Compeed Golden Gala announces 60 names of its cast

Many Olympic, World and European medallists will highlight the great athletics night of the Compeed Golden Gala in Rome. The athletics meeting in the Italian Capital, the third leg of the Samsung Diamond League IAAF, is set to celebrate its 31st edition with a star-studded field. The first contingent of athletes who will be in the spotlight at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on 26 May, was presented this morning in the fascinating backdrop of the Sala della Promoteca in the Campidoglio during a press conference attended by Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, the President of Italian Athletics Federation Franco Arese, the General Secretary of the Italian Olympic Committee Raffaele Pagnozzi and two stars of Italia athletics Antonietta Di Martino (European Indoor champion in the women’s high jump) and Fabrizio Donato (European Indoor silver medallist in the men’s triple jump).

Speaking about figures, and listing only gold medals, Rome will see the participation of 15 Olympic gold medallists in Beijing 2008, 19 world champions in Berlin 2009 and 10 european champions in Barcelona 2010. The headliner of this year’s Golden Gala will be certainly Usain Bolt. The Jamaican star, more times world champion and world record holder, will compete for the first time in his career in Italy. He will take on his compatriot and former World record holder Asafa Powell, who has already taken part in seven editions of the Rome meeting. Young French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre, three-times European champion in the 100 and 200 metres and the 4×100 relay and the first ever white sprinter to dip under 10 seconds, will be also in the line-up. Rome will also await Kenyan David Rudisha, who broke the historic 800 metres world record for the second time in a week in Rieti clocking 1:41.01. The Kenyan star will take on Southafrican Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (reigning world outdoor champion) and Sudanese Abubaker Kaki (reigning world indoor champion) and Kenyan Alfred Kirwa Yego, Olympic bronze medallist in Bejing and World silver medallist in Berlin in a race of the same level as a world championships final. The man to beat in the men’s 5000 metres will be Ethiopian Imane Merga, who won last year in Rome and more recently took the 2011 World Cross Country title. The men’s 400 metres hurdles will feature two US super stars such as twice Olympic champion Angelo Taylor and twice World champion Kerron Clement. The women’s sprint race field will not be less impressive with 400 metres World champion Sanya Richards and 200 metres World champion Allyson Felix who will clash twice in one hour in an unusual double battle in the 200 and 400 metres. Their top rivals in the 200 metres will be Jamaican Kerron Stewart, Olympic bronze medallist in the 200 metres and World silver medallist in the 100 metres and Bahamas’ Debbie Ferguson McKenzie, former 200 metre World champion and third at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. World and Olympic silver medallist Shericka Williams will run the 400 metres. The women’s 1500 metres will be highlighted by top names such as World champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal and Olympic champion Nancy Langat, while the women’s 3000 metres steeplechase will feature Kenyan Milcah Chemos Cheywa, World bronze medallist and 2010 Diamond League winner in her discipline. World Indoor and Outdoor champion Brittney Reese will the top name in the women’s long jump. Great athletes will be in the spotlight in the throwing events. The entire Olympic podium of the women’s javelin throw will compete in Rome with Czech world record holder Barbora Spotakova (gold), Russian Mariya Abakumova (silver) and German Christina Obergfoll. The men’s shot put podium from the World Championships in Berlin 2009 will be in the spotlight with US gold medallist Christian Cantwell (together with his compatriot Reese Hoffa), Olympic champion Tomas Majewski (silver) and German Ralf Bartels (bronze). In the women’s discus throw Cuban Olympic and World silver medallist Yarelis Barrios will come up against European gold medallist Sandra Perkovic and Berlin’s World bronze medallist Nicoleta Grasu.

Italian high jump record holder Antonietta Di Martino will return to competitions at the Olympic Stadium in her first meeting since her European Indoor gold medallist in Paris, which she won at the end of a winter season highlighted by her 2.04 Italian Indoor record. Among the fiercest rivals of the jumper from the Italian region Campania, who won the Golden Gala in 2009 beating World champion Blanka Vlasic, there are, according to the updated starting lists, Barcelona’s European silver medallist Emma Green and Spaniard, Indoor World and European silver medallist Ruth Beitia. Fabrizio Donato, European Indoor silver medallist with the new Italian Indoor of 17.73 will face Cuban World bronze medallist Alexis Copello from Cuba, Sweden’s Christian Olsson, Olympic gold medallist in Athens 2004 ahead of Romania’s Marian Oprea, another star in the Italian meeting on 26 May. In the men’s pole vault Giuseppe Gibilisco will come up against French super star Renaud Lavillenie, European Indoor and Outdoor champion and World bronze medallist. Italian 400 metres record holder Libania Grenot will run the 200 metres, while Marta Milani will run the 400 metres. The one-lap race will feature Italian champion Marco Vistalli who will try to pose some opposition to World indoor champion Chris Brown, Olympic bronze medallist Neville and World bronze medallist Quow. The 4×100 relay will be be highlighted by the first clash between Italy and France since the Euroepan Championships in Barcelona.

The Compeed Golden Gala will be one of the major events which will take place in the Eternal City which is bidding to host the 2020 Olympic Games and the major Italian athletics meeting will certainly play an important role in the Olympic bid. “We want to attract more people to the Golden Gala to make it a popular event for the city”, said Rome’s Mayor Gianni Alemanno.

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Entry List at 3 May 2011