Rio marks the start of IAAF Grand Prix series
4 May 2001 – Sunday will see the 2001 IAAF Grand Prix season get truly underway after the early season meets in Australia and South Africa.
With the IAAF World Championships in Athletics still just under a hundred days off, Rio de Janeiro will see a particularly strong field of athletes from the South American and Caribbean areas, with many of the world’s stars delaying the start of their campaigns until the debut of the European Grand Prix meets.
Nonetheless, enthusiasts can expect some strong competition in a number of events with, notably, the presence of Cuban compatriots Anier Garcia, Olympic champion, and Yoel Hernandez meeting in the 110 metre hurdles and Olympic long jump champion Ivan Pedroso, also from Cuba, clashing with Jamaica’s James Beckford and the USA’s Kevin Dilworth in the long jump.
In the men’s sprints, local favourite Claudinei Quirino da Silva will face Chris Williams (JAM), the USA’s Brian Lewis and Shawn Crawford in the 200 metres, while Dennis Mitchell from the US will be lining up in the 100 metres against Cuban Fredy Mayola, who, like Crawford, is doubling in both sprints.
There is a strong field in the women’s half lap race, with Susanthika Jayasinghe of Sri Lanka meeting Beverly MacDonald and Tanya Lawrence from Jamaica and Bahamian golden girl Debbie Ferguson.
In the women’s 800 metres, the youngest of the Clarke girls, Hazel, little sister to Joetta and sister-in-law to Jearl Miles-Clarke, will be up against Letitia Vriesde from Surinam and Maria Mutola’s cousin Tina Paulino of Mozambique.
The USA will face some strong competition in the women's shot put, with Connie Price and Teri Tunks very evenly matched against Belarus’ Nadezhda Ostapchuk and Krystyna Danilczyk-Zabawska from Poland.
Results and reports from Rio will be available on the IAAF web site.
