Liu Xiang on his way to 60m hurdles gold (© Getty Images)
China’s World and Olympic champion and World record breaking high hurdler Liu Xiang, tops the first batch of headlining stars to be announced for the Reebok Grand Prix in New York on 31 May 2008.
The Reebok Grand Prix is an IAAF Grand Prix status event within the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Tour.
The Chinese megastar will be joined in New York by reigning World 100m and Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica, and USA’s Lauryn Williams, the 2005 World 100m champion – whose photo finish with Brown when trying to defend her World 100 metres title in Osaka last summer provided one of the most-dramatic moments of the 2007 World Championships.
On the heels of a sell-out crowd last year, 1500 seats are being added to the meeting's venue Icahn Stadium, which is situated on Randall’s Island, to meet the expected demand in this Olympic year.
These three stars, Xiang, Campbell-Brown and Williams won between them 11 medals at the 2004 Olympics and 2007 World Championships – six of them gold – and head toward Beijing among the top stars in the sport.
Liu Xiang, the reigning Olympic 110m Hurdles gold medallist, will return to Icahn Stadium to defend his hurdles title. Last year, her won here in a scorching 12.92 seconds, the fastest time in the world for 2007 and tied for the fourth-fastest in history. In his only competition so far in 2008, Liu added the title of World Indoor Champion at 60m Hurdles.
Campbell-Brown – who married fellow Jamaican sprinter Omar Brown last autumn – returns to New York as World 100m champion. Last year, she ran four of the five fastest times in the world for 100 metres, including her victory here in 10.93 seconds.
Williams brought home silver from Osaka, after a virtual tie with Campbell-Brown at 100 metres. The popular American is the 2005 World 100m champion and 2004 Olympic silver medallist, and is a two-time 4x100m World champion as well. Her rematch with Campbell-Brown at 100m in New York will be closely watched as a possible preview of the Olympic final later this summer.
Barbara Huebner for the IAAF
The Reebok Grand Prix is an IAAF Grand Prix status event within the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Tour.
The Chinese megastar will be joined in New York by reigning World 100m and Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica, and USA’s Lauryn Williams, the 2005 World 100m champion – whose photo finish with Brown when trying to defend her World 100 metres title in Osaka last summer provided one of the most-dramatic moments of the 2007 World Championships.
On the heels of a sell-out crowd last year, 1500 seats are being added to the meeting's venue Icahn Stadium, which is situated on Randall’s Island, to meet the expected demand in this Olympic year.
These three stars, Xiang, Campbell-Brown and Williams won between them 11 medals at the 2004 Olympics and 2007 World Championships – six of them gold – and head toward Beijing among the top stars in the sport.
Liu Xiang, the reigning Olympic 110m Hurdles gold medallist, will return to Icahn Stadium to defend his hurdles title. Last year, her won here in a scorching 12.92 seconds, the fastest time in the world for 2007 and tied for the fourth-fastest in history. In his only competition so far in 2008, Liu added the title of World Indoor Champion at 60m Hurdles.
Campbell-Brown – who married fellow Jamaican sprinter Omar Brown last autumn – returns to New York as World 100m champion. Last year, she ran four of the five fastest times in the world for 100 metres, including her victory here in 10.93 seconds.
Williams brought home silver from Osaka, after a virtual tie with Campbell-Brown at 100 metres. The popular American is the 2005 World 100m champion and 2004 Olympic silver medallist, and is a two-time 4x100m World champion as well. Her rematch with Campbell-Brown at 100m in New York will be closely watched as a possible preview of the Olympic final later this summer.
Barbara Huebner for the IAAF
