San Juan, Puerto Rico – The Dominican Republic’s 2004 Olympic and two-time World 400m Hurdles champion Felix Sanchez will challenge USA specialists over the flat 400m this Saturday (19) at the NACAC-Permit Grand Prix in Ponce, where 10 other Olympic or World Championships medallists are confirmed.
Ponce is part of Sanchez’ comeback trail and will test his speed over the flat lap versus 2004 Olympic runner-up Otis Harris and Rickey Harris, of the USA, as well as his countryman and CAC Games bronze medallist Arizmendi Peguero.
Puerto Rican fans are eager to see the 30-year-old Sanchez in action after he had to cancel from the 2006 Carolina Grand Prix following an injury sustained a week earlier in his own meeting in Santo Domingo.
A year later, Dominican Republic’s only Olympic champion is steadily returning to his best form in a quest for a successful title defence at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, and a third global crown at the World Championships in Osaka.
The 2001 Edmonton and 2003 Paris World champion made his competitive debut in April with an easy win over 400m (46.59) in local meet in Los Angeles.
Last Saturday and supported by 12,000 plus local fans in Santo Domingo, Sanchez anchored his team to third place in the 4x400m relay with 3:05.73, closely beaten by the USA (3:05.51) and Puerto Rico (3:05.72). The three countries will repeat the relay battle here.
While Sanchez plans to make his 2007 debut in the 400m Hurdles at the World Athletics Tour meeting in New York, on 2 June, Panama’s 2005 World Championships finalist Bayano Kamani will start as the top favourite to dominate this event in Ponce.
Kamani chose Ponce to make his season’s debut, but will not find it easy as Puerto Rico’s 2006 Iberoamerican champion in Ponce, Javier Culson, just lowered the national record to 49.07 in Kingston, on 5 May.
Davis goes in the Long Jump
In the infield, the main attraction is the men’s Long Jump in which World outdoor and indoor Triple Jump champion Walter Davis, 27, who will take on his countrymen John Moffitt and Miguel Pate in the Long Jump. Moffitt claimed the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics and Pate was third at the 2003 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham.
Another Triple Jump specialist, US-born Allen Simms of Puerto Rico will compete in both the Long and Triple Jumps. In the latter event, he will be joined by Bahamas’ 2003 World Championships bronze medallist Leevan Sands and USA’s 2005 World Championships finalist Kendall Bell.
Other notable stars on show will be Bahamas’ sprinter Chandra Sturrup, Cayman Island’s Kareem Streete-Thompson, Russia’s Anastasiya Kapachinskaya and USA’s Coby Miller.
Ponce builds on success
Puerto Rico has seen notable progress already this season as more than seven national records have been broken.
The staging of Ponce’s annual Grand Prix follows the successful organization of the 2006 Iberoamerican Championships. It had previously hosted the CAC Games in 1993 and the CAC Championships in 1975.
The events to be staged on Saturday are the Women’s 100m, 400m, 800m, 400m Hurdles, Pole Vault and Long Jump; Men will contest the 100m, 400m, 1500m, 400m Hurdles, 3000m Steeplechase, Long Jump and Triple Jump.
Ponce is part of the series of events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Central American and Caribbean Athletics Confederation (CACAC).
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF
