Xie confident of defending hurdles title in Shanghai
Print Edition
CHINESE hurdler Xie Wenjun is confident he can defend his title at the 2015 IAAF Shanghai Diamond League to be held at Shanghai Stadium on May 17.
The 24-year-old local lad is currently China’s best hurdler in the post-Liu Xiang era following Liu’s retirement on Tuesday.
Organizers yesterday unveiled the first batch of athletes who have confirmed their participation for the event.
Xie will take on 2012 Olympic champion and world record holder Aries Merritt (United States), 2013 world championship top-three finishers David Oliver (US), Ryan Wilson (US), and Sergey Shubenkov (Russia), as well as France’s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde in the 110-meter hurdles.
“All of us have competed against each other many times on various occasions, and there will be no secrets,” Xie said.
“I have continued to work on improving my technique and other details in training. Shanghai is the place that can fill me up with confidence.”
Xie beat Oliver and former world champion Dayron Robles of Cuba on home turf last year, clocking 13.23 seconds. With Liu’s coach Sun Haiping as his mentor, it is not surprising that Xie regards Liu as his idol.
The 2015 event will include 16 disciplines, eight for men (200, 400, 1,500, 3,000 steeplechase, 110 hurdles, high jump, long jump, discus throw) and eight for women (100, 800, 5,000, 400 hurdles, pole vault, triple jump, shot put, javelin throw).
Other confirmed athletes include Kirani James of Grenada (2012 Olympic gold medalist in 400), LaShawn Merrit of the US (2013 world champion in 400), Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Veronica Campbell-Brown, as well as Asian high jump record holder Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar.
Chinese long jumper Li Jinzhe will compete against British Olympic champion Greg Rutherford and Russian world champion Aleksandr Menkov. Other Chinese athletes include shot putter Gong Lijiao and 800 runner Zhao Jing.
Ticket booking will start from April 15, with prices ranging from 80 to 980 yuan (US$158). For details log on to www.dlsh.org or call hotline 21-24227168.
Meanwhile, a promotional running event “Jiayin Diamond Race” will be held for the public this year, providing amateur runners an opportunity to compete in a 5,000 final as a warm-up to the Diamond League on May 17. The top three finishers will be awarded trophies and will get to stand on the podium with Diamond League winners.
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