Weltklasse Zürich 2011 – Local Heroes and the World’s Superstars

Strong athletes representing Switzerland will be lining up at Letzigrund Stadium this year, right next to the world’s top performers of the current outdoor athletics season. Together, they form the top-class cast for Weltklasse Zürich 2011, the Samsung Diamond League Final.

On Thursday, 8 September, the world’s finest representatives of athletics, a distinguished ensemble of the sport, will appear at Letzigrund Stadium. Both cast and show will be as high-level as fans could wish for. The promoters’ traditional motto has been to invite the best athletes to compete against their fiercest opponents, a policy that has earned the meeting its reputation as the most renowned one-day athletics event. A first glance at the first entry lists reveals that 2011 will be no exception.

“The 17 world leaders of the 18 events we will be presenting will compete at Weltklasse Zürich, this year,” Meeting Director Patrick K. Magyar announced and adds: “We are working to complete the list of the world leaders with pole vaulter Jennifer Suhr (USA) and are still hopeful to achieve this”. In addition, as many as 14 (individual) Olympic Champions, 16 reigning World Champions have agreed to compete in Zurich.

The provisional line-up already sparkles with names of stars like Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS, pole vault), Allyson Felix (USA, 200m), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM, javelin throw), Sanya Richards-Ross (USA, 200m), Carolina Klüft (SWE, long jump), Barbora Spotakova (CZE, javelin throw), Asafa Powell (JAM, 100m), Walter Dix (USA, 100m), David Oliver (USA, 110m h), or Dayron Robles (CUB, 110m h).

Before they all travel to Zurich for the annual showdown at Letzigrund Stadium, they will compete at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. The championships will be completed a mere four days prior to Weltklasse Zürich. Due to a particularly strenuous schedule at the championships, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt will not be able to compete in Zurich this year.

A Number of Swiss Highlights
The names of several rising Swiss talents and their convincing performances during this summer add to the appeal of this year’s Weltklasse Zürich entry lists: Lisa Urech (100m h), Irene Pusterla (long jump), Nicole Büchler (pole vault), Anna Katharina Schmid (pole vault U23), as well as Andreas Kundert (110m h) have all earned a spot in the prestigious fields at Letzigrund Stadium. All of them hold impressive national records. The same is true for the Swiss 4x100m men’s relay team.

The four sprinters plan to move one step closer to their Olympic dream (16 top teams will qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games) after the World Championships in Daegu. “It has been wonderful to watch the Swiss athletes perform this summer. They will definitely be able to enchant the crowd at Weltklasse Zürich,” said Meeting Director Magyar.

Entry Lists Nearly Complete
The Zurich promoters will follow the action at the World Championships very closely. As it will be difficult to arrange travel from Daegu on short notice, last-minute entries will be complicated. As a result, the fields for the meeting will be nearly complete by the time the championships are under way.

However, Weltklasse Zürich will of course spare neither trouble nor expense to present any surprise heroes to the Zurich audience.

Link Entry List (provisional)