The 34th edition of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea on Thursday 5th June is shaping up as a star-studded meeting with one of the best fields ever assembled in its history. Each of the 18 disciplines (nine men events and nine women events) features at least one olympic, World, European champion or a World record holder. In many cases there will be more titled stars in the same event. A star-studded which deserves a detailed event-by-event preview. Today we preview the sprint and hurdles events.
Men’s 100 metres: Justin Gatlin is still the best US sprinter. Gatlin, a former Olympic and World champion amd twice medallist at the World Championships in Moscow, improved the World seasonal best to 9.87 in Beijing after the sensational 9.92 in Shanghai and the 10.02 against a -3.5 m/s headwind, a time which would have been equal to a 9.80 in windless conditions. Last year he beat World record holder Usain Bolt clocking 9.94. He also won in 2005 in 9.96. He will take on evergreen sprinter Kim Collins, World champion in Paris in 2003, 4x100 World record holder Nesta Carter, 4x100 World champion Kemar Bailey Cole, reigning 60 m European champion Jimmy Vicaut, who clocked 9.95 on Sunday, South African Simon Magakwe, who ran 9.98 at the start of the season and two British sprinters who are aiming to dip under 10 seconds Richard Kilty, World Indoor champion in Sopot, and Adam Gemili, World Junior champion in Barcelona 2012. It’s interesting to note that Gatlin leads in all his previous head-to-head clashes against each of his rivals in the Rome line-up, and that Vicaut has never beat Gatlin
Men’s 200 metres: Christophe Lemaitre won three European gold medals in Barcelona 2010 and doubled the 100m Continental title in 2012. He added the 4x100 Olympic bronze medal in the 4x100 after the US team was disqualified. After clocking 20.30 last Sunday, he will run his first 200m in the Rome Olympic Stadium. He will face Moscow World bronze medallist Curtis Mitchell, Berlin 2009 World silver medallist Alonso Edward (the best sprinter so far this season), reigning European champion Churandy Martina and 2004 World Junior champion Andrew Howe from Italy, who has a 20.28 PB and clocked 20.31 three years ago in the Olympic Stadium, US white sprinter Brandom Byram (20.27 PB) and the fast Jamaican Dwyer. Lemaitre and US sprinter Isiah Young (19.86 PB) will clash for the first time on the Olympic Stadium track.
Men’s 400 metres: Lashawn Merritt is one of the athletes of the moment. Merritt, won two Olympic gold medals and six World gold medals (four with the 4x400 relay), has already clocked 44.14 in Ponce and twice 44.44. He won the last year’edition in 44.96 but he clocked 44.37 and 44.44 on the Rome track. This year he lost only against Dominican Republic’s Luguelin Santos, Olympic silver in London and World bronze in Moscow. The two 400m sprinters will renew their battle in Rome. Merritt leads 11-2 in their head-to-head clashes. One of the fiercest rivals who could give a run for the money to the two favourites is Pavel Maslak, reigning European champion and Sopot 2014 World Indoor champion, who improved the Czech record to 44.79 in Doha. Other stand-out names will be 2010 European champion Kevin Borlée (44.56), Saudi Arabia’s Al Masrahi, Italian best 400m sprinter Matteo Galvan (PB 45.35) and 4x400 Olympic silver medallist Byshon Nellum
Women’s 100 metres: Two Olympic gold medals and two World tttles make Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce the most titled sprinter in history in the 100 metres. The Jamaican sprinter also won two more titles in the 4x100 relay and in the 200 metres in Moscow, two Olympic silvers and two World silvers and the 60m World Indoor title in Sopot. She has a 100m PB of 10.70 and dipped under 10.80 eight times. Her best time in Rome is 10.91 but she is looking for her first win in the Olympic stadium. In 2009 she was beaten by her compatriot Kerron Stewart (10.75). They will square off against this year. Fraser Pryce won her last 11 clashes against her compatriot. Apart from the two Jamaican stars, the line-up also features US Tianna Bartoletta Madison, World champion in the long jump in 2005 and then World class sprinter who won the Olympic 4x100 gold medal with the world record, Murielle Ahouré, double World silver in Moscow and Golden Gala winner in 2012 ahead of Fraser Pryce, and other US sprinters Barbara Pierre, Octavius Freeman, Janeba Tarmoh and Alexandria Anderson
Women’s 100 metres hurdles: All the hurdlers who won the most important titles in the last five years will be in Rome. Brianna Rollins, World gold medallist in Moscow and World seasonal with 12.58, 2011 World champion and 2012 Olympic gold medallist Sally Pearson, who clocked a seasonal best of 12.59 this year, 2008 Bejing Olympic gold medallist Dawn Harper Nelson. The line-up also features Tiffany Porter, World bronze medallist in Moscow, Olympic bronze medallist Kellie Wells, Italian record holder Veronica Borsi (12.76) and former National record holder Marzia Caravelli (12.85). In the head-to-head clashes Rollins, who will make her debut in Rome, leads against all the athletes she will line up in the Olympic Stadium. Caravelli leads 23-6 in her Italian head-to-head clashes against Borsi. The stadium record of 12.34 set by Ginka Zagorcheva at the 1987 World Championships is under threat. Rollins is the third fastest hurdler in history with 12.26 followed by Pearson who is fifth in the world all-time list with 12.28. It’s one of the most thrilling events in the whole programme. Harper Nelson won last year. borsi won the Italian battle finishing fifth, one place ahead of Borsi
Womens’s 400 metres hurdles: Italian record holder Yadisleidy Pedroso (54.54) will face a world class field which features US Lashinda Demus, World champion in Daegu, Olympic silver in London and the World bronze in Moscow, World silver medallist Dalilah Muhammad from the USA, who has to bounce back the disappointing start to the season in Doha and Georganne Moline, who is in improving form. Jamaica will be represnted by Kaliese Spencer and Ristananna Tracey. Spencer is the eternal fourth placer in the last three editions of the World Championships in Berlin, Daegu and Moscow but she clocled 53.48 in Rome. The world-class line-up is completed by Great Britain’s Elidh Child and Czech Republic’s Denisa Rosolova, who will make her debut in the 400 metres hurdles this year Demus set the meeting record clocking 52.82 in 2006.
TICKETS: The ticket sales for the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea continues. The tickets to attend the meeting will be on sale in the outlets of Ticketone, the Ticketing partner of the 2014 Golden Gala and on the official website of Ticketone <link http: www.ticketone.it>www.ticketone.it (in the sport section or searching Golden Gala in the website engine search. These are the ticket prices of the 2014 edition (excluding the pre-sale rights): Monte Mario Finish Line 40 Euros, Monte Mario Staring Line: 20 Euros; Tevere Tribune Finish Line “Distinti”: 15 Euros; Bends and “Distinti” (excluding the Finish-Lines): 5 Euros
APP: A special application for smartphones to follow the 14 Diamond League meetings, including the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea on 5th June, is available from today. It’s one week to go to the start of the IAAF Diamond League (Doha 9th June) and 34 days to the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea (Rome Olympic Stadium on 5th June). Following the exciting show of the major International athletics circuit will be more interactive and more enthralling this year through an APP for IPhones and smartphones Android which will be available via Appstore (name: Diamond Lge) and Google Play (name Diamond League). The application is developed by OMEGA, official timekeeper of the Diamond League, and will have many interesting functions: it will give the chance to have the access to the timetable, live results, news, photos and video highlights from each of the 14 Diamond League meetings. Through this application it will be possible to check the Diamond Race rankings throughout the 2014 season which will end with the two finals in Zurich (28th August) and Brussels (5th September).<link http: www.fidal.it upload files goldengala entry_list_goldengalapietromennea2014-12.05.pdf>
<link http: www.fidal.it upload files goldengala entry_list_goldengalapietromennea2014-12.05.pdf>Entry List (12.05.2014)
<link http: www.ticketone.it>TICKETS
<link http: www.diamondleague-rome.com live-startlistsresults overview>GOLDEN GALA "Pietro Mennea" 2014 - /Timetable
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21 May, 2014
