Farah, who will run over 3,000m at Crystal Palace tomorrow at end of the first day of a two-day Samsung Diamond League meeting, insisted: "I want to give the 10,000 metres 110 per cent and then see how my legs feel afterwards.

"But if I feel good I can still do the 5000 metres."

The former Londoner – now based in Portland, Oregon under the direction of coach Alberto Salazar – is one of many British medal prospects taking part in the Aviva London Grand Prix.

And he was one of six athletes sat in a line at the Croydon Park hotel here today who, just like specialist drivers, managed to address the meeting fast approaching in London while focusing their attentions on the World Championships waiting a little further down the road.

For two of those six – Jamaica's former world 100m record holder Asafa Powell and Kenya's current world 800m record holder David Rudisha – the imperative of Daegu is to add a global title to their global times.

For Dayron Robles, Cuba's world 110m hurdles world record holder, the task is to regain a former position.

As for the others – Robles's hurdles rival David Oliver, Sally Pearson, who leads this year's rankings at 100m hurdles, and Farah, who is top of the 5,000m and 10,000m listings, the challenge is to set foot on the top of the podium at an outdoor global championship for the first time.

Spectators at Crystal Palace may also be required to operate a split-screen in terms of attention, given that so many of the events laid on tomorrow evening and Saturday afternoon fall outside the framework of the Samsung Diamond League – and they include the men's 100 and 800 metres.

Rudisha has suffered only one major disappointment at a global championship, having underperformed at the last Worlds in Berlin, where he failed to reach the final.

For Powell, the list of disappointments is longer.

Other than winning the Commonwealth title in 2006, this great sprinter has not earned any international championship gold since setting his first world record of 9.77sec in 2005, finishing fifth at the Olympics and earning bronze medals at the last two World Championships.

At what may be a damp Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon this amiable resident of Kingston will have his final major warm-up over 100m  – exactly a year before the 100m final at the London 2012 Games - before contesting the world title in Daegu against a field that will include his friend and rival Usain Bolt, current owner of the world record with a time of 9.58sec.

Powell, who will turn 29 in November, hinted that he felt he only had a limited opportunity to create a happy ending for that narrative of frustration, a narrative that continued last year as he began in scintillating form only to have to drop out early with hamstring and back problems.

"First I'm glad that I am healthy and able to finish my season," he said.

"I've been running well so far and I have posted some great times."

He added, with one of his wide smiles: "Great for me - not 9.58, but – it's good.

"And I'm really confident.

"I've really been thinking about the World Championships.

"I don't have much time, and I don't want to miss my chances again."

Spectators are likely to witness another swift performance from Powell, who believes he is in his best shape since 2005.

But Powell also sounded a warning note that held true for the five other athletes sitting alongside him when he pointed out: "It's the last competition before the World Championships so everyone is being very cautious.

"We all want to get out of this being healthy."

Certainly his visit to London is looking like good news on the nutritional front.

"I always enjoy competing in London," he said.

"There are always a lot of Jamaicans who support us – it's like a mini-Jamaica here.

"And it's easy to find food – you don't have to go to McDonalds... "


Pearson goes into London in what she describes as "really good shape" and with happy recollections of her last competition on English soil, when she lowered her 100m hurdles personal best of 12.48, the fastest time posted this year.

"I'm looking forward to competing in London," she said.

"A lot of my family are in England – my mother is English and her sisters and my cousins live in Kent."

When a bright spark then suggested that she consider running for Britain if a passport could be sorted out, she responded very smartly: "I'm not English – I'm Australian!"

Robles, Cuba's 110m Hurdles Olympic champion and world record holder, spoke warmly of the struggle he was currently waging at the top of his event with China's former world and Olympic champion Liu Xiang and the powerful figure sitting one place to his left, David Oliver.

Although Oliver has the fastest time in the world this year, Robles beat him in their only race so far, at the Paris Diamond League meeting last month.

"I've had a great rivalry over a few years now with David, and there is also a great rivalry with Liu Xiang," the Cuban said.  "I feel like it is continuing the tradition of hurdlers in the past like Allen Johnson, Roger Kingdom and Colin Jackson."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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