25 December 2008

Former World 100m Champion Kim Collins and double World gold medallist Bernard Lagat will both compete at the Aviva British Grand Prix at the NIA, Birmingham on February 21.

Collins the sprinter from St Kitts & Nevis who came sixth in this year’s 200m Olympic final in Beijing will compete in the 60m on the track where he won the World silver medal in 2003.  He repeated that performance at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia in March where he shared silver with Dwain Chambers.

Collins is eyeing up this year’s World Championships in August as a medal target and admits he can’t wait to get his 2009 campaign under way:

“Winning silver at the World Indoor Championships in March was very satisfactory and I will look to go one better in Berlin at the Worlds next August.  I set my personal best of 6.53 for 60m at the NIA and will be aiming for another fast time.”

Lagat, who won two World outdoor titles in 2007, will be targeting his fourth win at the Aviva Grand Prix. He will run the 1500m and is looking forward to returning to Birmingham:

 “I was really happy with most of my season last year however unfortunately I picked up an injury mid July that was the worst possible time before Beijing.  That was very disappointing for me but that is behind me now and I’m very focused on defending my titles at the World Championships in Berlin.  Birmingham is the ideal opportunity to test myself against a competitive field at the start of the year.  The Birmingham crowd love their athletics and I look forward to putting on a good show for them.”

The grand prix format provides the stage for the world’s greatest athletes to do battle and deliver three hours of high octane entertainment. The event also provides an ideal warm-up for Britain’s athletes ahead of the European Indoor Championships which take place a fortnight later.

Collins will also be competing in the 60m at the Aviva International Match three weeks earlier at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow January 31.

Tickets for the Aviva British Grand Prix at the NIA, Birmingham on Saturday February 21 are available by phone on 08000 556 056 or online at www.ukathletics.net