With 3 London 2012 Olympic champions and 2 reigning world champions announced, the 39th edition of the IAAF Diamond League Athletissima meeting is ready to offer a great show on 3 July at the Pontaise stadium.
After being one of the main events in the last two editions, the high jump looks just royal this year, as the athletes having jumped exceptionally high so far this season. Athletissima will gather the 2013 winner and reigning world champion from Ukraine, Bohdan Bondarenko (2.41m, Stadium record), and the Russian Ivan Ukhov, reigning Olympic champion and Athletissima winner in 2010, who cleared 2.42m this winter. Both athletes are already in great shape. Ukhov won in Doha with 2.41m and Bondarenko won two days later in Tokyo with 2.40m. Derek Drouin (2.40 m in opener season), Mutaz Barshim world champion indoors and jumped 2.40m last year and Aleksey Dmitrik (2.40 m indoors) complete the picture. The Olympic silver medallist Erik Kynard and Robert Grabarz (bronze medallist) will also be in the game. For sure, Lausanne stadium will never put together more beautiful array of champions in this event.
Renaud Lavillenie, the new pole vault world record holder (6.16m) will be one of the star athletes of the evening. The Frenchman beat Sergey Bubka’s 21-year old world record of 6.15m on 15 February in Donetsk, on Bubka’s home turf. The reigning Olympic and European champion won the Lausanne event already three times and won yesterday in Shanghai.
Shot putter Valerie Adams, who has been undefeated for 47 major events, among which that of Lausanne 2012, will also be one of the star athletes of the evening. The champion from New Zealand has an incredible record of 2 Olympic gold medals, 4 outdoor and 3 indoor world championship golds and two Commonwealth Games titles, which make her one of the most successful athletes competing in 2014.
In the 110m hurdles, reigning world champion David Oliver confirmed his presence in Lausanne. After winning twice (13.02 and 13.03), he will try to add a third Athletissima victory to his tally. He will be one of the favourites of this event which Lausanne spectators like so much.
19 May, 2014
