Germany’s Storl, the 2011 and 2013 IAAF World Championships shot put gold medallist will be making his debut in the historic Stadio Olimpico but Croatia’s Perkovic knows what the conditions are like, having won in Rome two years ago.
Both throwers have already shown good early season for with Storl winning the European indoor title last month and Perkovic, the reigning Olympic, world and European champion, having launched her implement out to a massive world-leading 70.08m on home soil in Split last month.
The Stadio Olimpico has seen some superb women’s high jump competitions in the past, notably on 30 August 1987 at that year’s IAAF World Championships, when Bulgaria’s Stefka Kostadinova cleared a world record 2.09m, a mark that still stands today.
In a few months’ time the spotlight will be on local star Trost, the 2014 European indoor silver medallist, who will face the woman who beat her to that title last month: Russia’s Mariya Kuchina.
The pair are old foes, their rivalry going back to the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships when Trost reversed the result from Prague and beat Kuchina to the gold medal.
However, the head-to-head tally currently stands at 10-5 to the Russian.
Poland’s 2014 world indoor champion Kamila Licwinko, the indoor world leader this winter with 2.02m who took the bronze medal in Prague and will be looking for revenge after being beaten by Kuchina and Trost at the European Indoor Championships.
The Golden Gala meeting record stands at 2.03, which has been jumped by four women in two other terrific high jump contests: Hestrie Cloete and Yelena Slesarenko in 2004, Blanka Vlasic and Chaunte Howard-Lowe in 2010.
THE TICKET SALE IS OPEN: The ticket sale for the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, which takes place on 4th June at the Olympic Stadium, has already started. Tickets can be purchased at the Ticketone outlets, the Ticketing partner of the Rome meeting and on the website of the company at the address <link http: www.ticketone.it _blank>www.ticketone.it (in the section sport or looking for Golden Gala in the motor engine inside the website). These are the prizes for the 2015 edition: Monte Mario Arrivi (Finish-line): 30 Euros, Monte Mario (starting line):20 Euros, Tribuna Tevere (Distinti finish line): 15 Euros, Curve and Distinti (expect from Distinti Arrivi): 5 Euros. The Foro Italico ticket office (Viale delle Olimpiadi 61, ex Ostello) is open from Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 17.00
<link http: www.ticketone.it _blank>TICKETS
