by Larry Eder
Mo Farah, Pre Classic, photo by PhotoRun.net
BIRMINGHAM (GBR):
Some of the world’s best athletes will line up at the Sainsbury’s Birmingham Grand Prix on Sunday 7 June with 14 Olympic champions and 27 world champions confirmed as competing at the IAAF Diamond League event. All three of Great Britain & Northern Ireland’s London 2012 Olympic gold medallists from ‘Super Saturday‘ will be at the Alexander Stadium. Jessica Ennis-Hill will compete in the 100m hurdles and shot put fresh from completing her first heptathlon since London 2012 in Gotzis last weekend, Mo Farah will step down to the 1500m and Greg Rutherford will contest the long jump. The women’s 100m hurdles will be fiercely competitive with Ennis-Hill being joined by Olympic champion Sally Pearson of Australia, world champion Brianna Rollins of the USA, GB & NI’s reigning European champion Tiffany Porter and breakthrough star Jasmin Stowers, who shot to seventh all time in the world with a time of 12.35 at the Doha leg of the IAAF Diamond League. There will be strong British representation in the men’s 100m with European 200m champion Adam Gemili and world and European indoor 60 m champion Richard Kilty facing the likes of Mike Rodgers and Kim Collins. 99 men in history have run sub-10 seconds for 100m so one of the British duo could become number 100 in Birmingham. American Christian Taylor will compete in the triple jump after elevating himself to fourth in the world all time lists with a jump of 18.04m in Doha. The 2011 world champion and 2012 Olympic champion holds the current Alexander Stadium record of 17.66m.
