Daegu brings more top names

DAEGU (KOR) - Not only sprints, but also distance races will have top names at the best one day meeting in Korea. The Colorful Pre-Championship meet in Daegu (IAAF World Challenge) will see on May 12 the return of reigning 1500 m world champion Kamel Yusuf Saad of Bahrain. He will compete in the men´s 800 m against Kenyan Boaz Lalang. In the steeple race olympic bronze winner and African Champion Richard Mateelong will fight with World Youth Champion 2009 Hillary Yego.

  In the women 1500 m Ethiopian World Indoor Champion Kalkidan Gezahegne is scheduled against her team-mate Tizita Bogale who is World Junior Champion and Youth Olympic Games winner from last year.

Also the technical events will have stellar quality. Two medalists from Berlin 2009 Cuban Guillermo Martinez and Japanese Yukifumi Murakami will fight with olympic silver winner from Beijing Latvian Ainars Kovals in men´s javelin throw. But still 86.95 meet record of Teemu Wirkkala of Finland will be not easy to achieve.

In the men´s triple jump olympic medalist Leevan Sands from Bahamas will fight with Cuban Berlin bronze winner Alexis Copello, both will be ready to attack the meet best 17.50 of US Aarik Wilson since 2007.

German record holder Silke Spiegelburg is the star of women pole vault, Russian 2004 Olympic winner Yelena Slesarenko of women high jump. US Funmi Jimoh who won here already two times is looking for third in a row, but 2005 world champion Tiana Madison hopes to come back to top shape.

Women´s hammer will be part of IAAF Hammer Challenge with former world record holder Tatyana Lysenko of Russia and Asian Games winner Zhang Wenxiu from China. For the 100 m latest addition is Churandy Martina, the double olympic finalist from Netherland Antilles who is now going to represent Netherlands.

Illustration by: Ales Graf, www.graf.cz