Olympic champions Yohan Blake, Sally Pearson and Jenn Suhr were the first headliners announced Wednesday as part of the Adidas Grand Prix field.
The Adidas Grand Prix, set for June 14 in New York, is one of two Diamond League track and field meets held in the U.S. The other is the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore.
Blake, the joint second-fastest man ever in the 100m at 9.69 seconds, missed last year’s World Championships with a hamstring injury. When healthy, he is a rival to countryman Usain Bolt.
Blake, 24, beat Bolt, 27, in the 100m and 200m at the 2012 Jamaican Olympic Trials and then took silver in both races at the London Olympics.
“After not being able to run in New York City last year, I can’t wait to get into my blocks,” Blake said in a press release. “The opportunity to compete against international athletes in front of New York’s Caribbean community just gets my adrenaline pumping.”
Bolt has not raced at the New York meet since breaking the 100m world record in 2008, before the Olympics, when it was the Reebok Grand Prix. Bolt was slated to run at the Adidas Grand Prix in 2010 but pulled out due to an Achilles injury.
Olympic 100m hurdles champion Australian Sally Pearson is also entered for the Adidas Grand Prix. She is trying to fend off a deep group of American hurdlers. Pearson took silver behind Brianna Rollins at the 2013 World Championships and Nia Ali at the 2014 World Indoor Championships last weekend.
Olympic champion pole vaulter Jenn Suhr is going to Adidas for the seventh time, coming off a fifth-place finish at the World Indoor Championships.
Ukraine high jump world champion Bohdan Bondarenko was also announced as part of the field. Bondarenko will make his U.S. debut.
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