Reigning Olympic and World Champion sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser will be competing at the Aviva British Grand Prix, held at the Gateshead International Stadium, on Saturday 10th July.
Fraser, heralded as the ‘female Usain Bolt’ is the only Jamaican woman in history to win an Olympic gold medal for the 100m sprint, even beating Merlene Ottey’s national record by one hundredth of a second with 10.73, which took her to fourth on the World’s ‘all time’ list. After her victory in Berlin last year, Fraser became just the second woman (after Gail Devers) to hold Olympic and World 100m titles simultaneously.
The last time she competed at the Aviva British Grand Prix was back in 2008 where she finished second to fellow Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown by one tenth of a second. This year, she’s aiming for the top spot.
She said: “I’m really looking forward to returning to Gateshead for Britain’s first Diamond League Event. The last time I competed at the Aviva British Grand Prix was back in 2008 where I finished second so I’m definitely looking to go one better this year.
“It’s great that Britain is hosting two Diamond League events as it guarantees more head to heads between the world’s best athletes and it’s a fantastic precursor to the London 2012 Olympics.
“2010 is going to be an exciting year for women’s sprinting as there are so many talented athletes out there at the moment. As we saw from the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha in March, the bar in women’s sprinting is being continually raised. Training has been going well and I’m feeling good – I’m sure the Gateshead crowd will give me that all important boost! They were brilliant last time, so enthusiastic and energetic!”
Fraser is one of 14 Diamond League ambassadors. The new IAAF Diamond League is an international series of 14 events, of which the UK is one of only three countries to have the honour of hosting two events, in both Gateshead and London. Furthermore, the Aviva London Grand Prix is the only event to have a two-day programme.
