Organizers jump for joy - Liu, Bolt set for elite Shanghai meet
By Ni Yinbin |
April 13, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ELITE athletics event the IAAF Diamond League Shanghai already has double gold with the participation of both the city's favorite hurdling son and the fastest man on the planet.
Liu Xiang, the 2004 Athens Olympics 110-meter hurdles gold medalist, and Usain Bolt, the Jamaican reigning multiple sprint world champion, were confirmed as runners by the event's organizers yesterday.
To prepare Shanghai, Liu would bypass the first 2010 league meet in Doha, Qatar, on May 14, he said at yesterday's launch ceremony.
"The meet in Doha is too much of a rush for me and now I will concentrate on the competition in Shanghai," Liu said.
He also said his Achilles tendon injury was "no big deal" and he would take part in the Osaka Grand Prix in Japan on May 8 as a warm-up race for Shanghai.
"His condition has improved," said Liu's coach Sun Haiping. "The ache in his right heel is getting less and less but there is still some pain."
Sun said he had been increasing the intensity of Liu's training after the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha last month.
Shanghai Golden Grand Prix Co Ltd, the local operator of the league, said it was still inviting stars, such as Liu's biggest competitor, Cuban Dayron Robles, the 110m hurdles world record holder.
"Right now my condition is my only concern," Liu said when asked about perhaps lining up against Robles at Shanghai Stadium. "I compete with myself."
However, Sun said it was impossible right now for Liu to finish a 110m hurdle in under 13 seconds "but he'll try to run as fast as he can with safety in mind."
Sun said the 2010 IAAF World Cup in Split, Croatia, in early September would be Liu's main goal this year.
Liu has been recovering from the right heel injury he suffered during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
He finished second in his first comeback race at last year's Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, losing by a narrow margin to Terrence Trammell.
Last month, Liu finished seventh in 7.68 in the final of the 60m hurdle at the World Indoor Championships in Doha. Robles won that race in 7.34.
In one piece of bad news for organizers of the Shanghai event, Russian world champion pole vaulter Elena Isinbaeva announced on Saturday she would take an indefinite break from competition.
She has been a frequent competitor and crowd-puller in Shanghai.
Upgraded from the former Golden Grand Prix, the Diamond League is a series of world-class track and field meets beginning this year.
It will award a four-carat diamond ring, worth US$80,000, to athletes who have the highest scores in each discipline at the end of the season, on top of regular game fees and bonuses.
Only the top 20 ranked athletes are eligible for this event, including all Olympic champions, world champions and world record holders. The Shanghai event, the second of 14 meets around the world, will be held at Shanghai Stadium on May 23.
Liu Xiang, the 2004 Athens Olympics 110-meter hurdles gold medalist, and Usain Bolt, the Jamaican reigning multiple sprint world champion, were confirmed as runners by the event's organizers yesterday.
To prepare Shanghai, Liu would bypass the first 2010 league meet in Doha, Qatar, on May 14, he said at yesterday's launch ceremony.
"The meet in Doha is too much of a rush for me and now I will concentrate on the competition in Shanghai," Liu said.
He also said his Achilles tendon injury was "no big deal" and he would take part in the Osaka Grand Prix in Japan on May 8 as a warm-up race for Shanghai.
"His condition has improved," said Liu's coach Sun Haiping. "The ache in his right heel is getting less and less but there is still some pain."
Sun said he had been increasing the intensity of Liu's training after the 13th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha last month.
Shanghai Golden Grand Prix Co Ltd, the local operator of the league, said it was still inviting stars, such as Liu's biggest competitor, Cuban Dayron Robles, the 110m hurdles world record holder.
"Right now my condition is my only concern," Liu said when asked about perhaps lining up against Robles at Shanghai Stadium. "I compete with myself."
However, Sun said it was impossible right now for Liu to finish a 110m hurdle in under 13 seconds "but he'll try to run as fast as he can with safety in mind."
Sun said the 2010 IAAF World Cup in Split, Croatia, in early September would be Liu's main goal this year.
Liu has been recovering from the right heel injury he suffered during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
He finished second in his first comeback race at last year's Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, losing by a narrow margin to Terrence Trammell.
Last month, Liu finished seventh in 7.68 in the final of the 60m hurdle at the World Indoor Championships in Doha. Robles won that race in 7.34.
In one piece of bad news for organizers of the Shanghai event, Russian world champion pole vaulter Elena Isinbaeva announced on Saturday she would take an indefinite break from competition.
She has been a frequent competitor and crowd-puller in Shanghai.
Upgraded from the former Golden Grand Prix, the Diamond League is a series of world-class track and field meets beginning this year.
It will award a four-carat diamond ring, worth US$80,000, to athletes who have the highest scores in each discipline at the end of the season, on top of regular game fees and bonuses.
Only the top 20 ranked athletes are eligible for this event, including all Olympic champions, world champions and world record holders. The Shanghai event, the second of 14 meets around the world, will be held at Shanghai Stadium on May 23.
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