Athletics: Sharp aiming to make a point in Olympic Stadium

By SANDY SUTHERLAND
Published on 31/08/2012 12:22

Capital 800 metres runner Lynsey Sharp is looking to round off her season with three top races as she continues her quest for a new 
personal best time.

Capital 800 metres runner Lynsey Sharp is looking to round off her season with three top races as she continues her quest for a new 
personal best time.

The UK champion and 
European Championships silver medallist is off to Berlin on Sunday for the annual International Invitation meeting in the 1936 Olympic Stadium, the venue for the 2009 World Championships.

With more than 50,000 tickets already sold, the meeting promises to be the second biggest the 22-year-old Edinburgh AC runner has ever competed in, the London Olympics with its 80,000 crowd being of course the biggest.

“I’m determined to enjoy it – I’ve never been to Berlin and it’ll be a great experience,” said Sharp after completing a training session at an exceptionally busy Meadowbank track this week.

Although the full line-up still had not been announced last night, the Olympic silver and bronze medallists from London, Caster Semenya, of South Africa, and Yekaterina Poistogova, of Russia, are billed to appear as well as hopefully a pace-maker, something noticeably absent from last Sunday’s 800m at the Aviva Grand Prix meeting in 
Birmingham.

Next on the Sharp agenda is the Diamond League meeting at Brussels a week today, another occasion when a huge sell-out crowd of more than 40,000 can be expected at the famous Belgian stadium.

Finally, Sharp will move on to Italy a week on Sunday for the annual invitation meeting at Rieti, a meeting much favoured by sprinters and two-lap runners, David Rudisha, the Olympic 800m champion and new world record-holder having set his previous record there in 2010.