Two-time Olympic 400m hurdles champion Felix Sanchez announced his retirement on Tuesday (26) in a video press conference.
The 38-year-old from the Dominican Republic won two world titles and two Olympic titles during his international career, which spans back to 1999.
Between 2001 and 2004, he won 43 races in a row at his specialist distance. That streak included his 2001 and 2003 world titles in Edmonton and Paris respectively, and his 2004 Olympic title in Athens. He also won a share of the Golden League million-dollar jackpot in 2002 after winning all of his races in the series that year.
Throughout his winning streak, Sanchez wore a flashing wristband during all of his races. The wristband, he says, gave him extra motivation as it was a souvenir from the 2000 Olympics, where he had failed to make to final.
After winning the Olympic title in 2004, with the wristband having served its purpose, he donated the wristband to an IAAF charity auction. But in his very next race, he injured his leg and failed to finish, ending his winning streak.
Injuries continued to plague him throughout the rest of his career, but he would always peak for the big occasion and produced his fastest runs of the year at every global championship between 2003 and 2013.
From his first world title in 2001 to his fifth-place finish in 2013, Sanchez reached the final at seven successive IAAF World Championships; only two other athletes in history have achieved such a feat in an individual track event.
The biggest moment of Sanchez&rsquo;s career came at the 2012 Olympics. A few weeks short of his 35th birthday and entering the Games as the seventh-fastest 400m hurdler in the world that year, few saw him as a threat. But he improved with each round and pulled off a surprise victory in the final with a time of 47.63, his fastest time since his 2004 Olympic triumph and equalling his winning time from Athens.
During his video press conference on Tuesday, Sanchez said that his greatest achievements were his two Olympic titles. &ldquo;My greatest pride,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;is that my name is part of Olympic history.&rdquo;
IAAF

Two-time Olympic 400m hurdles champion Felix Sanchez announced his retirement on Tuesday (26) in a video press conference.

Double Olympic champion Felix Sanchez retires

The Prefontaine Classic men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles will be one of the most competitive events at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene on 29-30 May.In the first ever men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles to be held in Eugene since the IAAF Diamond League began in 2010, the field includes the world champion, the three medallists from the 2012 Olympics, and winners of four of the five Diamond Race titles.Javier Culson of Puerto Rico is the only two-time Diamond Race winner in this event, but is yet to win a global gold medal. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old has won two silver medals at the World Championships as well as Olympic bronze in 2012.Since taking the world title in 2013, no one has run faster than the 47.69 that Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Jehue Gordon clocked when winning in Moscow. The 23-year-old won the world junior title in 2010 and finished fourth at the 2009 World Championships at the age of 17.USA&rsquo;s Michael Tinsley won the Diamond Race in 2014. The 30-year-old produced the two fastest times of his life when winning Olympic silver in 2012 and world silver in 2013.The two hurdlers with the fastest lifetime bests in the field are are Felix Sanchez and Bershawn Jackson and they are the only winners of this event at the Pre Classic in this century.Sanchez is a two-time world and Olympic champion. The 37-year-old finished fifth in the 2013 World Championships final, 14 years after competing at his first World Championships.Jackson is among the USA&rsquo;s best ever in this event, winning four US titles and the 2005 world title. In the history of the Pre Classic, no one else has won the 400m hurdles more than once; Jackson has won it three times.Johnny Dutch is the reigning US champion and 2010 NCAA champion. The 26-year-old has a PB of 47.63.Switzerland&rsquo;s Kariem Hussein was the breakthrough 400m hurdler of 2014. He improved his pre-season PB by almost one-and-a-half seconds, winning the European title in Zurich and then finishing second at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech.Over the past three seasons, Rasmus Magi has improved the Estonian record by more than a second. Last year he took the European silver medal. Both he and Hussein will be making their first appearances in the US.Organisers for the IAAF2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

The Prefontaine Classic men’s 400m hurdles will be one of the most competitive events at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene on 29-30 May.

World’s top 400m hurdlers head to Eugene – IAAF Diamond League

A two-time Olympic gold medallist, a three-time world champion, and the most dynamic young US middle-distance runner in a generation are among the latest athletes added to the field of the adidas Grand Prix in New York on June 14, organisers for the IAAF Diamond League meeting announced on Thursday (15). Mary Cain, who earlier this month turned 18, rewrote various record books last year by breaking US high school and national junior records marks at eight distances, including the 1500m, and became the youngest athlete ever to represent the USA at an IAAF World Championships. In 2014, she has already broken the world junior indoor 1000m record twice and won the US national 1500m title and in New York she will be competing just 15 miles from her home town of Bronxville in New York state.She will race over 1500m at the Diamond League meeting and among the athletes she will face will be Jenny Simpson, the 2011 world champion. Three-time US champion Morgan Uceny is also in the field.Among the overseas stars going to New York will be Felix Sanchez of Dominican Republic and Robert Harting of Germany. Between them, they own three Olympic gold medals and five world titles.Sanchez, 36, became 400n hurdles world champion for the first time in 2001, and then repeated that feat in 2003 before winning his first Olympic gold medal in 2004. In 2012, he sensationally won his second Olympic gold in London. Harting, 29, is the Olympic champion and three-time world champion in the discus. Other overseas athletes at the meeting include Great Britain’s Tiffany Porter&nbsp;– the world bronze medallist will meet the previously announced Sally Pearson, the reigning Olympic 100m champion&nbsp;– and Warren Weir of Jamaica, the 200m Olympic bronze medallist and world silver medallist.Other global champions already announced are Bohdan Bondarenko, David Rudisha, Jenn Suhr, Yohan Blake, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Valerie Adams and Christine Ohuruogu. The sixth stop on the IAAF Diamond League circuit, the adidas Grand Prix is in its 10th year at Icahn Stadium.Organisers for the IAAF

A two-time Olympic gold medallist, a three-time world champion, and the most dynamic young US middle-distance runner in a generation are among the latest athletes added to the field of the adidas Grand Prix in New York on June 14, organisers for the IAAF Diamond League meeting announced on Thursday (15). 

Cain and Simpson to do battle in New York – IAAF Diamond League 

Thursday’s competition at the IAAF World Championships here in Moscow will see more Russian athletes in action on the same apron where Yelena Isinbayeva won her memorable third title on Tuesday.The men’s High Jump final will be a highlight of Tuesday’s action, along with the women’s Triple Jump; on the track, we’ll see finals in the men’s 3000m Steeplechase, women’s and men’s 400m Hurdles, and the women’s 1500m.Bondarenko the crowd favouriteDespite being Ukrainian, not Russian, top qualifier Bohdan Bondarenko may be a crowd favourite at Luzhniki. Previous sessions have seen two large, loud blocks of Ukrainian fans with blue and yellow shirts arranged to make their sections into giant Ukrainian flags; they chanted Bondarenko over the bar in qualifying and will doubtless return to do the same for the final.Nonetheless, there are still two Russians in the final, Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov and Aleksandr Shustov, who like Bondarenko qualified without a single missed attempt. While an Eastern European sweep of the medals is by no means assured – Mutaz Essa Barshim is also heavily favoured – it will certainly be what the crowd will be looking for.Saladuha in position to defendOr perhaps the Ukrainians will need to divide their attention, as defending World champion Olha Saladuha, also of Ukraine, was the top qualifier in the women’s Triple Jump.Three Russians led by Anna Pyatykh will also challenge in that event, but they fared less well than Saladuha in the qualifying rounds; several others, notably Caterine Ibarguen, were much closer to Saladuha.Simpson ready for challenging title defenceThere has been a pattern of defending champions in the women’s 1500m over the past four championships, with Tatyana Tomashova winning two in a row (2003-2005) and Maryam Jamal the next two (2007-2009).Jenny Simpson, the surprise champion in 2011, has worked her way through the rounds this year in a way that suggests a successful title defence would be no surprise at all, but facing (among others) Sweden’s Abeba Aregawi makes Simpson’s task no cake-walk.Also in the final will be Simpson’s US team-mate Mary Cain, at 17 the youngest woman ever to make the 1500m final.Hurdles: strong races, new facesDefending champion Lashinda Demus and Perri Shakes-Drayton have the centre lanes for the women’s 400m Hurdles, but just inside Demus, Zuzana Hejnova has been a force in the preliminary rounds and will make a title defence difficult for Demus unless the US record-holder has held more strength through the rounds.The men’s 400m Hurdles has a true old-timer, with 2001 World champion and double Olympic champion Felix Sanchez (among others) in lane four.Two lanes outside Sanchez is 2010 World junior champion Jehue Gordon, who stands a chance of raising the Trinidad and Tobago flag for the first time at the World Championships since Ato Boldon won the 200m title in 1997.Kemboi, Kenya and the thirty-five barriersThe quality of Kenyan steeplechasing is such that the question, most years, is not whether a Kenyan will win, but whether they will achieve a sweep of the medals, and if not, who will break in to the top three.This year, there are other questions, such as what kind of dance moves Ezekiel Kemboi will come up with should he win yet another title. The final will include four Kenyans, but also three Frenchmen, two Ugandans and two Canadians, the Ugandans having done significant pace work in the qualifying rounds.Parker Morse for IAAF

Day six preview – Moscow 2013

Thursday’s competition at the IAAF World Championships here in Moscow will see more Russian athletes in action on the same apron where Yelena Isinbayeva won her memorable third title on Tuesday.

It is hard to read too much into the heats of the men’s 400m Hurdles which saw 24 out of the 36 starters advance to Tuesday night’s semi-finals.One thing seemed apparent, though: defending champion Dai Greene, who has battled with injury since before the London Olympic Games, is still struggling.Greene was fifth across the line in the fifth and last heat of the first round. His time – 49.79 – was way outside his personal best, 47.84, and his season’s best of a modest (for him) 48.66. He was momentarily advanced to fourth, and an automatic spot in the semi-final round, by the disqualification of Eric Alejandro, but the Puerto Rican was later reinstated. Nevertheless, Greene's time was enough to see him through to the semi-finals.London Olympic silver medallist Michael Tinsley, who has the two fastest performances in the world this year, one at the US Championships and one at the IAAF London Diamond League, ran the fastest time of the round in taking the first heat in 49.07.Serbia’s Emir Bekric was second with 49.16, the second-fastest time of the round. The Daegu and London semi-finalist looked impressive, as did Russia’s 19-year-old European junior champion Timofey Chalyy, who was third in 49.33.Cornel Fredericks of South Africa took the last automatic spot in the heat with 49.66, but ultimately Britain’s Sebastian Rodger and Australia’s Tristan Thomas progressed as two of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers.Heat two saw Omar Cinseros of Cuba beat Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson, 49.87 to 49.91, but both were almost run down by Japan’s Takayuki Hashimoto who charged home on their inside to take third in 49.96. Frenchman Michael Francois took the final automatic spot in 50.02 with South Africa’s LJ van Zyl missing out.If the World champion is in trouble, Athens 2004 and London 2012 Olympic champion Felix Sanchez continues to perform as he approaches his 36th birthday on 30 August. Sanchez took heat three in 49.20, third-fastest time of the round, with USA’s Kerron Clement, Jamaica’s Annsert Whyte and Britain’s European champion Rhys Williams taking the other qualifying places behind him.Senegal’s Mamadou Kasse Hanne ran a personal best of 48.50 behind Jehue Gordon at the Monaco Diamond League meeting. He impressed again here, taking the fourth heat in 49.33 ahead of Jamaica’s London finalist Leford Green, 49.45, Helsinki 2005 World champion Bershawn Jackson, 49.76, and Jeffrey Gibson of the Bahamas, 50.25.Former World junior champion Jehue Gordon of Trinidad took out the fifth and final heat in 49.52, with Jamaica’s Isa Phillips coming home hard to take second in 49.57.Estonian record-holder Rasmus Magi took third in 49.63 ahead of the reinstated Alejandro in fourth with Greene in fifth, both given the same time of 49.79.After battling knee and groin injuries, having surgery to repair a double hernia, and arriving here not having hurdled for three weeks due to a calf injury, whether Greene can find any more remains an interesting question.Len Johnson for the IAAF

Report: Men’s 400m Hurdles heats – Moscow 2013

It is hard to read too much into the heats of the men’s 400m Hurdles which saw 24 out of the 36 starters advance to Tuesday night’s semi-finals.

If you want consistency, don’t look for it in the 400m Hurdles: not this year, at least.The contenders for Moscow include the reigning Olympic champion, the reigning World champion, the fastest man in the world this year, and a former World champion. Any of them may win; equally, none of them may cross the line first.Dominican Republic’s London 2012 Olympic Games winner Felix Sanchez is a year older and not in the same form as last summer. Great Britain’s 2011 World champion Dai Greene is battling to be fit. The fastest in the world this year, USA’s Michael Tinsley, tailed off through most of July, though just to confuse matters, bounced back to win at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in London in a time almost identical to his world-leading mark of 47.96 set at the US Championships.The 2007 and 2009 World champion Kerron Clement is ranked third on time of those competing in Moscow but finished only seventh in the Monaco Diamond League meeting, three weeks out from the World Championships.Finally, the last two major races before the World Championships turned form somewhat on its head. Trinidad and Tobago’s former World junior champion Jehue Gordon won in Monaco in 48.00, jumping to second on the world list, and then Tinsley recovered his best form in London.Until then, the favourite’s mantle, albeit in a very open field, had been worn by Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson, a medallist in Berlin 2009, Daegu 2011 and London 2012 but still searching for his first major title.Culson won at the Diamond League meetings in Birmingham and Lausanne, beating most of those who have beaten him for the major honours in recent years, but he finished third in Monaco behind Gordon, and fifth behind Tinsley in London.Besides Sanchez and Clement, Bershawn Jackson was the World champion in Helsinki in 2005 and the US athlete has been a medal contender ever since. He finished third in 48.09 at the US Championships behind Tinsley and Clement.In winning the US title, Tinsley was within 0.05 of the personal best he ran to take the silver medal behind Sanchez at the Olympic Games last summer. Like Culson, he will be seeking his first major international championship win in Moscow.Tinsley’s form seemed to be tailing off in the run-up to Moscow. He was the star early in the season with wins at the Diamond League meetings in Doha and New York before peaking to take the US title in late June. His 47.98 in London two weeks ago suggests he may be back in form.David Greene is back to defend the title he won in Daegu two years ago. The Welshman had his start to the 2013 season compromised by a dual hernia operation. He seemed to be regaining his best form before injury struck again and time is not on his side, despite his determination to not give up his crown without a fight.Senegal’s Mamadou Kasse Hanne improved to 48.56 in Rome this year and looms as a potential finalist, while others in the mix in an open event include Serbian record-holder Emir Bekric, South Africa’s Cornel Fredericks, Cuba’s Omar Cisneros and Great Britain’s Rhys Williams.Russia’s trio is led by 19-year-old Timofey Chalyy, the recent winner of the European junior title in Rieti, where he ran a championship best of 49.23.In an event that demands good timing, the question is: who has got the timing right coming into Moscow – Culson, Gordon, Tinsley, or someone else?Click&nbsp;<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-championships/14th-iaaf-world-championships-4873/athletes" style="color:#0000aa;font-family:Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:100;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:18px;orphans:auto;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:auto;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:#ffffff;">here</a>&nbsp;for OFFICIAL ENTRIES in the Moscow 2013 Athletes section.Len Johnson for the IAAF

Men's 400m Hurdles – Preview

If you want consistency, don’t look for it in the 400m Hurdles:  not this year, at least.

The 27th episode of IAAF Inside Athletics is available to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecxjgV0MMwU" target="_blank">watch online</a>.In this week's episode, Ato Boldon exclusively talks to Dominican Republic&rsquo;s 2004 and 2012 Olympic 400m hurdles champion Felix Sanchez.<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ecxjgV0MMwU?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" width="500"></iframe>Launched earlier this year, IAAF Inside Athletics is hosted by Boldon, Trinidad &amp; Tobago&rsquo;s 1997 World 200m champion, who is now a well-known and respected television broadcast analyst for ESPN and NBC.Exclusive to the IAAF, fans can interact and ask questions, either on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthleticsClub" target="_blank">Facebook</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/InsideATH" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or by sending an email to: <a href="mailto:insideathletics@iaaf.org">insideathletics@iaaf.org</a>.If you enjoyed any of the previous episodes of&nbsp;IAAF Inside Athletics, then click &lsquo;like&rsquo; on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldAthleticsClub" target="_blank">IAAF World Athletics Club page on Facebook</a> and follow the show on Twitter&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/InsideATH" target="_blank">@InsideATH</a>.

IAAF Inside Athletics – Felix Sanchez

The 27th episode of IAAF Inside Athletics is available to watch online.

Olympic and European Pole Vault champion Renaud Lavillenie may not yet have the same extensive medal collection as the legendary Sergey Bubka, but on Thursday (4) in Lausanne at Athletissima 2013, the eighth leg of the IAAF Diamond League, the Frenchman could achieve something that even the great World record-holder did not manage.A victory on Thursday would make Lavillenie a four-time winner in Lausanne, having notched up three consecutive wins between 2010 and 2012. But he wants to go beyond simply winning by breaking the meeting record.“My goal for tomorrow is to break the meeting record of 5.91m,” he said. “I’ve had a good start to 2013, one of my best ever starts. I have already broken 5.90m twice, and I’ve won a few times. In terms of technique, it’s been going rather well.“I’m stronger this year because I’ve reduced my quantity and improved the quality of my training. There’s still a little bit of fine tuning to do to ensure I make it to the World Championships in the best possible form and get that gold medal.“This year the opposition is very strong, so I can’t relax. I have to be 100 per cent in Moscow. I don’t fear them [Bjorn Otto and Raphael Holzdeppe] at all. In fact, they give me great motivation. The quality of opposition has been high for the past four years, but not as high as it is now.”Another Athletissima defending champion is Sally Pearson. The Australian World and Olympic champion won the 100m Hurdles when it was last held here in 2011, but enters this year’s race in a different frame of mind, having had to miss a large chunk of the early season due to injury.“I tore my hamstring twice this year, and it’s hard to come back from that,” she said. “But I’m now really fit, fast and strong. It’s just a matter of doing more races, getting faster and getting my rhythm back; that’s the most important thing.“I may not be winning every race, but that doesn’t bother me, so long as I can keep getting better with each race. Hopefully by the World Champs I’ll be in my best shape.“I was having a hard time through rehab and I was looking to return in Oslo. But I then had a scare in training when my hamstring tightened. It frightened me a bit, so I decided I needed to get away from it all for a few days to unwind and not think about athletics. I had a two-day break in Paris, which really helped me mentally. I came back more motivated and more excited.“Brianna Rollins has run an amazing time, so it’s going to be very interesting when we come up against each other for the first time. It’s hard for me, because I’m not 100 per cent yet and she’s in good shape. I wish she’d have broken through last year when I was in good shape, but I’ve got to focus on my own race and ensure I’m getting the best out of myself. Hurdlers never shy away each other, she’s another athlete in the field, and I look forward to the challenge.”One athlete who has made a successful return to the top after a long battle with injury is USA’s Tyson Gay. The 2007 triple World champion goes into Thursday’s 100m race as the world leader in both the 100m and the 200m.“I wouldn’t say I had been expecting to run as fast as I have done at this stage, I’m just taking things slowly and hoping everything goes well,” he said. “Fortunately I’ve ran a couple of good times and I’m ranked No.1 in the world right now.“I think my strength and confidence comes from training, knowing that I’ve put the work in. I haven’t set a PB [in the 100m or 200m] for four years, so I’m hoping I can do that this year.“In Moscow I hope every athlete is healthy. We all know Usain performs well at major championships. I’m just hoping I’m at my best and I give it my all, whatever the outcome may be. It’s been a long time since I doubled at a major championships, so it’s good to be able to do that again.“My plan now is to stay healthy, not only for this year but the next three years. It was very difficult mentally and physically being injured. But it’s good that it’s over and done with. No excuses, no pain, and over the mental strain of always being injured. I think I’ve got a few more years in my body because I’ve missed a lot of time being injured.”Athough it is one of the non-Diamond League events, the 110m Hurdles on Thursday has a great field that includes three of USA’s best ever athletes in the event. Current World champion Jason Richardson is one of the favourites to win, but his main goal for the year is defending his title in Moscow.“With having the wild card [for the World Championships], my coach and I decided that this year we'll aim to peak just once. The US team is the hardest one to make in the 110m Hurdles, so I'm glad that I made it.“I think the selection policy is fair. The World Championships is decided by one race, so making the team should be based off one race.”When asked about the likelihood of going under 13 seconds on Thursday, Richardson didn’t rule it out.“For us, running sub-13 is like having a really large bouncer outside a club and he really doesn't want to let you in. I was 13th person go under 13 seconds, so I got a tattoo to reflect that – because that's what Americans do. Hopefully Ryan [Wilson] will be the next person to join the club.”Team-mate Ryan Wilson was a surprise winner of the US title two weeks ago, and he too is hoping to soon become a member of the sub-13 club.“It’s always exciting to compete here,” he said. “It’s an excellent field with everyone rounding into form. Lausanne is a very special place and is accustomed to fast times, so I think there’s a strong possibility that there could be a sub-13 run. You can never exactly tell, but if history has anything to do with it, then it's as good a place as any to have the first sub-13 of the year.”In the third hurdles event of the meeting, the men’s 400m Hurdles, London 2012 Olympic Games champion Felix Sanchez knows that he is playing catch-up with the rest of the field.“I only started training seriously in March,” said the man from Dominican Republic. “I was overweight from celebrating after winning gold last year. I also missed a lot of training from having to travel a lot.“I had a messed-up race in Birmingham. Hopefully this competition will be better. I usually always run well in Lausanne, and I’ve only had one bad run here. I’m hoping to at least run a season’s best.“When I first started in athletics, my goal was to win a gold medal. I did that in 2001, then again in 2003. Winning Olympic gold in 2004 was also very special. But after that, my goal was to become the first 400m hurdler to win three gold medals at the World Championships.“When I lost my winning streak after 43 wins, I knew that I couldn’t match Ed Moses’ record, so I wanted to make my mark in the event in another way. I want to be the most decorated 400m hurdler in World Championships history.“Very few athletes can say they’re arguably the best ever in their event. I still have a few years left to achieve more, but I’m on my way to getting there.”Sanchez’s opponent Javier Culson, meanwhile, would be content to win his first World Championships gold medal this year, The Puerto Rican having taken silver at the past two editions.“I have learned a lot from my experiences in recent years; how an athlete can dominate all season but not win gold at a major championship,” he said. “This year I’ve prepared differently so I can fulfil my dream of becoming a World champion.“One thing I am pleased about is that I've always won a medal, so I've never been far away from gold.”Kimberlyn Duncan is still a relatively new name on the circuit, but she is favourite to win the 200m on Thursday after winning the US title two weeks ago and beating 2012 Olympic champion Allyson Felix.“I was just trying to make the team, so when I found out I’d won, I was very excited,” she said.“I’ve been pushing harder and harder each year in training. I’m just trying to execute my race as best as possible. I’ll probably run a few 100m races before Moscow.”US team mate Carmelita Jeter could have been expected to challenge Duncan for the victory, had it not been for the injury she picked up earlier in the season.“Getting injured caused me to have to do more rehab and therapy, which meant my legs still felt a bit heavy in Birmingham, but we simply wanted to make sure the leg was okay,” she said. “I love running in Lausanne, and now I’m here I hope to run a lot better.“Right now I’m excited by the depth the US has in the 100m. It’s great for our medal chances in both the individual and the relay. When we get to the World Championships, we’ll all line up and see what happens.”Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

Lausanne press conference highlights – IAAF Diamond League

Olympic Pole Vault champion Renaud Lavillenie may not yet have the same medal collection as the legendary Sergey Bubka, but on Thursday (4) in Lausanne at Athletissima 2013, the eighth leg of the IAAF Diamond League, the Frenchman could achieve something that even the great World record-holder did not manage.

Tyson Gay, Sally Pearson and Brianna Rollins are just some of the many international stars added to the line-up for the Herculis IAAF Diamond League meeting on 19 July.Gay, who recently won the US sprint double with world-leading times of 9.75 and 19.74, will once again compete in the Principality, having set a 200m meeting record of 19.72 in his last appearance in Monaco three years ago.This time he will line up for what will be an explosive 100m as he faces his compatriot and London Olympic bronze medallist Justin Gatlin. A three-time World champion back in Osaka 2007, Gay is back to his best shape and it would come as no surprise should he break Asafa Powell’s meeting record of 9.82.World and Olympic champion Sally Pearson is also returning to Monaco, and she will be facing the newly-crowned US champion and American record-holder Brianna Rollins in the 100m Hurdles. Monaco seems to be a lucky track for the Australian champion who set back-to-back Oceania records at the Louis II Stadium in 2008 and 2009.Pearson then went on to become the fourth-fastest sprint hurdler of all time with her 12.28 winning performance in Daegu but has since been pushed down one position by none other than Rollins, who clocked 12.26 last weekend to win the US Trials and become the third fastest of all time.UK record-holder and Olympic Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis will also line up in the individual 100m Hurdles, an event in which Glorie Alozie’s meeting record of 12.44 from 1998 is well within reach.The 2011 edition of the Herculis meeting marked the professional international debut for Olympic Triple Jump champion Christian Taylor. Move the clock forward by a couple of years and Taylor is now the biggest name in the event. The World and Olympic champion returns to Monaco with a personal best of 17.96m and the ambition to not only improve on the 17.42m meeting record but also consolidate his lead in the Diamond Race.Fireworks are also expected in the men’s 400m Hurdles where two-time Olympic champion Felix Sanchez will make his sixth appearance in Monaco. He will be up against the silver and bronze medallists from the London 2012 Olympics, USA’s Michael Tinsley and Puerto Rico’s Javier Culson.Another regular visitor to Monaco, Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop has set both his 800m and 1500m personal bests on the Stade Louis II track. The reigning World champion and current world leader scored a supreme win last year in 3:28.88, but he wants to improve on that time next month.For US High Jump champion Brigetta Barrett, the 2011 Herculis meeting was her first ever time competing outside the US. Later that year she went on to win the World University Games title, and made the World Championships final in Daegu.However, her biggest accomplishment to date remains her silver medal from the London Olympic Games last summer. Barrett will return to Monaco next July with a recently improved 2.04m personal best, just one centimetre shy of the American record.Organisers for the IAAFIAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT – 10 May Shanghai, CHN – 18 May New York, USA – 25 May Eugene, USA – 1 Jun Rome, ITA – 6 Jun Oslo, NOR – 13 Jun Birmingham, GBR – 30 Jun Lausanne, SUI – 4 Jul Paris, FRA – 6 Jul Monaco, MON – 19 Jul London, GBR – 26-27 Jul Stockholm, SWE – 22 Aug Zürich, SUI – 29 Aug Brussels, BEL – 6 Sep

Pearson vs Rollins clash to headline Monaco – IAAF Diamond League

Tyson Gay, Sally Pearson and Brianna Rollins are just some of the many international stars added to the line-up for the Herculis IAAF Diamond League meeting on 19 July.

A total of 30 London 2012 Olympic Games medallists, including 11 reigning Olympic champions, will be in action at the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix in Birmingham, an IAAF Diamond League meeting on Sunday 30 June.The British charge at the Alexander Stadium will be led by double Olympic champion Mo Farah, who will line up in a highly competitive 5000m that includes the top two in the world during 2013, the Ethiopian pair of Hagos Gebrhiwet and Yenew Alamirew, as well as their compatriot and 2011 World 10,000m champion Ibrahim Jeilan.“2012 was an incredible year for me and I’m really looking forward to competing in front of a home crowd in the UK again. This is another big year with the World Championships just around the corner and it’s always good to perform well in Birmingham,” said Farah.“I have great memories of competing at the Alexander Stadium and it was great to celebrate my Olympic success with a win there (over Two Miles) last year. I’ll be looking to run well there again and put on another good show for the fans.” Olympic Long Jump champion Greg Rutherford will compete against a field that includes the USA’s four-time World champion and 2004 Olympic champion Dwight Phillips, Russia’s 2013 European Indoor champion Aleksandr Menkov and fellow British record-holder Chris Tomlinson.Christine Ohuruogu, who won the 400m silver medal in London, will go head-to-head with Botswana’s in-form 2011 World 400m champion Amantle Montsho over one lap of the track, while Robbie Grabarz takes on fellow Olympic bronze medallist Mutaz Essa Barshim, from Qatar, and the USA’s current World champion Jesse Williams in a competitive High Jump contest.In one of the biggest rivalries in athletics, Jamaica’s two-time Olympic Games 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will take on the USA’s current 100m World champion Carmelita Jeter &nbsp;over 200m.Fraser-Pryce, who will also line up against Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare, is in a confident mood.<div class="quote">“I’ve started the season well but I know there’s more to come from me. The 200m is looking very competitive already this year but I want to win at the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix - Birmingham and show that I’m still the woman to beat in the sprints going to Moscow," said Fraser-Pryce.</div> “I had such a great welcome from the Birmingham public for the Jamaican team before the Games, I’m really looking forward to putting on a show for the crowd and hopefully come out with a victory this year after finishing second at the meet in 2012.” Australia’s World and Olympic 100m Hurdles champion Sally Pearson will be joined by the silver and bronze medallists from London 2012 as the US duo of Dawn Harper-Nelson and Kellie Wells also line up at the Alexander Stadium.Pearson, who ran an Olympic record of 12.35 to win in London, equalled the meeting record of 12.48 on her way to victory the last time she competed in Birmingham in 2011.“I’m really looking forward to competing at the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix – Birmingham, I had a great time there in 2011 and hopefully I can repeat my performance this time round. I’ve had an injury problem early in the season but now I feel ready to go out there and run well.“Winning the Olympics last year was a dream come true, it was a perfect year for me. However this is another important year with the defence of my world title in Moscow in August and I’m confident that I can run even quicker and get close to the World record of 12.21,” commented Pearson.Olympic podium back in Britain The 400m Hurdles has already been tipped as the race of the meeting by many as London 2012’s top three – Felix Sanchez, Michael Tinsley and Javier Culson – line up alongside Great Britain’s reigning World champion Dai Greene.“We are going to see another world-class field in the UK again for the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix – Birmingham and it’s definitely going to be the event to watch on 30 June," said Puerto Rico's Culson. "There’s going to be the Olympic one, two and three as well as the World Champion, so it makes for a very competitive race.“Being the defending IAAF Diamond League champion is something that I want to hold on to this season, and I know I will have to be at my very best in Birmingham right through to the finale in Brussels.” Sanchez, who took the Olympic gold in London eight years after his first triumph in Athens, knows that the Birmingham crowd will play a part in the race.“We will have the top four athletes from the Games in Birmingham, and I’m sure I will be the one they want to beat. I always get a good reception from the British crowd, but as much as they like me, I’m sure they will be hoping for Dai to cross the line first.”In the women’s 400m Hurdles, Great Britain’s in-form Perri Shakes-Drayton will be hoping to secure another personal best for the second time in a week. She led from the front last weekend at the European Athletics Team Championships, winning the 400m with a best of 50.50, but this weekend Shakes-Drayton will return to her more familiar event of 400m Hurdles. All eyes are going to be on her battle with fellow Briton Eilidh Child, who ran a personal best of 54.42 last weekend.London 2012 Olympic Games 110m Hurdles champion Aries Merritt set a stadium record of 12.95 in Birmingham last August and then smashed Dayron Robles’ World record with a time of 12.80 at the Diamond League final in Brussels, and is looking forward to another productive summer.“I’m really looking forward to competing at the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix – Birmingham and testing myself against another world class field. Other hurdlers are running quick times this year so I’m sure we’ll all push each other and put on a great show for the Birmingham crowd,” said the American.“2012 was a breakthrough year for me but now I need to make sure I stay on top.&nbsp;I&nbsp;would love to add a World title to my Olympic one&nbsp;so this is another big summer for me.” Another event with all three Olympic medallists from London is the men’s Shot Put; Poland’s two-time champion Tomasz Majewski will be joined by Germany’s silver medallist David Storl and US bronze medallist Reese Hoffa.Organisers for the IAAFIAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT – 10 May Shanghai, CHN – 18 May New York, USA – 25 May Eugene, USA – 1 Jun Rome, ITA – 6 Jun Oslo, NOR – 13 Jun Birmingham, GBR – 30 Jun Lausanne, SUI – 4 Jul Paris, FRA – 6 Jul Monaco, MON – 19 Jul London, GBR – 26-27 Jul Stockholm, SWE – 22 Aug Zürich, SUI – 29 Aug Brussels, BEL – 6 Sep

30 Olympic medallists to compete in Birmingham - IAAF Diamond League

30 Olympic medallists to compete in Birmingham – IAAF Diamond League


A total of 30 London 2012 Olympic Games medallists, including 11 reigning Olympic champions, will be in action at the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix in Birmingham, an IAAF Diamond League meeting on Sunday 30 June.


Exactly one month before the 38th edition of Athletissima, an IAAF Diamond League meeting, 12 London 2012 Olympic Games champions and more than 25 medallists from last summer have already confirmed their attendance in Lausanne on 4 July. It does not take more than a look at the list of participants to be convinced of the level of Athletissima 2013.Five events will feature the whole podium of the last Olympic Games. In the 400m Hurdles there is Felix Sanchez, Michael Tinsley and Javier Culson, the Pole Vault has Renaud Lavillenie, Bjorn Otto and Raphael Holzdeppe, the Shot Put has Tomasz Majewski, David Storl and Reese Hoffa, the Javelin features Keshorn Walcott, Oleksandr Pyatnytsya and Antti Ruuskanen while the women’s Long Jump can boast of Brittney Reese, Yelena Sokolova and Janay DeLoach Soukup.Once more, the men’s 100m should hold its promises and be one of the highlights of the evening of 4 July. After finishing second in 9.83 last year, Tyson Gay will come back in Lausanne.&nbsp;"I am looking forward to returning to the Lausanne Diamond League in 2013. Sprinters know when they compete at the Olympic Stadium there they can expect great track fans and fast times. I want to improve both my time and my finishing place from 2012," said Gay.He will battle with his American compatriot Justin Gatlin, the bronze medallist in London and already a double winner in IAAF Diamond League meetings this year, in Doha and Eugene, as well as Jamaica’s Asafa Powell, whose best result on the Pontaise track is a phenomenal 9.72.Yohan Blake should be join this prestigious group. The Jamaican set the Pontaise Stadium on fire in 2012 by not only by setting a new meeting record, but by becoming the equal second fastest 100m performer ever with a run of 9.69, with Gay and only behind Usain Bolt. “Ever since I ran in Lausanne, and I ran the meeting record and my PB of 9.69, I fell in love with the fans, the atmosphere and that fast track. I have not stopped thinking about that night, and returning to Lausanne on July 4th, will give me the opportunity to do, what I do best, and to once again unleash,” said The Beast, who is still recovering from a slight injury sustained earlier this summer.Curves capture the imaginationIn 2012, the men’s High Jump provided a great show to the spectators on the first curve. Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim delighted the fans by equalling the then Asian record of 2.39m. “My ultimate goal is the world record”, he was quoted at the time.Last Saturday in Eugene, he got closer to his target by clearing 2.40m, a performance no athlete had achieved outdoors in the last 13 years. His progress may well continue in Lausanne, where he will be pushed by the London medallists, Great Britain’s Robert Grabarz and USA’s Erik Kynard. On the other curve, a fantastic 200m women is expected between the USA’s 2012 Olympic champion and triple World champion Allyson Felix and her fellow American Carmelita Jeter, who won three medals in London including a bronze over 200m.Last, but certainly not at least, in the 110m hurdles, the USA’s current World champion Jason Richardson and Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment, the London silver and bronze medallists, will face the USA’s David Oliver and the young Cuban talent Orlando Ortega, who finished sixth in London. Organisers for the IAAF2013 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT – 10 May Shanghai, CHN – 18 May New York, USA – 25 May Eugene, USA – 1 Jun Rome, ITA – 6 Jun Oslo, NOR – 13 Jun Birmingham, GBR – 30 Jun Lausanne, SUI – 4 Jul Paris, FRA – 6 Jul Monaco, MON – 19 Jul London, GBR – 26-27 Jul Stockholm, SWE – 22 Aug Zürich, SUI – 29 Aug Brussels, BEL – 6 Sep

12 London 2012 Olympic Games champions will be in Lausanne - IAAF Diamond League

12 London 2012 champions will be in Lausanne - IAAF Diamond League

Exactly one month before the 38th edition of Athletissima, an IAAF Diamond League meeting, 12 London 2012 Olympic Games champions and more than 25 medallists from last summer have already confirmed their attendance in Lausanne on 4 July. 

Two more London 2012 Olympic Games champions have confirmed they will compete at the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix – Birmingham at the Alexander Stadium on 30 June, taking the total number of Olympic champions set to appear at the IAAF Diamond league meeting up to eight. Dominican Republic’s Felix Sanchez, the Olympic 400m Hurdles champion in 2004 and 2012, and the US 110m Hurdles World record holder Aries Merritt will compete in their specialist events.The 400m hurdles is already being tipped by Puerto Rico’s 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallist Javier Culson as the race of the meeting as the top three from London – Sanchez, US silver medallist Michael Tinsley and Culson – line up against Great Britain’s 2011 World champion Dai Greene, who was fourth at the Olympic games, and 2012 European champion Rhys Williams. “We are going to see another world class field in the UK again for the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix – Birmingham and it’s definitely going to be the event to watch on 30 June. There’s going to be the Olympic one, two and three as well as the World champion, so it makes for a very competitive race,” said Culson.“Being the defending IAAF Diamond League champion is something that I want to hold on to this season, and I know I will have to be at my very best in Birmingham right through to the final in Brussels.”Sanchez knows that the Birmingham crowd will play a part with the race.“I think I surprised quite a few people at the Olympic Games, winning gold in the manner I did. However, I have never doubted my ability, whether that was when I was on my 42-race unbeaten run, or lining up on the start line in London as a 34-year-old,” said the popular Sanchez.“We will have the top four athletes from the Games in Birmingham, and I’m sure I will be the one they want to beat. I always get a good reception from the British crowd, but as much as they like me, I’m sure they will be hoping for Dai to cross the line first,” he added.Merritt, who set a stadium record of 12.95 in Birmingham last August, which was just 0.03 off his winning time in London, smashed Dayron Robles’ former World record with a time of 12.80 in the 2012 IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels.“I’m really looking forward to competing at the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix - Birmingham and testing myself against another world class field. Other hurdlers are running quick times this year so I’m sure we’ll all push each other and put on a great show for the Birmingham crowd,” said the American.“2012 was a breakthrough year for me but now I need to make sure I stay on top.&nbsp;I&nbsp;would love to add a World title to my Olympic one&nbsp;so this is another big summer for me,” he added.Organisers for the IAAF2013 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT – 10 May Shanghai, CHN – 18 May New York, USA – 25 May Eugene, USA – 1 Jun Rome, ITA – 6 Jun Oslo, NOR – 13 Jun Birmingham, GBR – 30 Jun Lausanne, SUI – 4 Jul Paris, FRA – 6 Jul Monaco, MON – 19 Jul London, GBR – 26-27 Jul Stockholm, SWE – 22 Aug Zürich, SUI – 29 Aug Brussels, BEL – 6 Sep&nbsp;

Olympic hurdles champions Merritt and Sanchez will compete in Birmingham - IAAF Diamond League

Olympic Hurdles champions Merritt and Sanchez will compete in Birmingham – IAAF Diamond League

Two more London 2012 Olympic Games champions have confirmed they will compete at the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix – Birmingham at the Alexander Stadium on 30 June, taking the total number of Olympic champions set to appear at the IAAF Diamond league meeting up to eight.