Helsinki, Finland - With finals in the men?s 100m and Discus Throw and women?s Heptathlon, Triple Jump and 20km Race Walk scheduled for Sunday (7 Aug), strength, speed and spring will be on vivid display when Day 2 of the 10th IAAF World Championships in Athletics begins.
Two years ago, sprinter Justin Gatlin, already a rising star, missed an opportunity to compete in the World Championships in Paris when injury knocked him out of the U.S. selection meet. In Helsinki, he starts as the reigning Olympic 100m champion and clearly the man to beat. Yet despite his dominating resum? this season, Gatlin will face considerable opposition that will make a march towards his first world outdoor title anything but a stroll in the Finnish capital?s stunning seaside Kaivopuisto Brunnsparken Park.
Training partner Dwight Thomas of Jamaica, defending silver medallist Darrel Brown and Marc Burns of Trinidad and defending champion Kim Collins lead a Caribbean charge; Ronald Pognon and Francis Obikwelu lead the European assault; Aziz Zakari of Ghana leads the African front; while Shawn Crawford, another training partner and the Olympic 200 meter champion, and rising star Leonard Scott lead the domestic attack.
