WRITTEN FOR THE BISLETT GAMES MEDIA TEAM.
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo, a trio of world-class female sprinters gathered at the annual strawberry party in the Norwegian capital’s City Hall, and spoke of their desire to break the 11-second barrier on Thursday evening.
With no woman having achieved a sub-11 performance at the event since the 2009 edition – and with the weather forecast to be advantageous conditions – the athletes embraced the pressure to run fast in the Bislett Stadion during the sixth leg of the worldwide IAAF Diamond League series.
World 100m and 200m silver-medallist, Murielle Ahoure looks most likely to surpass the clocking following her impressive 10.81 lifetime best performance when placing second at the Eugene IAAF Diamond League last month.
The 27-year-old Ivory Coast sprinter – who claimed 200m victory in the 2012 event – revealed:
“I’m really excited to have started the season later than usual and I’m blessed to be here.
“The time doesn’t matter to me so much tomorrow, though. I base myself between Houston, Texas and here in Oslo – I’ll actually move over here in July.”
The two-time world indoor 60m runner-up and current world number one over the distance spoke of recent personal best, which followed second place in the Doha IAAF Diamond League:
“I was surprised to run so fast but I executed the race properly. Experience is everything – I’ve been preparing the best I can so I hope to stay healthy, run more personal bests.”
The runner-up over 100m in Oslo’s 2013 event, Ahoure continued:
“Beijing (the IAAF World Championships in August) is my big goal so this is a good stepping stone and I’m hopeful to run well there.”
Her closest challenge will arrive in the form of Jamaica’s double Olympic 200m champion, Veronica Campbell-Brown, who will be making her debut appearance in the city.
The 33-year-old four-time world sprint champion – with a resume which includes the 2007 world 100m title – has a superb 10.76 best which dates back to 2011 and she recently placed fourth in the Shanghai IAAF Diamond League:
“I’m happy to be here – it’s been a long time coming, I can’t believe this is my first time,” Campbell-Brown explained.
“I’m excited – the weather’s supposed to be good and so I’m hoping to run my best 100m of the season so far.
“It’s such a technical event and it will be a very good competition so I hope we – and I say ‘we’ – can go under 11-seconds.”
With regards to Beijing and the possibility of her doubling up over 100m and 200m, she continued:
“The plan’s to run both the 100m and 200m at the Jamaican trials and I’m hopeful to run well in them both at the World Championships.
“It’s all about continuing to work hard and constantly improve. Track and field’s my passion so I work hard for both events – I hope to see the results I know I’m capable of soon.”
Meanwhile, Norway’s finest – Ezinne Okparaebo spoke ahead of her tenth competitive outing at the Bislett Games.
The 27-year-old 2009 European indoor 60m silver medallist has an 11.10 lifetime best and after claiming fourth place in March’s European indoor 60m final, she is keen to impress outdoors as well:
“Competing in front of my home crowd is special, I’m very excited to be here,” revealed the 2012 winner.
“I’m aiming for the 11.32 Beijing IAAF qualifying standard. I’ve trained very well but it’s only my third race of the season, though I hope to deliver a good run.”
