Thirty-six years of history, thirty-six years of great athletics. On Thursday 2nd June (20.00) the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, the fifth leg of the 2016 IAAF Diamond League, will take place at the Rome Olympic Stadium. The long list of the top-names featuring in the meeting line-up was revealed today during a press conference attended by the Italian Olympic Committee President Giovanni Malagò and the FIDAL President Alfio Giomi. Twelve London 2012 Olympic medallists and 32 Beijing 2015 World Championships medallists will highlight the 2016 edition of the Rome meeting. Counting also 21 European medallists in Zurich 2014 and 19 World Indoor medallists in Portland 2016, the meeting is ready to welcome 84 individual medalists of the last four big international championships. Among them there are five olympic gold medallists (British long jumper Greg Rutherford, German discus thrower Robert Harting, Kenyan 3000m steeplechase Ezekiel Kemboi, Czech Republic’s javelin thrower Barbora Spotakova and New Zealand’s shot putter Valerie Adams). 11 world champions, 7 world indoor champions and 7 European champions. It’s an outstanding figure, which could grow, as Meeting Director Luigi D’Onofrio is working on adding further names to the list of the top stars.
TAMBERI vs BONDARENKO – The men’s high jump will offer a great show at the Golden Gala. The spotlight will be on “mister halfshave” Gianmarco Tamberi, who will compete for the first time in Italy since winning the world indoor title in Portland. The national indoor record holder (2.38 indoors and 2.37m outdoors) is ready to thrill the crowd which will pack the South Curve of the Olympic Stadium with his jumps and his overwhelming energy. Gimbo will face Ukrainian Bohdan Bondarenko, European record holder with 2.42m, world champion in 2013 and world silver medallist in 2015 and reigning European champion in 2014. The line-up also features the other big Italian star Marco Fassinotti, who cleared 2.35 indoors last winter and his Birmingham training partner Robbie Grabarz from Great Britain (olympic bronze medallist and world indoor silver medallist). The jumping events will be also highlighted by the men’s long jump with Great Britain’s Greg Rutherford (PB 8.51m), who won all big international titles including the magi chat-trick of wins at the Olympic Games, the European Championships and the World Championships between 2012 and 2015.
GATLIN IS LOOKING FOR HIS FOURTH WIN IN ROME – Gatlin has never lost in the past three editions of the Rome Golden Gala. World silver medallist Justin Gatlin, the fifth fastest sprinter in history with 9.74, will return to Rome looking for his fourth consecutive win in the 100m in the Olympic Stadium where he even beat Jamaican Lightning Usain Bolt in 2013. Gatlin will line up against two continental record holders Femi Ogunode, who set the Asian record with 9.91 and equallied this time one month ago in Florida, and Frenchman Jimmi Vicaut, who has tied Portuguese Francis Obikwelu’s European record with 9.86 since 2015. Another ever-present name at the Golden Gala is Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre, who will run the 200m against 20-year-old Trayvon Bromell from the USA, who won the 100m world bronze medal and the world indoor gold in the 60m.
400 METRES FOR RECORD BREAKER VAN NIEKERK – South African Wayde Van Niekerk is 23 years old, but has already made athletics history thanks to an unprecedented hat-trick of results. He has become the only sprinter, who has run the 100m under 10 seconds (9.98), the 200m under 20 seconds (19.94) and the 400m under 44 seconds with the fourth fastest time in history of 43.48 set when he won the world the world title in Beijing 2015. Van Niekerk knows Italy very well as he has trained in Gemona near Udine for some years under the guidance of his 65-year-old coach Ans Botha. In the Rome 400m he will take on Olympic silver medallist Luguellin Santos and Isaac Makwala, the surprisng athlete from Botswana, who ran the seventh fastest time in history with 43.72.
BIG TIME GOAL IN THE 3000 METRES STEEPLECHASE – The entire world 3000m steeplechase podium of Beijing 2015 will gather at the Golden Gala. Three kenyan runners, the evergreen Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi, world silver Conseslus Kipruto, and bronze medallist Brimin Kipruto, plus 2015 Diamond League winner Jairus Birech will highlight a race which will live up to the tradition of the 3000m at the Golden Gala. The men’s discus will be a fight until the last throw between German Olympic champion Robert Harting, the “Incredible Hulk” of this discipline, and Polish reigning world champion Piotr Malachowski.
BIG CLASHES IN WOMEN’S COMPETITIONS – The women’s competitions will feature an array of big international stars. In the triple jump the most eagerly awaited name is Colombian “panther” Caterine Ibarguen, twice world champion, who trains for some periods of the year in Ostia and has already jumped over 15m this season. One of the favourites in the women’s pole vault will be Cuban world champion Yarisley Silva. The other gold medallists announced for the athletics night in the Olympic Stadium will be Czech Republic’s Zuzana Hejnova in the women’s 400m hurdles, German shot putter Christina Schwanitz, her compatriot Katharina Molitor, who will line up in the javelin throw against Olympic champion and world record holder Barbora Spotakova (Czech Republic), who is ever present at the Golden Gala. Middle-distance races will be highlighted by top-class athletes. The women’s 800m will feature the entire world championships podium led by Maryna Arzamasova. The stand-out name in the women’s 5000m will be Ethiopian Almaz Ayana, world gold medallist in Beijing.
SCHOOL COMPETITIONS, RUNFEST AND PALIO DEI COMUNI: THE GOLDEN GALA FOR EVERYONE – The Final of the School Games will colour the week of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea. From Tuesday 31st May to Thursday 2nd June the Marble Stadium in Rome will host the three-day competitions organized by the Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL), the MIUR andthe Itallian Olympic Committee (CONI) with the contribution of the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP). This event will involve 1700 First and Second Grade students and teachers from all parts of Italy. This year the Golden Gala will start with a running event. From 29th May to 2nd June the Runfest, the big athletics, running and urban health festival will be hosted in the Foro Italico Park. After the big success of last year when the first edition involved thousands of persons from all ages, youngsters, runners, children and families, the Runfest event will last for five days this year. It will start on Sunday with the National Day of Sport, and will end on Thursday on the day of the International meeting. The week of the Golden Gala will be highlighted by all kind of initiatives (free entrance) to meet the big stars and test with runs and walks, take part in the seminaries or simply stay together. Thousand young students will be ready to take part in the Palio dei Comuni, the 12x200 maxi-relay event, which will take place in the Olympic Stadium on 2nd June during the afternoon, shortly before the start of the meeting. A series of competitions for Masters and under 20 sprint and middle-distance events are confirmed in the pre-programme of the meeting.
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