News05 May 2011


World champs Felix, Clement and Mulaudzi New York-bound - Samsung Diamond League

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Kerron Clement (r) edges Bershawn Jackson in Oslo (© Mark Shearman)

A trio of reigning World Champions highlight the latest roster of top athletes heading to New York for the 2011 adidas Grand Prix - Samsung Diamond League - on 11 June.
 
Allyson Felix, three-time World Champion at 200m; Kerron Clement, two-time champion in the 400m Hurdles; and Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, the surprise 2009 victor at 800m, will all be making their return to Icahn Stadium.
 
Felix, also a two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time World Championships relay gold medallist, lifted the Diamond Race Trophy at both the 200m and 400m. In New York, she'll be challenged by Sherone Simpson of Jamaica, the reigning Olympic silver medallist at 100 meters and 2006 Commonwealth Games 200-meter champion; Shalonda Solomon, the 2006 NCAA Champion Bianca Knight, the 2008 NCAA indoor champion and collegiate indoor 200m record holder.
 
Clement, who adds a 2008 Olympic silver medal to his pair of World titles, will be joined by Javier Culson of Puerto Rico and Bershawn “Batman” Jackson, the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist. Together, the three swept the medal stand at the 2009 World Championships, respectively winning gold, silver and bronze, and finished last season as the three hurdlers in the world – this time with Jackson leading the way, followed by Clement and Culson.
 
Mulaudzi, the South African World champion whose long career has also included a silver medal from the 2004 Olympics, will face 21-year-old sensation Abubaker Kaki of Sudan. The two-time World indoor champion at 800m, Kaki’s time of 1:42.23 made him the second-fastest 800m runner in the world last year and fifth-fastest in history. In 2008, his remarkable 1:42.69 at the Bislett Games in Oslo was a World junior Record and the fastest time in the world that year.

The nine new athletes join previously announced stars Tyson Gay, Blanka Vlašic, Jeremy Wariner and Jessica Ennis as the fields for the 2011 edition of the adidas Grand Prix begin to take shape.

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