June 17-18, 2005

Rome "Golden Gala"
Olympic Level Summer Track 2005
Athlete Quotes/Meet Entrants

Participants List (as at July 6)

Event M W Qual.1 Event Qual.2 Event Bib Num. Surname Name Nat.
100 A M G.L. Premium 200 1 GATLIN Justin USA
100 A M G.L. Premium 203 2 OBIKWELU Francis POR
100 A M G.L. Premium 204 3 POWELL Asafa JAM
100 A M G.L. Premium 205 4 COLLINS Kim SKN
100 A M G.L. Premium 207 5 POGNON Ronald FRA
100 A M G.L. Premium 208 6 COLLIO Simone ITA
100 A M G.L. Premium 210 7 SCOTT Leonard USA
100 A M G.L. Premium 1 8 ZAKARI Aziz GHA
100 A M G.L. Premium 209 4 FRATER Michael JAM

100 B M G.L. Premium 201 1 JARRETT Patrick JAM
100 B M G.L. Premium 202 2 JELKS Mark USA
100 B M G.L. Premium 206 3 CAPEL John USA
100 B M G.L. Premium 212 9 THOMAS Dwight JAM
100 B M G.L. Premium 213 5 LEWIS Brian USA
100 B M G.L. Premium 214 6 EDWARDS Ray USA
100 B M G.L. Premium 215 7 WILLIAMS Bernard USA
100 B M G.L. Premium 216 8 DONATI Massimiliano ITA
100 B M G.L. Premium 217 9 ATTENE Alessandro ITA

400 M Int. Prom. 218 1 CLARKE Davian JAM
400 M Int. Prom. 219 2 ROCK Andrew USA
400 M Int. Prom. 220 3 BREW Derrick USA
400 M Int. Prom. 221 4 MERRIT LaShawn USA
400 M Int. Prom. 222 5 SIMPSON Brandon JAM
400 M Int. Prom. 223 6 WILLIAMSON Darold USA
400 M Int. Prom. 224 7 WASHINGTON Tyree USA
400 M Int. Prom. 225 8 LICCIARDELLO Claudio ITA
400 M Int. Prom. 226 9 BARBERI Andrea ITA

800 A M G.L. Premium 11 1 MULAUDZI Mbulaeni RSA
800 A M G.L. Premium 12 2 BORZAKOVSKIY Yuriy RUS
800 A M G.L. Premium 13 3 YEGO Alfred KEN
800 A M G.L. Premium 15 4 SAID GUERNY Djabir ALG
800 A M G.L. Premium 17 5 KAMEL Joussef Saad BRN
800 A M G.L. Premium 18 6 BOBBATO Maurizio ITA
800 A M G.L. Premium 20 7 CHEHIBI Mouhssin MAR
800 A M G.L. Premium 21 8 LAALOU Amine MAR
800 A M G.L. Premium 22 9 MILKEVICS Dimitrijs LAT
800 A M G.L. Premium 2 10 YAMPOY William KEN
800 A M G.L. Premium 32 pm DOS SANTOS Osmar BRA

800 B M G.L. Premium 14 1 MWERA Samuel KEN
800 B M G.L. Premium 16 2 LACASSE Florent FRA
800 B M G.L. Premium 19 3 KRUMMENAKER David USA
800 B M G.L. Premium 25 4 ISMAIL Ismail SUD
800 B M G.L. Premium 26 5 AISSAT Nicolas FRA
800 B M G.L. Premium 27 6 ALSALBY Mohammed RSA
800 B M G.L. Premium 28 7 NEUNHAUSERER Christian ITA
800 B M G.L. Premium 29 8 MORO Mohamed ITA
800 B M G.L. Premium 30 9 RODIA Davide ITA
800 B M G.L. Premium 31 pm KOECH Justus KEN

1.500 M G.L. Premium 35 1 LAGAT Bernard USA
1.500 M G.L. Premium 36 2 RAMZI Rashid BRN
1.500 M G.L. Premium 37 3 LUCKEZIC Chris USA
1.500 M G.L. Premium 38 4 HESHKO Ivan UKR
1.500 M G.L. Premium 39 5 SILVA Rui POR
1.500 M G.L. Premium 3 6 KOMEN Daniel Kipchirc KEN
1.500 M G.L. Premium 41 7 KIPCHIRCHIR Alex KEN
1.500 M G.L. Premium 42 8 SULLIVAN Kevin CAN
1.500 M G.L. Premium 43 9 OBRIST Christian ITA
1.500 M G.L. Premium 44 10 KIPKURUI Benjamin KEN
1.500 M G.L. Premium 45 11 KORIR Paul KEN
1.500 M G.L. Premium 47 12 IGUIDER Abdelati MAR
1.500 M G.L. Premium 48 13 HIGUERO Juan Carlos ESP
1.500 M G.L. Premium 49 14 SHABUNIN Vyaceslav RUS
1.500 M G.L. Premium 50 15 DAMIAO Manuel POR
1.500 M G.L. Premium 46 pm2 SIMOTWO Suleiman KEN
1.500 M G.L. Premium 52 pm1 LELEI David KEN

5.000 M G.L. Premium 55 1 KIPRONO CHOGE Augustine KEN
5.000 M G.L. Premium 56 2 RIZKI Monder BEL
5.000 M G.L. Premium 57 3 KIPCHOGE Eliud KEN
5.000 M G.L. Premium 58 4 GOUMRI Abderrahim MAR
5.000 M G.L. Premium 59 5 BIRHANU Dejene ETH
5.000 M G.L. Premium 60 6 GEBREMARIAM Gebre-egziabh ETH
5.000 M G.L. Premium 61 7 GARCIA Carlos ESP
5.000 M G.L. Premium 62 8 DINKESSA Abebe Negera ETH
5.000 M G.L. Premium 63 9 LEBID Sergiy RUS
5.000 M G.L. Premium 65 10 JAWNER Mushir Salim BRN
5.000 M G.L. Premium 66 11 SONGOK Isaac KEN
5.000 M G.L. Premium 67 12 LIMO Benjamin KEN
5.000 M G.L. Premium 68 13 GENETI Markos ETH
5.000 M G.L. Premium 69 14 CASTILLEJO Carlos ESP
5.000 M G.L. Premium 70 15 WENDIMU Mulugeta ETH
5.000 M G.L. Premium 72 16 KAMATHI Charles KEN
5.000 M G.L. Premium 73 17 DE LA OSSA Juan Carlos ESP
5.000 M G.L. Premium 74 18 KIPROP Boniface UGA
5.000 M G.L. Premium 75 19 LIMO Richard KEN
5.000 M G.L. Premium 76 20 MOUSTAOUI Mohamed MAR
5.000 M G.L. Premium 77 21 BAKKEN Marius NOR
5.000 M G.L. Premium 78 22 GARCIA Alberto ESP
5.000 M G.L. Premium 79 23 FITSCHEN Jan GER
5.000 M G.L. Premium 51 pm2 BETT Charles KEN
5.000 M G.L. Premium 80 pm3 KORIR Shadrack KEN
5.000 M G.L. Premium 81 pm1 KEINO Martin KEN

3000sc M Int. Prom. 85 1 KOECH Paul Kipsiele KEN
3000sc M Int. Prom. 86 2 LINCOLN Daniel USA
3000sc M Int. Prom. 87 3 AMER Obaid Musa QAT
3000sc M Int. Prom. 88 4 BOULAMI Brahim MAR
3000sc M Int. Prom. 89 5 KIPROTICH Wesley KEN
3000sc M Int. Prom. 90 6 SHAHEEN Saif Saaeed QAT
3000sc M Int. Prom. 91 7 CHUMBA Linus KEN
3000sc M Int. Prom. 92 8 HOHL Stephan GER
3000sc M Int. Prom. 93 9 KIPYEGO Mike KEN
3000sc M Int. Prom. 94 10 PENCREACH Gael FRA
3000sc M Int. Prom. 95 11 RAMOLEFI Ruben RSA
3000sc M Int. Prom. 96 12 JIMENEZ Antonio David ESP
3000sc M Int. Prom. 97 13 MARTIN Luis Miguel ESP
3000sc M Int. Prom. 98 14 MISOI Kipkirui KEN
3000sc M Int. Prom. 99 15 KIPRUTO Brimin KEN
3000sc M Int. Prom. 100 16 MARTIN Eliseo ESP
3000sc M Int. Prom. 101 17 TAHRI Bouabdellah FRA
3000sc M Int. Prom. 71 18 IWAMIZU Yoshitaka JPN
3000sc M Int. Prom. 102 pm3 SALEM Jamal Bilal KEN
3000sc M Int. Prom. 103 pm2 NYAMU Julius KEN
3000sc M Int. Prom. 104 pm1 LANGAT John KEN

110h M G.L. Classic 110 1 JOHNSON Allen USA
110h M G.L. Classic 111 2 LIU Xiang CHN
110h M G.L. Classic 112 3 TRAMMELL Terrence USA
110h M G.L. Classic 113 4 DOMINIQUE Arnold USA
110h M G.L. Classic 114 5 WIGNALL Maurice JAM
110h M G.L. Classic 115 6 DEMYDYUK Serhiy UKR
110h M G.L. Classic 4 7 DOUCOURE' Ladji FRA
110h M G.L. Classic 117 8 DOS SANTOS Redelen Melo BRA
110h M G.L. Classic 118 9 GIACONI Andrea ITA

400h M Int. Prom. 120 1 FERGUSON Kenneth USA
400h M Int. Prom. 121 2 MCFARLANE Danny JAM
400h M Int. Prom. 122 3 KAMANI Bayano PAN
400h M Int. Prom. 123 4 CARTER James USA
400h M Int. Prom. 124 5 JACKSON Bershawn USA
400h M Int. Prom. 125 6 VAN ZYL Louis RSA
400h M Int. Prom. 126 7 BRAZELL Bennie USA
400h M Int. Prom. 127 8 TAMESUE Dai JPN
400h M Int. Prom. 128 9 CARABELLI Gianni ITA

HJ M G.L. Classic 135 1 FREITAG Jaques RSA
HJ M G.L. Classic 136 2 HEMINGWAY Matt USA
HJ M G.L. Classic 5 3 HOLM SteFan SWE
HJ M G.L. Classic 138 4 BABA Jaroslav CZE
HJ M G.L. Classic 139 5 NIETO James USA
HJ M G.L. Classic 140 6 SPOSOB Grzegorz POL
HJ M G.L. Classic 141 7 RYBAKOV Jaroslav RUS
HJ M G.L. Classic 142 8 BOSWELL Mark CAN
HJ M G.L. Classic 143 9 CIOTTI Giulio ITA
HJ M G.L. Classic 144 10 BETTINELLI Andrea ITA
HJ M G.L. Classic 145 11 TON Svatoslav CZE
HJ M G.L. Classic 146 12 SOKOLOVSKIY Andrey UKR
HJ M G.L. Classic 147 12 MASON Germaine JAM
HJ M G.L. Classic 148 13 CIOTTI Nicola ITA

PV M Int. Prom. 151 1 MACK Timothy USA
PV M Int. Prom. 152 2 STEVENSON Toby USA
PV M Int. Prom. 154 3 BLOM Rens NED
PV M Int. Prom. 155 4 BORGELIN Lars GER
PV M Int. Prom. 156 5 LOBINGER Tim GER
PV M Int. Prom. 157 6 FILIPPIDIS Kostadinos GRE
PV M Int. Prom. 158 7 HARTWIG Jeff USA
PV M Int. Prom. 159 8 GIBILISCO Giuseppe ITA
PV M Int. Prom. 160 9 SAWANO Daichi JPN
PV M Int. Prom. 161 10 HOOKER Steven AUS
PV M Int. Prom. 162 11 WALKER Brad USA
PV M Int. Prom. 163 12 KRISTIANSSON Patrik SWE
PV M Int. Prom. 164 13 PAVLOV Igor RUS

LJ M Int. Prom. 170 1 PHILLIPS Dwight USA
LJ M Int. Prom. 171 2 MOFFIT John USA
LJ M Int. Prom. 172 3 DA CASTELLO Stefano ITA
LJ M Int. Prom. 173 4 PATE Miguel USA
LJ M Int. Prom. 174 5 BOUGTAIB Tariq MAR
LJ M Int. Prom. 175 6 TSATOUMAS Louis GRE
LJ M Int. Prom. 176 7 GAISAH Ignisious GHA
LJ M Int. Prom. 177 8 ZYUSKOV Vladimir UKR
LJ M Int. Prom. 179 9 MOKOENA Godfrey Khots RSA
LJ M Int. Prom. 180 10 WINTER Nils GER
LJ M Int. Prom. 181 11 LUKASHEVYCH Olexiy UKR
LJ M Int. Prom. 182 12 EVILA Tommi FIN

JT M G.L. Classic 185 1 THORKILDSEN Andreas NOR
JT M G.L. Classic 186 2 NICOLAY Christian GER
JT M G.L. Classic 187 3 VARNIK Andrus EST
JT M G.L. Classic 6 4 PITKAMAKI Tero FIN
JT M G.L. Classic 189 5 WENK Stephan GER
JT M G.L. Classic 190 6 PARVIAINEN Aki FIN
JT M G.L. Classic 191 7 MARTINEZ Guillermo CUB
JT M G.L. Classic 192 8 IVANOV Aleksandr RUS
JT M G.L. Classic 193 9 PIGNATA Francesco ITA
JT M G.L. Classic 194 10 RAGS Eriks LAT
JT M G.L. Classic 195 11 MAKAROV Sergey RUS

100 A W G.L. Premium 270 1 WILLIAMS Lauryn USA
100 A W G.L. Premium 271 2 COLANDER LaTasha USA
100 A W G.L. Premium 272 3 BARBER MeLisa USA
100 A W G.L. Premium 275 4 PILLAY Geraldine RSA
100 A W G.L. Premium 251 5 ARRON Christine FRA
100 A W G.L. Premium 277 6 BLOCK Zhanna UKR
100 A W G.L. Premium 278 7 FELIX Allison USA
100 A W G.L. Premium 280 8 SIMPSON Sherone JAM
100 A W G.L. Premium 282 9 BAILEY Aleen JAM

100 B W G.L. Premium 274 1 BOONE-SMITH Rachelle USA
100 B W G.L. Premium 279 2 WILLIAMS Angela USA
100 B W G.L. Premium 281 3 BIKAR Alenka SLO
100 B W G.L. Premium 283 4 DURST Stephanie USA
100 B W G.L. Premium 284 5 DAIGLE Angela USA
100 B W G.L. Premium 285 6 LEVORATO Manuela ITA
100 B W G.L. Premium 286 7 CALI' Vincenza ITA
100 B W G.L. Premium 287 8 MANI Myriam x
100 B W G.L. Premium 273 9 x x x

400 W Int. Prom. 288 1 SMITH Ronetta JAM
400 W Int. Prom. 289 2 GUEVARA Ana MEX
400 W Int. Prom. 290 3 HENNAGAN Monique USA
400 W Int. Prom. 291 4 TROTTER DeeDee USA
400 W Int. Prom. 292 5 FENTON GRAHAM Lorraine JAM
400 W Int. Prom. 293 6 MBACKE Thiam Amy SEN
400 W Int. Prom. 294 7 RICHARDS Sanya USA
400 W Int. Prom. 295 8 SHINKINS Karen IRL
400 W Int. Prom. 296 9 COX Christal USA

800 A W G.L. Premium 298 1 CEPLAK Jolanda SLO
800 A W G.L. Premium 300 2 MUTOLA Maria de Lurde MOZ
800 A W G.L. Premium 301 3 CUMMINS Diane CAN
800 A W G.L. Premium 303 4 SAMARIA Agnes NAM
800 A W G.L. Premium 304 5 SINCLAIR Kenia JAM
800 A W G.L. Premium 305 6 VALDONADO Laetitia FRA
800 A W G.L. Premium 307 7 CLARKE Hazel USA
800 A W G.L. Premium 308 8 LAVSHUK Natalya RUS
800 A W G.L. Premium 309 9 BENHASSI Hasna MAR
800 A W G.L. Premium 405 10 USOVICH Svetlana BLR
800 A W G.L. Premium 252 11 CHERKASOVA Svetlana RUS
800 A W G.L. Premium 310 12 PAPADOPOULOU Maria GRE
800 A W G.L. Premium 319 pm LANGERHOLC Brigita SLO

800 B W G.L. Premium 299 1 AIT HAMMOU Mina MAR
800 B W G.L. Premium 302 2 MARTINEZ Mayte ESP
800 B W G.L. Premium 312 3 CUSMA Elisa ITA
800 B W G.L. Premium 313 4 SANTIN Frances USA
800 B W G.L. Premium 314 5 TOUHAMI Nahida ALG
800 B W G.L. Premium 315 6 JEPKOSGEI Janet KEN
800 B W G.L. Premium 316 7 GUCGAN Elodie FRA
800 B W G.L. Premium 317 8 SALVARANI Claudia ITA
800 B W G.L. Premium 318 9 RIVA Antonella ITA
800 B W G.L. Premium 306 10 OBERSTOLZ Alexia ITA
800 B W G.L. Premium 320 pm SERGEYEVA Yelena UKR

1500 W Int. Prom. 321 1 DEHIBA Hind MAR
1500 W Int. Prom. 323 2 YEVDOKIMOVA Natalya RUS
1500 W Int. Prom. 324 3 JAMIESON Sarah AUS
1500 W Int. Prom. 325 4 CLEMENT Treniere USA
1500 W Int. Prom. 326 5 TOOMEY Jennifer USA
1500 W Int. Prom. 327 6 RISKU Johanna FIN
1500 W Int. Prom. 328 7 JANOWSKA Wiola POL
1500 W Int. Prom. 329 8 BERLANDA Eleonora ITA
1500 W Int. Prom. 330 9 TADESSE Mestawat ETH
1500 W Int. Prom. 331 10 TUROVA Alesia BLR
1500 W Int. Prom. 332 11 FERNANDEZ Nuria ESP
1500 W Int. Prom. 333 12 NEPORADNA Nelya UKR
1500 W Int. Prom. 334 13 CLARKE Georgie AUS
1500 W Int. Prom. 335 14 LAGAT Nancy Jebet KEN
1500 W Int. Prom. 336 15 EFENDAKI Constantina GRE
1500 W Int. Prom. 337 16 PILSOG Trine NOR
1500 W Int. Prom. 340 pm MACHARIA Faith KEN

5.000 W G.L. Classic 345 1 DEFAR Mesereth ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 346 2 DIBABA Tirunesh ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 347 3 FUKUSHI Kayoko JPN
5.000 W G.L. Classic 348 4 KIDANE Werkenesh ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 349 5 TOLLEFSON Carrie USA
5.000 W G.L. Classic 350 6 EJIGU Sentayehu ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 351 7 DOMINGUEZ Marta ESP
5.000 W G.L. Classic 352 8 TIMBILILI Alice KEN
5.000 W G.L. Classic 353 9 PAVEY Joanne GBR
5.000 W G.L. Classic 354 10 SMITH Kimberly NZL
5.000 W G.L. Classic 355 11 FLESHMAN Lauren USA
5.000 W G.L. Classic 356 12 WAMI Gete ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 357 13 DIBABA Ejegayehu ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 358 14 ADERE Berhane ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 359 15 MAURY Margaret FRA
5.000 W G.L. Classic 360 16 BATI GELETE Burika ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 361 17 MELKAMU Meselech ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 362 18 SULTAM Simret ERI
5.000 W G.L. Classic 363 19 WEISSTEINER Silvia ITA
5.000 W G.L. Classic 364 20 INZIKURU Dorcus UGA
5.000 W G.L. Classic 365 21 CHAABI Bouchra MAR
5.000 W G.L. Classic 366 22 KALOVICS Aniko HUN
5.000 W G.L. Classic 367 23 BEKELE Bezunesh ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 368 24 FLANAGAN Shalane USA
5.000 W G.L. Classic 369 25 WIGENE Susanne NOR
5.000 W G.L. Classic 253 26 MASAI Edith KEN
5.000 W G.L. Classic 370 27 DEJAEGHERE Verlee BEL
5.000 W G.L. Classic 371 pm3 CHENONGE Ines KEN
5.000 W G.L. Classic 372 pm2 ERKESSO Teyba ETH
5.000 W G.L. Classic 373 pm1 KOMIAGINA Olga RUS

100h W Int. Prom. 375 1 FOSTER Brigitte JAM
100h W Int. Prom. 376 2 BOLM Kirsten GER
100h W Int. Prom. 377 3 HAYES Joanna USA
100h W Int. Prom. 378 4 FELICIEN Perdita CAN
100h W Int. Prom. 379 5 PERRY Michelle USA
100h W Int. Prom. 380 6 KALLUR Susanna SWE
100h W Int. Prom. 381 7 GOLDING-CLARKE Lacena JAM
100h W Int. Prom. 382 8 SHEVCHENKO Irina RUS
100h W Int. Prom. 383 9 CATTANEO Micol ITA

400h W G.L. Classic 385 1 x x x
400h W G.L. Classic 386 2 TERESHUK-ANTIPOVA Tetiana UKR
400h W G.L. Classic 387 3 JOHNSON Sheena USA
400h W G.L. Classic 388 4 PITTMAN Jana AUS
400h W G.L. Classic 389 5 GLOVER Sandra USA
400h W G.L. Classic 254 6 DEMUS LaShinda USA
400h W G.L. Classic 390 7 TAYLOR Brenda USA
400h W G.L. Classic 391 8 CECCARELLI Benedetta ITA
400h W G.L. Classic 391 9 NIEDERSTATTER Monica ITA

TJ W G.L. Classic 394 1 DIMITRAKI Irene GRE
TJ W G.L. Classic 255 2 LEBEDEVA Tatyana RUS
TJ W G.L. Classic 395 3 ALDAMA Yamilè SUD
TJ W G.L. Classic 396 4 SMITH Trecia JAM
TJ W G.L. Classic 397 5 DEVETZI Hrysopiyi GRE
TJ W G.L. Classic 398 6 CASTREJANA Carlota ESP
TJ W G.L. Classic 399 7 SAFRONAVA Natalia RUS
TJ W G.L. Classic 400 8 MARTINEZ Magdelin ITA
TJ W G.L. Classic 401 9 LA MANTIA Simona ITA
TJ W G.L. Classic 402 10 PYATYKH Anna RUS
TJ W G.L. Classic 404 11 LEE Suzette JAM

All the interviews before the competition day
Gigi D’Onofrio, meeting director of the Borotalco Golden Gala in Rome, the second leg of the 2005 TDK Golden League, talked with the media gathered at the press conference on the eve of the main italian meeting to announce the latest details.
“We did our best to assamble a great Golden Gala which will celebrate its 25 anniversary tomorrow night. Eleven Golden League Jackpot contenders who won in Paris last week will compete in Rome. The only athlete who won in Paris who will miss Rome will be Kenenisa Bekele. We expect big middle distance races in the 800 metres, 1500 metres, 3000 steeplechase and 5000 metres among men and 5000 metres women.”
“We received 40000 requests of tickets for tomorrow. We will not reach the level of attendance at the opening leg of the Golden League where 70000 spectators filled the Stade de France but we are proud. We don’t expect to break records in terms of revenues from the selling of tickets as in Zurich and Brussels but we have worked on the promotion of the meeting. The cost of tickets is much lower than in other Golden League meetings. We will continue our tradition of putting coloured panels to cover empty seats in the Olympic Stadium as we did last year.”
In terms of big names who will take part in the Golden Gala D’Onofrio said: “As I was I am an hurdler I think that the clash between Allen Johnson, Liu Xiang and Ladji Doucouré will be one of the best races of the evening. Of course we are a bit disappointed that Hicham El Guerrouj will not run in Rome this year but he was in Singapur for the final IOC decision of the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. Asafa Powell is in the list of participants. He is currently undergoing some therapies to heal his slight injury problem sustained at the Jamaican Trials. We will receive a definitive answer about his participation at the Golden Gala from him this afternoon.”

Allen Johnson (USA; 110 metres hurdles) - (ED - WE UNDERSTAND HE HAS SCRATCHED)
The four time 110 metres hurdles world champion confirmed his participation after his slight injury in Lausanne on Tuesday.
“I feel pretty good. It was just a small ankle cramp which occurred during the warm-up thirty minutes before the Lausanne race but it should be better.
Asked about the current extrahordinary level reached by his discipline this summer Johnson said: “Five or six guys are running around 13”05 this summer. Ladji Doucouré’s win in Paris in 13”02 (a new french record) is not a surprise for me. Everyone can win this summer because the results are so close and there is a difference of just few hundredths of a second between win and defeat. Doucouré and Liu have qualities that make them great athletes but I don’t want to say what kind of qualities they have. I think that breaking the world record this year is possible.”
“I think that many athletes like me are more motivated than in the past. Last year I hit the hurdle in the Olympic Games and missed the chance to win an olympic medal and this mistake has made me more motivated and determined for this season.”
“The races before the World Championships give me the opportunity to figure out what I need to improve before the World Championships in Helsinki.”
Johnson has confirmed that he wants to continue until the Olympic Games in Bejing. “I will definitely continue until 2008 and perhaps 2009. I really enjoy competing. Every year poses new challenges. This year the World Championships are my great goal. I think big titles are more important than records”, concluded Allen Johnson

Manuela Levorato (Italy; 100 metres)
Best italian sprinter Manuela Levorato, european 100 and 200 metres european champion in Munich 2002, qualified for the World Championships in Helsinki running the B limit of 11”40 in Lausanne on Tuesday.
“I ran without oppositition, so the 100 metres B sprint race in Lausanne does not fully indicate my current shape. I hope Rome will be more competitive. After two years out of contention because of many injuries I need high-level competitions. I was so unfortunate to sustain injuries when I was at the peak of my career. I hope to return to the level of 2 years ago before the injury. At 28 years of age I have plenty of time to return to the previous level.”

Asafa Powell (Jamaica; 100 metres world record holder) (ED- ANOTHER SCRATCH WE HEAR)
“I feel good but I have still some problems with my injury in my abductor. I cannot confirm 100 percent that I will run tomorrow. I hope it will be a great race. I don’t think Rome will affect my preparation for the World Championships because every race is different from each other.”
Powell will face the 100 metres olympic champion Justin Gatlin, who won the 100 and the 200 metres at the Olympic Trials in Carson. “I have a lot of respect for Justin. He is a great competitor. He knows how to compete in the big championships. This is what I admire more from him. This is the rival I would never like to face.”
Powell ran the world record with a magnificent 9”77 in Athens on 14 June but finished fifth last year in the 100 metres olympic final on the same track last summer. Asked if it is more important to win the olympic title or break the world record the young jamaican said:
“It would be very nice to hold both the world record and win the 100 metres olympic title. But the question is very difficult to answer.”
“I prefer competing in narrow competitions where the battle for win is tough to those which are dominated by an athlete or another.”
Powell changed something in his preparation for the World Championships in Helsinki. “I will run less competitions than last year. I made some mistakes in Athens and I don’t want to repeat them.”
Powell is also aware that this year it will be tougher. “There are other big athletes who can compete for medals in the World Championships. You will see in Helsinki.”
Powell admits that his life changed completely after his world record in Helsinki. “I Everyone is excited in Jamaica. I was invited to parties and official ceremonies.
Powell also talked about his passion for Totti and italian football: “I am a bit disappointed that Totti will not attend my race. I was looking forward to meeting him. But a shirt was give me as a present and this made me very happy. If I win in Rome I will dedicate the victory to him.”

Justin Gatlin (USA; 100 metres olympic champion)
“Apart from a cramp in my left harmstring after Lausanne I feel well. It will be an epic race tomorrow. I have a strong respect for Asafa and for what he did. In the european circuit I ran against him in Padua and since then we grew as athletes together.
Asked what he thinks about the best qualities of his jamaican rival in tomorrow’s star-studded race: “Asafa managed to break the world record without a real opposition. Normally world records are broken when sprinters are pushed to their limits. He is a very hard rival to beat.”
Rome is a very important race for Justin Gatlin who was defeated last Tuesday in his first european competition of the year. “I will try to compete in every competition I can. I want to focus on one race at a time.
Gatlin expressed words of admiration for the former 110 metres hurdles world record holder and his current manager. “He is the person who made me a champion”, concluded Gatlin.
Gatlin is not as outgoing as many other US sprinters and prefers focusing on his next challenges starting from Rome: “I watch movies and play videogames but I don’t attend parties or other social events. I prefer focusing on my athletics career.”

Stefan Holm (Sweden; olympic champion men’s high jump)
“Rome is very important for me because I want to continue my quest for the Golden League Jackpot after winning in Paris with 2.32.”
“The Golden League offers me the chance to jump against the best athlete in the world. It is like six world championships finals and offers me the best preparation for the World Championships in Helsinki.”
Holm is known as a strong competitor. “The quality that me so competitive in high-level competitions comes from heart. What motivates me is the desire to achieve the best possible result and jump the best possible height.”

Giuseppe Gibilisco (world champion and olympic bronze medal in the men pole vault)
“After an ups and downs season I expect a great result tomorrow. I want to promise something special for me, the crowd and the meeting organizer Gigi D’Onofrio who assembles the men pole vault in the Golden Gala for me.”
“Last year my face was advertised on the logo of the Golden Gala. Unfortunately I was not not in good shape after the injury. I competed thanks to an infiltration of cortison but I could not do my best without training. This year I am confident that I can produce a good result. I have a positive feeling because training is going well. I am at 80% of my condition because I want to peak for the World Championships where I will defend my title. After Rome I will train 15 days before competing in Stockolm.”

Dwight Phillips (Usa; olympic and world champion in the long jump)
“I cannot wait tomorrow’s competition. It is the first time I compete in the Golden League. I feel very motivated.”
“The competition is very strong this year. Everyone wants to beat me in Helsinki. I cannot indicate a specific athlete or another.”
“At the beginning of the year I wanted to break the world record but an injury kept me out of this goal. In Helsinki I want to achieve something special.”
“During my preparation I focused on improving my speed. In the next five weeks I will work on long jump technique”, concluded Phillips.