Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia will start his outdoor season tomorrow with an attempt on the world two-mile record at the Adriaan Paulen Memorial in Hengelo, Holland.
The multiple world record holder will be chasing the figure of seven minutes 58.61 set by Daniel Komen of Kenya two years ago, and also has plans to improve his own 5,000 and 10,000 metre marks later in the summer.
Ireland's James Nolan will be a starter in the 800 metres, where he will meet Olympic silver medalist Hezekiel Sepeng and recent World Indoor Champion Johan Botha, both of South Africa.
Elsewhere, America's two undisputed star athletes, Michael Johnson and Marion Jones, make their first joint appearance at a US meeting at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon. Johnson stays in his speciality, the 400 metres, while Jones has entered the 200 metres, one of three events she has planned for the World Championships.
Susan Smith-Walsh will have another run over the 400 metre hurdles at the same meeting before returning home to join the Irish team for next weekend's European Cup Group in Finland.
Meanwhile, the Cork City Sports yesterday announced details of the sponsorship deal with Tesco Ireland for the June 19th meeting. The programme of 20 events will feature a special 200 metre hurdle race where Smith-Walsh will attempt the long standing world record of 25.7 seconds.
The organisers have confirmed entries from almost all the country's top athletes, and Cork native Mark Carroll will looking for a repeat of last year's victory over 5,000 metres. It is also hoped that Catherina McKiernan will make her City Sports debut over 5,000 metres.
