Samsung Diamond League

27.08.2010 - Gay flies 9.79 in chilly Brussels - REPORT – Samsung Diamond League

27 August 2010 – Brussels, Belgium – Tyson Gay put on another strong but not unchallenged display of speed as the inaugural Samsung League Diamond League series came to an end at the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme in Brussels tonight (27).

Gay holds off Carter to take 100m Trophy

Despite the unseasonable chill and wet track, another sell-out crowd of 47,000 fans at King Baudouin Stadium were treated to the season’s second fastest 100m run courtesy of Gay who for the second consecutive meeting simply defied the conditions. more

26.08.2010 - Rudisha-Kaki head to head one of 16 sparkling Diamond Race finale clashes in Brussels – PREVIEW – Samsung Diamond League

26 August 2010 - Brussels, Belgium – David Rudisha’s return to the track after his stunning 800m World record and another 100m outing by red-hot Tyson Gay will be just two of the eagerly anticipated highlights at the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme on Friday (27) as the curtain will be drawn on the inaugural Samsung Diamond League season in Brussels.

The Koning Boudewijn Stadium will provide the setting in which 16 more Diamond Race winners will receive their trophies before yet another sell-out crowd of 47,000 – the norm since the meeting’s first edition and the 13th consecutive capacity crowd since the stadium’s current configuration. more

26.08.2010 - Cheruiyot in right frame mind to lift Diamond Race Trophy in Brussels - Samsung Diamond League

26 August 2010 - Brussels, Belgium - World champion Vivian Cheruiyot insists she is in the perfect frame of mind to lift the Samsung Diamond League event 5000m title at the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme meeting on Friday (27).

The awesome field assembled for the last event on the programme has determined participants with the capability of producing a bigger fireworks display than the one which traditionally closes the Belgian meeting.

Cheruiyot acknowledges this fact wholeheartedly but believes despite the presence of a star-studded opponents from both Europe and Africa, she can herself ignite in the 12 1/2 laps contest to claim the US40,000 overall prize and a glittering Diamond Trophy. more

26.08.2010 - Cantwell: ‘I give myself at least a 50 per cent chance of throwing 22 metres here’ - Samsung Diamond League

26 August 2010 - Brussels, Belgium – Christian Cantwell has dominated the Shot Put this year and short of getting lost on the way to the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme - Samsung Diamond League meeting, which takes place on Friday (27), he is assured of winning the Diamond Race in his event.

With 21 points to his name and a healthy 15 point advantage over his nearest rival, his name is as good as on the cheque for $40,000 but he is still looking to light some fireworks from the circle before the other annual  display at the end of the meeting in the King Baudouin Stadium. more

26.08.2010 - With second Diamond Trophy secured, Felix aiming to bring Diamond League curtain down in style - Samsung Diamond League

26 August 2010 – Brussels, Belgium - Allyson Felix admits that after a long hard summer season which began in the middle of May in Doha with a 400m victory she cannot wait to finally get back home to the sunshine of California and home city of Los Angeles.

But Felix, after another highly successful international campaign with only one defeat in 22 appearances including relays, is always looking to produce that little extra piece of achievement and is hoping this will happen at the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme on Friday night (27). more

26.08.2010 - World record behind him, Rudisha ready to confirm he is a racer - Samsung Diamond League

26 August 2010 - Brussels, Belgium - David Rudisha hopes to put on a show for the capacity 47,000 spectators at the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme - Samsung Diamond League meeting, which takes place on Friday (27), but it will be a display of his talents as a head-to-head racer rather than a tilt at improving his recent 800m World Record.

“After running the world record, it was obviously a very fast race for me, and here I want to run a good race but I don’t think I’m going to have an attempt on the world record,” said the Kenyan, the only man so far this summer to set a World Record. more

25.08.2010 - Gay: ‘I’m capable of improving my personal best in Brussels’ - Samsung Diamond League

25 August 2010 – Brussels, Belgium – Tyson Gay, the world leader in the 100m, and Caster Semenya, the reigning World 800m champion, met with the media at a press conference in the lead in to Friday’s (27) Memorial Van Damme, the second of two finals of the inaugural 14-meeting Samsung Diamond League series.

Below are some of the highlights.

Tyson Gay (USA), 2010 100m world leader at 9.78, 2007 World 100m and 200m champion -

About the absence of Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell :

“Injuries come when you sprint as fast as we do. more

23.08.2010 - PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST for Brussels - UPDATED 25 Aug - Samsung Diamond League

23 August 2010 - Brussels, Belgium – The PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST for the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme - Samsung Diamond League meeting, which takes place in the Belgian capital on Friday 27 August, is now available to download.

The meeting whose spectator tribunes have been sold-out since 12 August, can boast the presence of the new World record holder in the men’s 800m David Rudisha. The Kenyan ran 1:41.09 at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin yesterday (22), which subject to the normal ratification procedures, will be the new World record having broken Wilson Kipketer’s mark of 1:41. more

19.08.2010 - Oliver blazes 12.93 in Zürich – REPORT – Samsung Diamond League

19 August 2010 – Zürich, Switzerland – Sizzling performances by David Oliver and Jeremy Wariner were but a pair of sensational performances that highlighted the Weltklasse Zürich – Samsung Diamond League - on a night when 15 Diamond Race Trophy winners were decided.

With half of the season-long Diamond Race Trophies up for grabs, this year’s Zurich edition, staged yet again before a sell-out crowd of more than 26,000 boisterous fans at Letzigrund Stadium, exuded the feel of a major championship as the primary season target of most athletes was on the line. more

18.08.2010 - Injuries behind her, Myers ready to spring more surprises - Samsung Diamond League

18 August 2010 - Zürich, Switzerland - Can Marshevet Myers, after placing two very high profile 100 metres victories under her belt in recent weeks, continue in the same fashion at the Weltklasse Zurich - Samsung Diamond League meeting?

Myers is making only her second Diamond League appearance on the circuit after injury wrecked the American's ambitions of being a big player in chasing the spoils on the highly lucrative global circuit.

However the soon to be 26-year-old former Miss Hooker has bounced back brilliantly in the second half of the season and those recent victories in Nottwil and London have identified her as a potent force to score another win in the first of the two inaugural Diamond League finals. more

18.08.2010 - Zürich press conference highlights - Samsung Diamond League

18 August 2010 - Zürich, Switzerland - Several athletes met with the media earlier today on the eve of the Weltklasse Zürich - Samsung Diamond League meeting.

Here's what was on their minds:

Veronica Campbell-Brown (JAM), who will be running only her third 100 of the season:

"I haven't run as many races as I had hoped this season as I said in my (www.iaaf.org) online diary last week. more

18.08.2010 - Farah and Solinsky, ‘believing it is possible’ – Zürich Samsung Diamond League

18 August 2010 - Zürich, Switzerland - There is a brightness in the faces of Mo Farah and Chris Solinsky which cannot be entirely explained by the fact that both are due to race in tomorrow’s climactic Samsung Diamond League 5000m race at the Zürich Weltklasse meeting.

Both come to this race with rising ambition at the end of a season in which both have offered fresh reasons for believing that one day, perhaps soon, they can offer a serious challenge to the Ethiopian and Kenyan runners who currently dominate their chosen events. more

18.08.2010 - Ostapchuk clinches first Diamond Race Trophy

18 August 2010 - Zürich, Switzerland - From the outside, there didn’t seem much doubt that Nadezhda Ostapchuk would consolidate her position in this year’s Samsung Diamond League Shot Put competition to become the first athlete to claim one of the 16 handsome trophies and $40,000 in cash due to Diamond Race winners.

After winning all five of her previous series competitions, the 29-year-old from Belarus only had to avoid being fourth or worse to claim the distinction which holding the women’s Shot Put final a day before the main Zürich Weltklasse  meeting offered her. more

18.08.2010 - Sparkling quality to grace Diamond Race finals, part 1, in Zürich – PREVIEW - Samsung Diamond League

18 August 2010 - Zürich, Switzerland - After spanning the far reaches of three continents over more than three months, the inaugural Samsung Diamond League will crown its first set of Diamond Race winners at the Weltklasse Zürich on Thursday (19) evening.

After displaying their dominance and endurance since the 14-meeting series opened in Doha on 14 May, a small handful of athletes will arrive in Zürich’s Letzigrund Stadium in the proverbial driver’s seat with insurmountable leads*. But with double points on offer at this first of two Diamond League finals – the second is at the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels next Friday (27) – many Diamond Race winners won’t be decided until the final jumps and throws are measured, the last heights scaled, and the finish lines crossed. more

18.08.2010 - Chat with Olympic Javelin Throw champion and World record holder Barbora Spotáková

18 August 2010 – Zürich, Switzerland – We are delighted to announce that our next webchat with the Samsung Diamond League Ambassadors will take place in Zürich at 1700hrs CET / 1500hrs GMT on Wednesday 18 August, with Barbora Spotáková.

The Czech athlete, who holds a commanding lead with a total of 16 points in the Diamond Race, is the World record holder thanks to her 72.28m win at the 2008 World Athletics Final in Stuttgart, and has a career trophy cabinet the envy of most athletes with 2007 World and 2008 Olympic titles to her credit. more

17.08.2010 - First Final at Zurich Main Station, 18 August 2010 - Samsung Diamond League

17 August 2010 - One day prior to the traditional Weltklasse Zürich  - Samsung Diamond League at Letzigrund Stadium, the world’s best shot putters will compete at RailCity/Zurich Main Station.

The women’s competition will represent the very first final event in the history of the Samsung Diamond League, while the male putters will have their finale in Brussels just over one week later. The last men’s shot put event at Letzigrund Stadium dates back to 2000, while their female colleagues performed have only performed there once in 80 years - in 1985. more

17.08.2010 - As finals approach Diamond Trophy is unveiled - Samsung Diamond League

17 August 2010 – Zürich, Switzerland – With the first of two Samsung Diamond League finals to take place on Thursday (19)* at the Weltklasse Zürich, 16 inaugural Diamond Race winners will be crowned at the conclusion of the action-packed programme at Letzigrund Stadium.

One of the prizes for their season-long consistency and undisputed honour as the World No. 1, the Diamond Race Trophy is one of the most dazzling awards in the world of sport.

Designed exclusively by the Swiss firm Beyer Chronometrie AG for the Samsung Diamond League, the Diamond Race Trophy has a classic cup design topped with a large glass diamond with a traditional brilliant cut. more

16.08.2010 - PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST for Zürich - Samsung Diamond League

16 August - Zürich, Switzerland - The PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST for the Weltklasse Zürich - Samsung Diamond League meeting in Zurich on Thursday 19 August is available on-line.

Diamond Race winners in 16 disciplines will be decided at Letzigrund Stadium from an all-star cast on the bill that includes athletes who have amassed more than 170 Olympic, World and European championships medals.

The Entry List, which is being updated frequently is available via the following link - more

14.08.2010 - Felix completes impressive double, Oliver Dominates in London - REPORT, Day 2 - Samsung Diamond League

14 August 2010 - London, UK – Allyson Felix produced a performance that combined grace and endurance on the second day (14) of the Aviva London Grand Prix – Samsung Diamond League - to add a 400m victory to her 200m win of the previous night.

The triple World 200m champion thus became the first athlete to claim two maximum points score at the same Diamond League meeting, and now shares the distinction of having won six Diamond League races this season with Blanca Vlasic, the inspirational winner of the previous evening’s High Jump. more

14.08.2010 - Elite circuit, elite discussions and coaching advice in London – Samsung Diamond League

14 August 2010 - London, UK - This morning at the Croydon Park Hotel, the meeting HQ of the two-day Aviva London Grand Prix - Samsung Diamond League an exceptionally well attended endurance running coaching conference, was held by UKA, the IAAF Member Federation for Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Anyone lucky enough to avoid the real world of 9 to 5 and follow the athletics circuit around each year will confirm that in the various hotel lobbies around the globe at which this sporting caravan stops you’ll find a broad mix of athletes, coaches, managers, media. more

13.08.2010 - Gay defies cold and damp with 9.78sec world lead in London - REPORT, Day 1 - Samsung Diamond League

13 August 2010 – London, UK – The heavens opened at the start of tonight’s Aviva London Grand Prix - Samsung Diamond League but USA’s 2007 World 100m and 200m champion Tyson Gay defied the elements when it came to the final event of the meeting some three and half hours later, sizzling to 9.

78 sec (-0.4) 100m world season lead. Crystal Palace stadium was hit by a rain shower of monsoon proportions at 5.30pm local time as the women’s Discus Throwers were midway through their competition – won by Cuba’s Yarelis Barrios who thundered out a massive first round 65. more

12.08.2010 - Jeter learning from her mistakes – “No one is ever guaranteed anything” - Samsung Diamond League

12 August 2010 – London, UK - Talking to the wonderfully named Carmelita Jeter, whose form this season has established her as the dominant force in women’s 100 metres running, you get an overwhelming sense of a driven athlete.

And this 30-year-old Los Angeles resident, who goes into this weekend’s Aviva London Grand Prix as the clear event leader in the Samsung Diamond League, is swift to identify what she believes was the turning point in her career – her failure to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. more

12.08.2010 - Gay riding strong momentum to London – Samsung Diamond League

12 August 2010 – London, UK - On the eve of the Samsung Diamond League meeting in Gateshead, Tyson Gay maintained, somewhat surprisingly, that Asafa Powell was his main threat in the 100 metres, rather than the World and Olympic champion Usain Bolt.

The reason? While Bolt had been afflicted with Achilles tendon problems early in the season, Powell, whose previous season had been undermined by back and groin problems, had trained without incident through the winter and was operating at optimum fitness. more

12.08.2010 - Oliver: ‘I like doing victory laps’ – Samsung Diamond League

12 August 2010 – London, UK - The London 2012 Olympic stadium is clearly visible from the 23rd floor of the building which houses the Aviva insurance company, event sponsors for the London Grand Prix, where high hurdler David Oliver is taking questions ahead of the latest running of the Samsung Diamond League.

Invited to view the rapidly evolving edifice, he rises partially out of his seat and takes a cursory view. Oliver may be the world’s leading high hurdler of the moment, and the third fastest man of all time, but he knows by bitter experience that it does not do to fix attention too far in the future. more

12.08.2010 - Gay v Dix 100m clash tops star-studded London – PREVIEW – Samsung Diamond League

12 August 2010 - London, UK – Just a week after his decisive victory over Usain Bolt, man of the moment Tyson Gay will be the star attraction at Crystal Palace on Friday when the US sprinter returns to Britain for a 100m clash with Walter Dix at the Aviva London Grand Prix on Friday and Saturday (13-14), the 12th Samsung Diamond League meeting.

Gay came from behind to beat Asafa Powell in Gateshead a month ago and after running 9.84 to hand Bolt his first defeat for two years in Stockholm last Friday, the former World champion was scheduled for a re-match with Powell here. But the Jamaican has withdrawn with the same back and hamstring injury that kept him out of the DN Galan last week. more

10.08.2010 - Bolt ends season - lower back injury

10 August 2010 - Munich, Germany - After an assessment from his medical team we can confirm that Usain Bolt will close his 2010 track season and cancel his participation in the Samsung Diamond League meetings - Weltklasse Zurich and Memorial van Damme, Brussels, said a satement issued by the World and Olympic champion's management.

"Usain Bolt was examined yesterday (Monday, August 9) by Dr Hans Müller-Wohlfahrt in Munich who found a problem in his lower back. He has a tightness that restricts his ability to generate power in his stride and continuing to race in this condition could risk injury to his hamstrings or calf muscles. more

10.08.2010 - PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST for London - Samsung Diamond League

London, UK - The PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST and TIMETABLE for the Aviva London Grand Prix - Samsung Diamond League meeting in London on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 August, is available on-line.

As well as an outstanding international line-up for the two day meeting, following a record 19-medal haul at the at the European Championships, the British team will head to London's Crystal Palace stadium as the most successful national team of all time. more

07.08.2010 - DN Galan - sporting event to a national institution

7 August 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden - The perfect Scandinavian summer evening of yesterday had transformed into a day of muggy temperatures with persistent light rain as the 1912 Olympic stadium hosted the final two day instalment of DN Galan Week.

A unique youth competition, the DN Galan Youth, from 7 – 8 August, played out with all the trappings of the elite senior competition of the previous day’s Samsung Diamond League. This youth track and field meeting, which is open for athletes born 1991 – 1998, is designed to give the kids some sense of the buzz of a major international meeting, the organisers “transforming the stadium into the world’s first Diamond League event for kids”, allowing them “to get the feeling of competing just as the world's star athletes do”. more

06.08.2010 - Stockholm packs in tight to see Gay finish well clear of Bolt, 9.84-9.97 - REPORT – Samsung Diamond League

6 August 2010 – Stockholm, Sweden – In the season’s single most anticipated face-off, Tyson Gay handed Usain Bolt his first 100m defeat in two years to highlight the DN Galan – Samsung Diamond League – in the Swedish capital tonight (6).

In their first meeting in nearly a year – and just their third 100m head-to-head ever - history’s two fastest men lined up side-by-side, two brick red lanes in Stockholm’s historic 1912 Olympic Stadium which were the focus on this night of much the sporting world. more

05.08.2010 - Bolt vs Gay tops the bill as Diamond Races resume in Stockholm – PREVIEW - Samsung Diamond League

5 August 2010 – Stockholm, Sweden - After a 15-day break, the Samsung Diamond League resumes on Friday (6) with the DN Galan at Stockholm’s Historic Olympic Stadium where the primary attention will focus on pure, raw speed.

As was the case in the first 10 Samsung Diamond League fixtures, there will be stacked fields throughout the three-and-a-half hour long international programme, but this time the spotlight will fall clearly on the shortest race of the evening where Diamond League Ambassadors Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay, the two fastest men in history, will finally square off in the 100m for the first time this year. more

05.08.2010 - Bolt and Gay ready for Stockholm showdown - Samsung Diamond League

5 August 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden - The late withdrawal of Asafa Powell may have delayed this season’s meeting of the Big Three over 100 metres, but tomorrow’s race at the DN Galan Samsung Diamond League meeting still boasts the Big Two – and it will be only the third meeting ever between Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay in the short sprint.

On the two previous occasions when they met over 100 metres, Bolt broke the World record – two years ago in New York, where he ran 9.72sec, and in last year’s IAAF World Championships, where he ran the current mark of 9.58.

While Bolt is not predicting another World record on the track where he last lost a race – he was beaten over 100m by Powell in 2008 – Gay is pumping himself up for a big performance, perhaps even a personal best. more

05.08.2010 - Stockholm press conference highlights - Samsung Diamond League

5 August 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden - The pre-event press conference for the DN Galan Samsung Diamond League meeting saw a host of world class performers comment on their season so far.

Here are a selection of their views.

Christian Olsson, Sweden, triple jump

"I was close to being able to compete in the European Championships – I gave my injured heel a test about a week before the competition started. more

05.08.2010 - Jones firmly focused on the Diamond chase - Samsung Diamond League

5 August 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden - Samsung Diamond Race 100m Hurdles leader Lolo Jones insists life definitely isn't boring despite there being no major championships gold medal for American athletes to target this summer.

While African and European counterparts have raised their game at the recently finished Area Championships in Nairobi and Barcelona, Jones and her colleagues have only had the national championships to satisfy their hunger for gold medal success. more

05.08.2010 - Green relishes Stockholm spotlight as latest Swedish star - Samsung Diamond League

5 August 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden - Newly crowned European high jump silver medallist Emma Green has been a fixture on the world's athletic circuit for many years albeit virtually unnoticed until her brilliant showing in Barcelona last week.

Green can expect a hero's welcome at the DN Galan Samsung Diamond League meeting in Stockholm on Friday after winning Sweden's sole medal at the Championships where once and not so long ago, for such a small country they were amongst the biggest players. more

04.08.2010 - Injury sidelines Powell from Stockholm’s DN Galan – Samsung Diamond League

4 August 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden – Asafa Powell was forced to withdraw from Friday’s DN Galan Samsung Diamond League meeting due to injury, organisers announced.

Powell, who was slated to face World record holder Usain Bolt and U.S. record holder Tyson Gay in the 100m on Friday, suffered a minor groin injury in the Paris Diamond League meeting last month and has since suffered additional setbacks, according to a statement issued by Doyle Management Group, the firm which represents Powell. more

04.08.2010 - Sun shines on kids, shot putters and the fastest man on earth in downtown Stockholm – Samsung Diamond League

Stockholm, Sweden – An impressive kids’ athletics event held this afternoon in the Swedish capital’s Kungsträdgården attracted large crowds, as the city’s sports fans young and old came downtown to experience Athletics at first hand, to try some events and meet their heroes.

Kungsträdgården, "King's Garden", is a picturesque tree lined square bordered on all sides by popular outdoor cafés which are THE social meeting spot of the city. Offering concerts in the summer and transformed into an ice rink in the winter, for the third year in a row the Kungsträdgården will tomorrow afternoon (5) host the DN Galan’s ‘Big Shot’ competition. more

04.08.2010 - PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST for Stockholm - UPDATED - Samsung Diamond League

4 August 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden - The PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST for the DN Galan - Samsung Diamond League - meeting in Stockholm on Friday 6 August, is available to be downloaded (pdf).

The DN Galan in Stockholm’s historic 1912 Olympic Stadium will be the setting for this season’s first 100m clash between Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, the three World Championship medallists from Berlin 2009. >>UPDATE 23:00hrs CET - Powell sidelined by injury<< These three speedsters will be joined by fellow Samsung Diamond League Ambassadors, Andreas Thorkildsen and Tero Pitkämäki, Allyson Felix, Blanka Vlasic and Valerie Vili. more

03.08.2010 - World champion Reese and Barcelona medal podium eye stadium record in Stockholm – Samsung Diamond League

3 August 2010 – Stockholm, Sweden - The women’s Long Jump at the DN Galan – Samsung Diamond League – on Friday 6 August which takes place at Stockholm Olympic Stadium will present a rematch of the three medallists from last week’s European Championships.

European Champion Ineta Radevica of Latvia and Portugal’s silver medallist Naide Gomes, who both jumped 6.92m in Barcelona, and Russian Olga Kucherenko, the current world season leader with 7.13, who won bronze with 6.84m in Barcelona, may very well threaten Galina Tjistiakovas 21-year-old stadium record of 7. more

29.07.2010 - Jamaica vs USA relay showdowns set for Zurich - Samsung Diamond League

29 July 2010 - Zurich, Switzerland - A clash of sprint powers Jamaica and the United States, featuring Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay will be among the highlights of the Zurich's Weltklasse on 19 August, the penultimate stop of the Samsung Diamond League series.

Bolt, the World record holder, Olympic and World champion in the 100m and 200m, will anchor a high power Jamaican squad which will include Mario Forsythe, Yohan Blake, and Marvin Anderson. Gay, the second fastest 100m man in history, will team up with Wallace Spearmon, Walter Dix and Trell Kimmons in what will be the fiercest battle of the year for bragging rights as the 'world's fastest nation'. more

28.07.2010 - Bolt vs Powell and Gay in Stockholm - Samsung Diamond League

28 July 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden - World record holder Usain Bolt has joined the 100m field for the DN Galan - Samsung Diamond League meeting on 6 August, organisers have announced, where he'll face fellow Samsung Diamond League Ambassadors Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay for the first time this season.

The race will mark the first time that history's three fastest men will meet on the track since the 100m final at last year's World Championships in Berlin. Bolt set the World record in the German capital, clocking 9.58, with Gay second in 9. more

26.07.2010 - Farah to take on Lagat in London 3000m - Samsung Diamond League

26 July 2010 - London, UK - Only two weeks after the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, Great Britain’s Mo Farah is set for a fascinating head to head with Bernard Lagat, at the Aviva London Grand Prix on 13-14 August, the 12th stop of the 14-meeting Samsung Diamond League series.

 
Lagat, the world champion over both 1500m and 5000m at the World Championships in Osaka 2007, will arrive to the Aviva London Grand Prix as the man to beat, following his victory over the distance last March at the World Indoor Championships in Doha. more

25.07.2010 - Jackson focuses on a 1-carat performance in Stockholm - Samsung Diamond League

25 July 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden - Bershawn Jackson, the 2005 World 400m Hurdles champion and the bronze medallist at both the last Olympics and Worlds is aiming at a sparkling new stadium record at the DN Galan – Samsung Diamond League on 6 August.

Danny Harris has been the owner of the stadium record for 400m Hurdles since 1990 with 47.98sec, and it’s a time that Jackson, this season’s fastest one-lap hurdler, is coming to beat. Currently with a best in 2010 of 47.32 from the US Championships in Des Moines at the end of June, the chances are good that the 27-year-old will get the 1-carat diamond which is the reward for all stadium records beaten at the DN Galan. more

24.07.2010 - Ambassador Vili hopes to derail Ostapchuk’s Diamond Race hopes – Samsung Diamond League

23 July 2010 - Zürich, Switzerland - For the first time, part of the Weltklasse Zürich action will take place in downtown Zurich.

On 18 August, the world’s best shot putters will be lining up to compete at the impressive main hall of the city’s Main Station.

For the women, it will be the Samsung Diamond League final event.

As part of the new Samsung Diamond League, the Weltklasse Zürich will also feature disciplines that had not been staged at Letzigrund Stadium for some years.

Meeting Director Patrick K. more

23.07.2010 - Defar to chase World record at 5000m in Stockholm - Samsung Diamond League

23 July 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden - The 1912 Olympic stadium knows a thing or two about World records and best performances, during its history it has witnessed a total of 83 in the sport of track and field athletics.

Running is a part of the Stadium’s soul and visiting athletes have always appreciated the great atmosphere and the knowledgeable spectators, and so it comes as no surprise that Meseret Defar of Ethiopia, the 2004 Olympic and 2007 World 5000m champion has chosen Stockholm for her attack at the 5000m World record on 6 August at the DN Galan – Samsung Diamond League meeting. more

22.07.2010 - New 1500m stars emerge in Monaco – Samsung Diamond League

22 July 2010 – Monaco – There were no fireworks from David Oliver but the Herculis 2010 still saw some sparkling athletics as the 10th Samsung Diamond League meeting produced seven world leading performances on a hot and humid night in Monaco’s Stade Louis II.

For unheralded Kiplagat, a massive breakthrough

The race of the night was the men’s 1500m in which a 20-year-old Kenyan Silas Kiplagat emerged as a new force on the world stage as he lowered his PB by five seconds to take an unexpected victory in 3:29. more

21.07.2010 - Monaco Poster boy Gay ready to live up to his billing - Samsung Diamond League

21 July 2010 – Monaco - By his own admission, Tyson Gay had a big surprise this week as he drove into Monte Carlo ahead of tomorrow’s Heculis 2010 Samsung Diamond League meeting.

Everywhere he looked, posters advertising the event, with himself as the poster boy.

“It was a complete shock to me,” he says. “At last year’s World Championships in Berlin there were posters of myself and Usain Bolt.  But this was my first time, coming in on the taxi from the airport, seeing all the poster hanging up. more

21.07.2010 - Monaco is a home away from home for Lagat

21 July 2010 – Monaco - Monaco is among Bernard Lagat’s favourite tracks and the 2007 World Championships 1500m and 5000m double gold medallist is looking to keep his close relationship with the local audience alive at the Herculis 2010 - Samsung Diamond League - meeting on Thursday.

His affection for the meeting is such that he has even brought the rest of his family along with him this year – his wife Gladys, his livewire four-year-old son Miika and his 20-month-old daughter Gianna – to savour the atmosphere and watch him run over 1500m at the Stade Louis II. more

21.07.2010 - Campbell-Brown and Jeter, demanding respect in Monaco – Samsung Diamond League

21 July 2010 - Monaco – They may be fierce opponents on the track but Veronica Campbell-Brown and Carmelita Jeter sat united in passionate solidarity on the eve of the 10th Samsung Diamond League meeting in Monaco today as they called for women’s sprinters to receive as much acclaim, attention and reward as their much-heralded male counterparts.

The two are due to race over 100m at the Herculis 2010 international meeting tomorrow (Thursday) in a re-run of their clash in Eugene three weeks ago when Campbell-Brown scorched to victory in 10.78, the fastest time in the world this year, just five hundredths ahead of her American rival. more

21.07.2010 - Oliver riding cool momentum to hot Monaco – Samsung Diamond League

21 July 2010 – Monaco - The words are written big and bold on David Oliver’s chest as he fields questions on the eve of the Samsung Diamond League Herculis 2010 meeting In Monte Carlo: “Doing It.

”

The conversion of Nike’s touchstone phrase – Just Do It – into the present tense is entirely apt for this 28-year-old American, whose last two races, at the Diamond League meetings in Eugene and Paris, have seen him equal the national 110m Hurdles record of 12. more

21.07.2010 - Demus: ‘I’m always trying to break some kinda record, any record’ - Samsung Diamond League

21 July 2010 – Monaco - Lashinda Demus gave notice that Yuliya Pechonkina’s 400m Hurdles World record of 52.34 could be living on borrowed time when she faced the media on Wednesday (21), the day before the Herculis 2010 - Samsung Diamond League - meeting in Monaco.

“Pechonkina, she’s been there seven years, she’s gotta go, the boot is coming,” said the 27-year-old American, with a smile on her face but with a serious edge to her comments about the Russian’s position on top of the global rankings.

Demus cherishes broken records

“Every race I run, I’m after it (Pechonkina’s world record). more

21.07.2010 - Gay, Oliver, Demus & company bring high ambitions to Monaco – Samsung Diamond League

21 July 2010 - Monaco - It was a wise decision to make Tyson Gay the sole poster boy of the tenth Samsung Diamond League meeting in Monaco.

Gay’s heralded 200m clash with Walter Dix was set to be one of the highlights of the Herculis 2010 international at the Stade Louis II on Thursday (22) but it’s Gay alone whose image adorns the meeting banners hung around the principality. more

19.07.2010 - Monaco PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST - Samsung Diamond League

19 July 2010 - Monaco - The PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST for the Herculis 2010 - Samsung Diamond League - meeting in Monaco on Thursday 22 July, is available on-line.

The meeting has already announced an impressive line-up of athletes who include Samsung Diamond League Ambassadors Tyson Gay (200m), Barbora Spotakova (JT) and Valerie Vili (SP). And of particular note, after coming so close to the World record for the 110m Hurdles in Paris last Friday, USA’s David Oliver will be flying again over the barriers, just one of a host of world stars who will be competing in Monaco’s Stade Louis II. more

16.07.2010 - Bolt decisively handles Powell, Oliver threatens WR with 12.89 in Paris - Report - Samsung Diamond League

16 July 2010 - Paris, France - World record holder Usain Bolt handily beat rival Asafa Powell in their first face-off of the year while David Oliver came close to the World record in the 110m Hurdles to highlight the Meeting Areva in Paris, the ninth stop on the 14-meeting Samsung Diamond League series.

Oliver’s sizzling 12.89, the third fastest performance in history, was one of five world-leading performances before a wildly enthusiastic crowd of 40,597 at the Stade de France. It’s safe to say that most of them were attracted by the prospects of what might transpire when the season’s two fastest men – and two of the three fastest in history – would butt heads for the first time this season. more

15.07.2010 - Bolt vs Powell tops stellar list of electrifying face-offs in Paris - PREVIEW - Samsung Diamond League

15 July 2010 - Paris, France – There’ll be no shortage of tantalising head-to-heads when the Samsung Diamond League lands in the French capital on Friday for the Meeting Areva, but the one most likely to invoke images of last night’s spectacular Bastille Day fireworks will come in the 100m where Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell square off for the first time this season.

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15.07.2010 - Paris Press Conference Highlights – Samsung Diamond League

15 July 2010 - Paris, France – The Meeting Areva, the Paris stop of the Samsung Diamond League, held a series of press conferences on Thursday (15). Below are some of the highlights from the myriad of stars paraded before the media.

Blanka Vlasic (Croatia, High Jump)

“On this track, you cannot afford to make any mistakes; you have to keep really focused on your technique. However, I am getting better. Last year, I had some little problems at the beginning of the season but I remember getting better and better. more

15.07.2010 - Kaki looking to upstage the sprinters – Samsung Diamond League

15 July 2010 - Paris, France – Usain who? It may come as a surprise to many people but Sudan’s Abubaker Kaki is aiming to provide the highlight of the Meeting Areva, the Paris stop of the Samsung Diamond League.

In the wake of his Kenyan rival David Rudisha running 800m in 1:41.51 in the Belgian town of Heusden last Saturday, to become the second fastest man ever at the event, Kaki now wants to follow in his footsteps over two laps of the track and run under the elite benchmark of 1:42. more

15.07.2010 - Lavillenie relishes role as 'man to beat' - Samsung Diamond League

15 July 2010 - Paris, France - With an unbeaten record under his belt this summer, World Outdoor bronze medallist Renaud Lavillenie has no problem with carrying the weight of being the World's top pole vaulter as he returns to competition at the Meeting Areva - Samsung Diamond League on Friday.

The 23-year-old Frenchman, already a six metres plus performer, went to the helm of the global list when clearing 5.94m to win the national title in Valence last Saturday.

His latest win in an unbeaten season also saw Lavillenie narrowly miss with three attempts at 6. more

15.07.2010 - Confident and injury-free, Burka determined to make amends after Berlin disaster – Samsung Diamond League

15 July 2010 – Paris, France - Gelete Burka's fall in the 1500m at last year's World Championships in Berlin has made her even more determined to make amends for a setback which probably cost her the gold medal.

Speaking on the eve her 1500m appearance at the Meeting Areva, the Paris stop of the Samsung Diamond League, Burka said never forget when after front running to what seemed a likely victory, she was impeded by Natalie Rodriguez who tried to squeeze past on the inside with just 200m remaining causing her to crash to the track. more

13.07.2010 - Cantwell and Ambassador Vili’s ‘Big Shot’ in Stockholm - Samsung Diamond League

13 July 2010 - Stockholm, Sweden – The DN Galan ‘Big Shot’ is bigger than ever. For the 3rd consecutive year Stockholm’s DN Galan – Samsung Diamond League (6 August 2010), will organise their Shot Put competitions, called the ‘Big Shot’, in the picturesque downtown city square of “Kungsträdgården”, one day before the main meeting takes place in the 1912 Olympic stadium.

The event which is free of charge for the spectators, will witness a men’s competition, which this year is one of the designated Diamond Races in Stockholm’s Samsung Diamond League schedule, and a world class international women’s Shot, as well as a Youth competition. more

12.07.2010 - Bolt on Paris 100m: ‘On Friday I think we will see a serious race’ – Samsung Diamond League

12 July 2010 - Paris, France – Friday night will mark the season’s first head-to-head between Usain Bolt and the man whose 100m World record he took, Asafa Powell.

And Bolt, like the entire athletics world, is eagerly anticipating the race.

For the second consecutive year Bolt will be the headline attraction at the Meeting AREVA - Samsung Diamond League to be held at the Stade de France in the outskirts of the Paris on Friday 16 July. more

12.07.2010 - Oliver vs. Robles in Monaco – Samsung Diamond League

12 July 2010 - Monaco – David Oliver vs. Dayron Robles - one of the season’s most anticipated match-ups – is coming to the Herculis – Samsung Diamond League meeting in Monaco’s Stade Louis II on 22 July.

Oliver, 28, has been on a tear this season, most recently with a sizzling 12.90 Area record at the Prefontaine Classic Samsung Diamond League fixture on 3 July. Robles, the reigning Olympic champion and World record holder at 12.87, illustrated with his dominating 13. more

12.07.2010 - Paris PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST as @ 12 July - Samsung Diamond League

12 July 2010 - The PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST for the Meeting Areva - Samsung Diamond League meeting in Paris-St.

Denis on Friday 16 July, a meeting which features a 100m sprint clash between Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, is now available.

The meeting has already announced an impressive line-up of athletes who also include Bolt and Powell's fellow Samsung Diamond League Ambassadors Allyson Felix, Andreas Thordkildsen, Tero Pitkamaki, Steven Hooker, and Blanka Vlasic, plus the first face-off of the year between world leader David Oliver and World record holder Dayron Robles in the 110m Hurdles. more

10.07.2010 - Gay powers past Powell in last 20m in Gateshead - Samsung Diamond League

10 July 2010 - Gateshead, UK - Asafa Powell is a relaxed sprinter these days. A little too relaxed as it turned out this afternoon, for the Jamaican let victory slip from his grasp by easing up in the final metres of his much anticipated 100m clash against Tyson Gay at the Aviva British Grand Prix – Samsung Diamond League – in Gateshead.

The first battle of the year between two of the ‘big three’ of world sprinting was the headline event of the eighth Samsung Diamond League meeting, and the principal actors didn’t disappoint as Gay fought back to erase Powell’s unbeaten season record, in 9. more

09.07.2010 - Idowu hoping for successful second outing - Samsung Diamond League

9 July 2010 - Gateshead, UK - Phillips Idowu will no doubt be hoping that his second experience of a Samsung Diamond League event – at the Aviva British Grand Prix in Gateshead tomorrow (10) – will be easier on his spirit than the first.

Britain’s World champion produced a highly respectable effort of 17.31m at the meeting in New York’s Icahn Stadium on 6 June. Sweden’s former Olympic and World champion Christian Olsson also had something to be pleased with as he managed a wind-assisted effort of 17. more

09.07.2010 - Murer takes two extra steps to greater success - Samsung Diamond League

9 July 2010 - Gateshead, UK - It’s usual for even the finest athletes to progress one step at a time. But in Fabiana Murer’s case, she is reaching new heights in the Pole Vault by taking two steps – two extra steps, that is.

Since extending her run-up from 16 to 18 steps at the start of the season, the 29-year-old Brazilian – who will have her first competition in Gateshead tomorrow (10) in the Aviva British Grand Prix - Samsung Diamond League meeting – has achieved a personal best of 4. more

09.07.2010 - Powell v Gay tops Gateshead’s Diamond bill - PREVIEW - Samsung Diamond League

9 July 2010 - Gateshead, UK – All eyes will be on the men’s 100m at the Aviva British Grand Prix in Gateshead on Saturday (10) where two of the ‘big three’ meet for the first time this season at the top of a star-studded bill for the eighth Samsung Diamond League meeting.

Asafa Powell got the Samsung Diamond League series off to a blistering start when he blasted to a windy 9.75 in his heat at the inaugural meeting in Doha two months ago, and the Jamaican has been in equally sparkling form since, winning in Ostrava, Oslo and Rome where he clocked the world’s quickest time of 9. more

09.07.2010 - Powell the man to beat, says Gay - Samsung Diamond League

9 July 2010 - Gateshead, UK - Despite Usain Bolt’s world lead equalling blast down the straight in the Samsung Diamond League meeting in Lausanne last night, Asafa Powell remains the man to beat over 100m according to Tyson Gay, the American who split the two Jamaicans in the World championships final in Berlin last summer.

Gay, who faces Powell over 100m at the Aviva British Grand Prix in Gateshead tomorrow, said at a joint press conference with the Jamaican: “I believe right now that Asafa is the guy to beat. Everyone will get my respect, of course, but I will have to run hard to beat Asafa. more

09.07.2010 - It’s a Dunn deal over 400m in Gateshead - Samsung Diamond League

9 July 2010 - Gateshead, UK - World Indoor 400 metres champion Debbie Dunn after a shaky start to her outdoor campaign is confident she can still make a massive impact in the second half of the Samsung Diamond League series, with Gateshead’s Aviva British Grand Prix on Saturday (10) her next outing in the 14 meeting global series.

A great season was predicted for Dunn after her solid IAAF World