Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
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Powell eyes record and jackpot at Bislett Games

Thursday, June 1, 2006

by: Luke Phillips

OSLO, Norway (AFP): The Golden League gets under way at the Bislett Games here on Friday with holders of 21 current global outdoor titles set to compete at the fast, newly-laid track.

Ten champions from the 2004 Olympic Games and 11 winners from the 2005 world athletics championships in Helsinki will be on show, with the men's 100m boasting a staggering seven sprinters who have clocked sub-10sec times.

Jamaica's Asafa Powell, the joint world record holder with American Justin Gatlin at 9.77sec, will be up against Nigerian Olu Fasuba, who clocked an African record of 9.85sec - and sixth fastest time ever - when Gatlin equalled Powell's record run in Doha last month.

Powell's training partner and world silver medallist Michael Frater, and Athens 200m gold medallist and Gatlin's training partner Shawn Crawford, who has three sub-9.90sec to his credit, will race on Friday when light rain and a maximum temperature of 14 degrees celsius (57F) are expected.

Also in the field will be three other finalists from Helsinki in Jamaican Dwight Thomas, Marc Burns of Trinidad and Aziz Zakari, the Ghanaian who won here last year in 10.02sec.

Records aside, a slice of the one-million-dollar IAAF Golden League Jackpot will be in their sights.

In recent years the jackpot was shared by athletes who won their event at all six Golden League meetings. But this year athletes who win at any five of the six meetings will share a purse of 500,000 dollars, with an additional 500,000 dollars to be shared by athletes who succeed in winning a sixth time.

Elsewhere on the track, world and Olympic 10000m champion Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia will compete in the 5000m with his compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba, world 5000m and 10,000m champion, going in the women's equivalent.

The duo, aged just 23 and 20 respectively, have collectively amassed 18 World titles on the track and in cross country in their short careers and will be a handful for any of their rivals.

The fabled Dream Mile also features a strong field headed by Kenyan favourite Daniel Kipchirchir Komen, who returns to the track ranked No. 1 in the IAAF World Rankings.

Komen will be out for revenge over Ivan Heshko after the Ukrainian sprinted past him in the final 100 metres of the world indoor champs event in Moscow in March.

Commonwealth 800m champion Alex Kipchirchir of Kenya, impressive Australian Craig Mottram, who agonisingly fell in the Commonwealth 1500m final, and Commonwealth 5000m champion Augustine Choge will ensure a thrilling race for the sell-out meet.

Welshman Tim Benjamin makes his comeback from injury in the men's 400m, with Olympic and world champion Jeremy Wariner hot favourite to take the race.

Other double Olympic and world champions who will compete in Oslo include American long jumper Dwight Phillips, Lithuanian discus thrower Virgilijus Alekna, and Swedish hepthathlete Carolina Kluft, who is entered into the high jump.

The Norwegian crowd will have a home hero to cheer on, with Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen lining up in a strong javelin field.

IAAF Golden League Events in 2006
Men: 100m, 400m, 1500m, 3000/5000m, Long Jump, Javelin Throw
Women: 100m, 400m, 3000/5000m, 100m Hurdles, High Jump

IAAF Golden League - Dates and venues in 2006
June 2, Oslo
July 8, Paris
July 14, Rome
August 18, Zurich
August 25, Brussels
September 3, Berlin

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