UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos today hailed the "strongest grand prix line-up ever seen in the UK" as he officially launched the 10th year of the sport's partnership with the Aviva group.
UK Athletics chief executive Niels de Vos today hailed the "strongest grand prix line-up ever seen in the UK" as he officially launched the 10th year of the sport's partnership with the Aviva group.
Top of the bill this summer is the sport's most eagerly anticipated clash, the Tyson Gay v Asafa Powell 100 meter sprint showdown at the rebranded Aviva London Grand Prix and the world champion is counting down the days to Crystal Palace.
US superstar Gay said: "London will be very crucial for me - it is one of the biggest meets of the year right now and that is where it is going down between myself and Asafa. He has the title of being the world record holder and I have the title of being the world champion and I think that is really good for the sport.
"If I run back-to-back rounds in London that will catapult me to the Olympics so I am really looking to run fast times in London."
Jamaican flying machine Powell added: "The Aviva London Grand Prix is always one of the biggest meets on the circuit for me. I always look forward to it, it's always exciting, it's just a special meet."
Both Gay and Powell tipped GB sprinters Craig Pickering and Marlon Devonish for Beijing success. Gay said: "The UK has great athletes - Craig Pickering is coming up and Marlon Devonish is doing well," whilst Powell predicted "big things" from Devonish and thought Pickering would be "up there" this year.
Meanwhile, Niels de Vos predicted record TV audiences for an action-packed summer of athletics with an estimated 150 countries worldwide tuning in for a mouth-watering menu of top class track and field.
The popularity of international athletics has seen the number of countries broadcasting the UK televised events more than double in the last four years prompting UK Athletics' number one sponsor Norwich Union to rebrand the UK Athletics Major Events series under their global customer brand, Aviva.
The move will allow Aviva, who operate in 27 markets, to optimise the benefit of its investment on a global scale.
Current details for the UK Athletics Major Events series are:
- The Aviva National Championships Incorporating the Team GB Selection Trials (11-13 July) in Birmingham. This event will see Britain's best competing for a place in the Olympic team. Phillips Idowu, Nicola Sanders, Christine Ohuruogu, Jessica Ennis & Marlon Devonish are among those set to compete over the weekend.
- The Aviva London Grand Prix (25-26 July). Set to attract 360 athletes from 35 nations with the Gay v Powell showdown taking centre stage and the winner of the race claiming prize money of US$50,000. With the Beijing Olympic Games just two weeks later, this world class meet will be the last pre-Olympic grand prix that will feature the majority of the medal favourites for Beijing. World record holder and reigning Olympic champion, Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva will be competing at the venue where she became the first woman to clear five meters in the pole vault in 2005 and for the first time in 23 years the country's biggest athletics meeting will take place over two days.
- The Aviva British Grand Prix in Gateshead (31 August) will have over 190 athletes from 25 nations competing. As one of the first major meetings after the Olympic track and field programme, the line up will include a host of recently crowned Olympic medallists.
Niels de Vos, UK Athletics chief executive, said: "The UK Athletics domestic series of events is the envy of the world and gives British sports fans a fantastic opportunity to see the world's best athletes compete regularly on home soil. The Aviva London Grand Prix is the final major event before the Olympics and what better way to send British athletes towards Beijing with the roar of London in their ears?
"Aviva's commitment to the sport ensures we can continue to provide outstanding competition opportunities for our athletes to give them the best possible build up to competing on the international stage."
Amanda Mackenzie, Aviva group marketing director, said: "We're extremely proud to be supporting UK Athletics at the start of a four year journey towards 2012, which promises great things for the sport. The determination, dedication and sheer effort that athletes display is truly inspiring. We've supported athletics from playground to podium for the last 10 years and this is the start of the next exciting chapter of our sponsorship.
"Our domestic commitment goes from strength to strength and by 2012 we believe that over 15 million children throughout the UK will have been actively engaged in our grassroots athletics schemes, creating a lasting legacy for the sport."
Tickets for all three events in the Aviva UK Athletics Major Events outdoor season are available online at www.ukathletics.net/ or by phone on 08000 556 056.
-ends-
For additional information please contact:
Norwich Union / Aviva
Tanya Veingard (Norwich Union) +44 (0)20 7662 3616
Steve Bradley (Hill & Knowlton) +44 (0)20 7413 3179
UK Athletics
Claire Furlong (UK Athletics) +44 (0)7701 099764
Andrew Wallace (Fast Track) +44 (0)7776 306 305
Notes to editors:
About Aviva and Norwich Union
- Aviva's investment in the premier Olympic sport is unparalleled. The UK's largest general insurance company, has supported UK Athletics from playground to podium since 1999 - helping elite athletes reach their full potential and encouraging the next generation to get active and learn key life skills. By 2012 it is anticipated that over 15 million children throughout the UK will have been actively engaged in its grassroots athletics schemes. Find out more at joinourteam.com.
- Aviva is the world's fifth-largest insurance group and the biggest in the UK. It is one of the leading providers of life and pensions products in Europe with substantial businesses elsewhere around the world. Aviva's principal business activities are long-term savings, fund management and general insurance, with worldwide total sales of £49.2 billion and funds under management of £364 billion at 31 December 2007
- On the 1 May 2008, Aviva announced its intention to migrate the Norwich Union brand to Aviva over the next two years, the full timescales of which are still to be confirmed. Rebranding the UK Athletics sponsorship is part of this migration to ensure the benefits of the Company's long-standing investment in the sport is maximised. The televised athletics events will operate under the Aviva name from this summer to capitalise on the global exposure these events receive.
- As part of the migration process, the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team and grassroots programmes will continue to be Norwich Union branded for the remainder of 2008 and will be rebranded in 2009.