COMPETITION UPDATE
International Association of Athletics Federations
IAAF SUPER GRAND PRIX WELL UNDERWAY IN LAUSANNE
30 June 2003
Monte-Carlo – With the inaugural season of the IAAF Super Grand Prix already well underway after two successful meetings in Ostrava (CZE) and Trikala (GRE), the third leg of the seven edition series ‘Athletissima 2003’ in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday 1 July is sandwiched between the first two Golden League meetings of the season (Oslo, 27 June and Paris, 4 July) giving the Super Grand Prix added significance.
Thirteen is very much the lucky number for Lausanne, as the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise will be graced by 13 Olympic and 13 World champions from the celebrations in Sydney and Edmonton, respectively. If that wasn’t enough three winners from the World Cross Country Championships which were staged here in March will also feature on Tuesday night – Kenenisa Bekele, Werknesh Kidane and Edith Masai.
World and Olympic champion over 100 metres, Maurice Greene, lines up for the first time this year in Europe, where he will face his on-form training partner Jon Drummond, Shawn Crawford, and US champion Bernard Williams. However, the joker in the pack could well be Nigeria’s Deji Aliu, who ran ten seconds flat in Greece on 24 June and who has ambitions to challenge the Americans.
Greene will start as the marginal favourite having run 9.94 in Los Angeles on 1 June.
Originally scheduled as a showdown between Greene and the current world record holder Tim Montgomery, that particular confrontation has been placed on hold as Montgomery has rushed back to the United States following the birth of his son, Tim, to American sprint queen Marion Jones.
‘Les Lausannois’ will of course be hopeful for a Swiss home victory from Andre Bucher. Last Friday in Oslo, Switzerland’s reigning World 800m champion in only his second start of the summer improved to 1:44.99, but was headed by Kenyan Wilfred Bungei (second 1:44.15) the world season’s leader (1:43.05), who will also be the chief barrier to Bucher’s victory in Lausanne.
IAAF Super Grand Prix 2003
Golden Spike, Ostrava (CZE), 12 June
Tsiklitiria, Trikala (GRE), 24 June
Athletissima 2003, Lausanne (SWI), 1 July
Norwich Union Super League, Gateshead (GBR), 13 July
Meeting de Madrid 2012, Madrid (ESP), 19 July
DN Galan, Stockholm (SWE), 5 August
Norwich Union British Grand Prix, London (GBR), 8 August