D-100 countdown to world athletics championships begins in Daegu

(ATTN: TYPO in 4th para)
SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) -- With the 2011 World Championships in Athletics about 100 days away, the South Korean host city of Daegu is ready to welcome the big names of track and field and host one of the biggest sports events in the world, organizers said on Monday.
The event, held biennially by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), will take place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 4 in Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. It is South Korea's first athletics championships and the third in Asia, after Tokyo in 1991 and Osaka in 2007.
The organizing committee expects the event will draw about 4,000 athletes and officials from 202 countries and 6.5 billion television viewers.
Daegu Stadium, the main venue for the championships, has installed a world-class Mondo track, manufactured by Italy-based flooring company Mondo, according to the committee. The track was certified as Class 1 by the IAAF last month.
The surface, on which Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt broke three world records at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is known to give a more consistent bounce and traction for athletes than other surfaces.
The organizing committee also upgraded its lighting, scoreboard and sound systems last year.
The championship has extra significance this season because it is the biggest test for international athletes before the 2012 London Olympics.
Bolt, the reigning world champion and Olympic gold medalist, is the heaviest gold medal favorite in the men's 100-meter and 200-meter events. He beat his own world record in the 100m with 9.58 seconds at the last championships in Berlin two years ago.
The Jamaican sprinter is gearing up to win a consecutive title at Daegu and set another world record after suffering an Achilles tendon injury that cost him a victory against Tyson Gay of the United States for the first time last year.
The American runner, however, wants to repeat the feat at the upcoming world championship to reclaim the world championship he captured in 2007.
Asafa Powell of Jamaica is another big name in the race. He and Bolt will also team up in hopes of bringing their country its 400m relay title for the second time in a row.
Former Olympic gold medalist sprinter Liu Xiang of China and world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba will compete in the 110m hurdles.
Female pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and world champion, hopes to take her third title at Daegu and, in doing so, wipe out a disgraceful performance at Berlin where she failed to achieve a successful vault.
Among the world stars, South Korean athletes have set their sights on advancing to the final round to make their presence felt on their home turf and on the world stage. In its history at the world championships, South Korea is the only host country that has never won a medal.
South Korean track and field athletes are on a roll since they acquitted themselves well at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, winning four gold medals among their 10 overall.
Triple jumper Kim Deok-hyeon spearheads the campaign after winning his event at the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting, a test event held in Daegu last week ahead of the championships.


brk@yna.co.kr