A general view of the new Letzigrund stadium in Zurich (© c)
After only one year of construction works the new Letzigrund Stadium will open its gates on Friday 7 September 2007, opening a new chapter in the history books of athletics, as on that night the IAAF Golden League 2007 recommences after its break during the World Championships in Osaka.
Already the provisional start lists for the Weltklasse Zürich read like a who’s who of jumping and throwing.
Yelena Isinbayeva, the queen of pole vaulting, as well as the top four high jumpers of the 2007 season Blanka Vlasic (2.05m), Antonietta Di Martino (2.03m), Yelena Slesarenko (2.02m), and Kajsa Bergqvist (2.02m) have confirmed.
In the men’s Javelin Throw, the world’s leading throwers Breaux Greer, Andreas Thorkildsen, and Tero Pitkämäki will all hit the runway, while Zurich local Alexander Martinez will try and challenge Olympic Champion Christian Olsson and World champion Walter Davis in the Triple Jump. In the men’s Pole Vault Tim Lobinger, a darling of the public for years, will face up to Brad Walker, Paul Burgess, and Steven Hooker, who have all already cleared 5.90m or more this year.
The track line-up is also already strong with names such as Sanya Richards, Liu Xiang and Xavier Carter confirmed.
All the remaining IAAF Golden League Jackpot contenders will compete too as in addition to Yelena Isinbayeva and Sanya Richards, Michelle Perry will try to continue her pursuit of the $1 Million prize in Zurich.
“Zurich is MY meet. Therefore, nothing can go wrong”, says Michelle Perry, the current World 100m Hurdles champion.
The new track and the new Letzigrund Stadium has already triggered excitement and enthusiasm. Isinbayeva and Lobinger were shown around yesterday (23). “This stadium is awesome,” marvels Tim Lobinger, the winner here in 2002, admiring the architecture and the track. He is already looking forward to 7 September: “The new Letzigrund Stadium - the unique audience in Zurich - the meeting will definitely be a highlight.”
Isinbayeva joins in: “It will be wonderful to have a parallel competition (with men and women pole vaulting) at the same time. This will be a great show for the fans.”
