11 Olympic champs to compete in Stockholm
Sanya Richards-Ross and 10 other newly crowned Olympic champions will switch their attention from gold to diamonds on Friday at the DN Galan athletics meet in Stockholm.
The Diamond League event is the first major track meet after the London Games, and the American 400-metre champion will be among 11 gold medalists set to compete at Stockholm's Olympic Stadium - on the 100th anniversary of the 1912 games that were held there.
Felix Sanchez, the men's 400-metre hurdles champion, is also among the headline acts, along with 1 500-metre winner Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria. Makhloufi will be running the 800 in Stockholm. He was initially kicked out of the London Games for presumably not trying hard enough in the 800 - quitting the race on the first lap after he had reached the final of the 1 500 - but was allowed back after a doctor took his side.
Any athlete who breaks a stadium record in Stockholm will be given a one-carat diamond - and Richards-Ross for her part is intent on adding one of those to her gold medals.
"I really hope to take on the stadium record tomorrow," said Richards-Ross, who added a second gold in London in the women's 4x400 relay. "I've set a goal of mine here in Stockholm - I need to get that diamond."
The field also includes triple jump champion Christian Taylor and fellow American Brittney Reese, who won the women's long jump. Women's high jump gold medalist Anna Chicherova of Russia is also there, along with women's pole vault champion Jennifer Suhr of the US
The Diamond League consists of 14 top athletics meets, with points awarded to the top finishers in each discipline at every event. The overall winner in each discipline at the end of the season is also given a $40 000 prize along with a diamond trophy.
