Pascal Martinot-Lagarde leads the 110m hurdles (© Getty Images)
Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and Annimari Korte will headline the sprint hurdles fields at the Paavo Nurmi Games, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Turku, Finland, on 11 August.
Martinot-Lagarde, the 2018 world championships bronze medallist and reigning European champion, will lead the 110m hurdles while Korte, the Finnish 100m hurdles record holder, will command the spotlight in the women's race.
Korte, who clocked her 12.72 national record in July 2019, has gone nearly as fast this season, clocking 12.76 on 8 July. She'll face reigning European indoor 60m hurdles champion Nadine Visser from the Netherlands.
The meeting's athletes' liaison Arttu Salonen has confirmed that the men's 400m hurdles field is nearly in place. Estonian Rasmus Mägi, the 2014 European silver medallist and 2016 Olympic finalist, Frenchman Ludvy Vaillant, who clocked a 48.30 lifetime best last season, 2019 Japanese champion Takatoshi Abe and Irish record holder Thomas Barr have all signed on.
Christophe Lemaitre of France, the 2016 Olympic 200m bronze medallist, and CJ Ujah, a multiple relays medallist for Great Britain, head the 100m field, and will take on Samuli Samuelsson, currently the fastest Finn who has clocked 10.28 this season.
Salonen is pleased with how the fields are filling, considering the challenges travel restrictions are posing to the organisers.
Olympic javelin throw champion Thomas Rohler has pulled out, but he has a good reason. Rohler recently became a father and decided against any travel while much of the world is still under the grips of the coronavirus pandemic.
Organisers for World Athletics
