Jeffrey Henderson in the long jump at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Glasgow (© Getty Images)
Olympic long jump champion Jeff Henderson will face a tough test at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham on 18 February, the final stop of the 2017 IAAF World Indoor Tour.
The US athlete, one of five reigning Olympic champions competing at the star-studded event, will take on 2010 world indoor champion Fabrice Lapierre of Australia in a top class field at the Barclaycard Arena.
Henderson, who dramatically took the gold medal in Rio by just one centimetre with his last jump of the competition (8.38m), will be looking to push himself in front of a vocal Birmingham crowd.
"I’m looking forward to competing at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix," said Henderson. "It’s a fantastic meet and will be a good opportunity to assess my sharpness at this point in the year.
“Competing in the UK is such a great experience for me, because track and field is so big there and the crowds are so loud, it’s really an amazing feeling.”
Lapierre, the world silver medallist indoors and out, won at the Indoor Grand Prix in Glasgow last year. It was held there for the first time as part of an alternating hosting arrangement with Birmingham up to 2020. The Australian is looking for more success on British soil next month.
"The Müller Indoor Grand Prix is one of the highlights of the indoor season for me and I really enjoy competing there," he said. "I hope I can jump well and win again this year.
“It’s a very strong field and I think it will be an exciting contest and great entertainment for the crowd."
Neither has competed yet this year, but Lapierre will open his season at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on Saturday (28), the kick-off meeting of the IAAF World Indoor Tour.
Organisers for the IAAF
2017 IAAF World Indoor Tour calendar
28 Jan – Boston, USA
1 Feb – Dusseldorf, GER
4 Feb – Karlsruhe, GER
10 Feb – Torun, POL
18 Feb – Birmingham, GBR
