Dominic Demeritte (BAH) celebrates winning the 200m final (© Getty Images)
The presence of Bahamas’ Dominic Demeritte, the 2004 World Indoor 200m champion will be one of the highlights of both stops of the IAAF Grand Prix in Brazil in 2004, Sunday 16 May in Rio de Janeiro (GPII), and a week later in Belém, Sunday 23 May (GP).
Along with Demeritte, it has been anounced that Cuba’s Yumileidi Cumbá, third in the women’s Shot Put in Budapest 2004 will go against Brazil’s Elisângela Adriano, also in both meets.
The announcements were made by Roberto Gesta de Melo, President of the Brazilian and South American Confederations, and member of the IAAF Council:
“Brazil is the only country in the Southern Hemisphere to organize 2 stops of the IAAF GP. It was important to have a meet in Rio, since the city will host the Pan-American Games in 2007”.
Gesta remarked that the organizers of the meets “were still working on trying to get more top athletes” for the meetings which take pace respectively in Rio’s “Estádio Miécimo da Silva” and at the “Estádio Olímpico de Pará” in Belém.
Demeritte - last year's winner
Demeritte won the World Indoor 200 metres title in Budapest with a clocking of 20.66, a national record, and is currently placed 7th in the IAAF World Rankings. His outdoor best is 20.21 from 2002. Last year, his season’s best was 20.35, achieved while winning at the 2003 Belém GP.
Cumbá took the 2003 Pan-American Games title against Adriano, but then failed to advance to the World Championships final in Paris-Saint Denis – a fate which also befell Demeritte in the 200 metress - but recovered this winter in Budapest, where she put the Shot out to 19.31m. Currently she is placed 6th in the IAAF World Rankings. Her personal best is 19.48m, from 2000.
“Both meets will be great opportunities for our athletes to achieve Olympic qualification standards”, said Gesta de Melo.
Competition is in full swing in South America
A group of top Brazilian athletes is currently training in California, while others are already competing.
At the first stop of the South American GP, Brazil’s Maíla Machado clocked 12.97 at 100mh last Sunday in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Argentina’s Alejandra García improved her own South American record in the Pole Vault with 4.43m, on 3 April in Santa Fe, Argentina, and last Wednesday night (14 April) in Rosario, Argentina, at the second stage of the South American GP, García confirmed her good form with a jump of 4.40m.
This coming weekend there will be an active one in South America. Montevideo will host the third stop of the South American GP, while in Brazil, the top event will be the São Paulo State Championships, which mark the 80th Anniversary of the Paulista Federation.
