Yomog Meje
Kenya’s 800m world record-holder and Olympics gold medallist, David Rudisha is the main attraction at the Melbourne IAAF World Challenge meeting on Saturday night.
It will be Rudisha’s fourth appearance at the Melbourne meeting where he has produced three outstanding runs, topped by a 1:43.15 on his first visit in 2010.
Rudisha kickstarted his 2015 season in Australia with an impressive 1:45.01 win at the Sydney Track Classic last Saturday.
Aside David Rudisha, another Olympic champion competing is Australian 100m women hurdles champion Sally Pearson, and other top stars in action include world javelin silver medallist Kim Mickle, 2009 world 200m silver medallist Alonso Edward and world indoor shot put bronze medallist Tom Walsh.
On Saturday, Melbourne will mark the beginning of the sixth editions of both the IAAF World Challenge and the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge series of meetings.
Both series will pass through numerous countries around the world before reaching a conclusion in Rieti, Italy on 13 September, 2015.
The challenge events will also cross over throughout the year; of the 13 IAAF World Challenge meetings, seven of them also form part of the IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge.
Among the many outstanding performances in both of last year’s series, none could top the 79.58m world record in the women’s hammer throw from Anita Wlodarczyk in Berlin.
But with athletes around the world preparing to compete at this year’s IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015, both challenge series this season are expected to top the excitement of last year.
IAAF World Challenge calendar 2015
- 21 Mar – Melbourne, AUS
- 9 May – Kingston, JAM
- 10 May – Kawasaki, JPN
- 20 May – Beijing, CHN
- 23 May – Dakar, SEN
- 24 May – Hengelo, NED
- 26 May – Ostrava, CZE
- 14 Jun – Rabat, MAR
- 21 Jun – Belem, BRA
- 11 Jul – Madrid, ESP
- 6 Sep – Berlin, GER
- 8 Sep – Zagreb, CRO
- 13 Sep – Rieti, ITA
IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge calendar 2015
- 21 Mar – Melbourne, AUS
- 10 May – Kawasaki, JPN
- 20 May – Beijing, CHN
- 26 May – Ostrava, CZE
- 14 Jun – Rabat, MAR
- 21 Jun – Belem, BRA
- 25 Jun – Turku, FIN
- 7 Jul – Szekesfehervar, HUN
- 18 Jul – Moscow, RUS
- 22-30 Aug – Beijing, CHN
- 13 Sep – Rieti, ITA
