Powell, Richards for League opener in Qatar
Published:Wednesday | March 31, 2010 | 1:22 PM
Former 100-metre World Record holder Asafa Powell and Sanya Richards are two of the top track stars that have confirmed participation for the opening leg of the IAAF Diamond League event on May 14.
The 27-year-old Powell held the 100 metres World record between June 2005 and May 2008 with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds respectively until his Jamaican compatriot Usain Bolt grabbed it with “superhuman” performances over the last two years.
Powell has consistently broken the 10-second barrier in competition, with his personal best of 9.72 seconds being the fourth fastest time in the history of the 100.
The 25-year-old Jamaica-born American Richards is the current World Female Athlete-of-the-Year. She won the gold medal in the 400 at the Worlds in Berlin last year.
Other big names likely to appear at the Qatar Sports Club include Croatian high-jump queen Blanka Vlasic, Russian pole vault phenomenon Yelena Isinbayeva, and Ethiopian long-distance king Kenenisa Bekele.
The Diamond League is a new annual series of athletics meets to be held from this year onwards. It will replace the Golden League that has been held annually since 1998.