and covered seating for spectators, is the premier outdoor track-and-field venue in New York City. It was built by the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation (RISF) in partnership with New York City Department of Parks. The facility is programmed, operated and maintained by RISF.