Sport

DOHA, Qatar (AP):

Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell will be the main attraction at the first meet of the newly created Diamond League, which opens today without many of the sport's biggest names.

The Doha meet is the first of 14 around the world in the Diamond League - which is the successor to the Golden League - but it will be missing 100-metre stars Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay. Also absent are the three athletes who shared the $1 million Golden League jackpot last year - Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, American 400 runner Sanya Richards and Ethiopian long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele.

Isinbayeva is taking a break from the sport this season after failing to win a medal at the world indoor championships while Richards and Bekele are out injured.

Powell, a former world-record holder in the 100, played down the absence of world and Olympic champion Bolt and Gay but admitted it made victory in his season-opening race much more likely.

'I'm more focused this year'

"It has got to be easier as you don't have those two guys to push you to that kind of a high level," Powell said. "This is my first 100 of the season and I really want to get it over with. I really want to get out and compete in this race. I have been wanting to come to Doha for years now, but I've been injured or it hasn't fitted my plans. Now I'm here, I'm healthy, and I'm more focused this year than I've been before."

The total prize money on offer in the Diamond League is US$6.3 million across 32 track-and-field disciplines. Top performers in each event at the end of the season will get $40,000 as well as a diamond trophy valued at $10,000.

The format is seen by some athletes as fairer than the Golden League, since there are more chances for athletes to win prize money.

"I think the Diamond League is a very good idea because it means all the events are equal," said Czech javelin thrower Barbora Spotakova, the Olympic champion and world-record holder. "This is especially good for the throwing events, and for women's events. I know a lot of friends in throwing events who are happy they have equal status now."

Even without a host of elite names, there will be plenty to watch today, with 19 world and Olympic champions competing.

American sprinter Allyson Felix, a three-time world champion in the 200m, will run in the 400m. Felix will not be up against Richards but she is not taking lightly a field that includes 2008 Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu of Britain and Jamaica's Shericka Williams.

"It's definitely a stacked race here. It's not just the Olympic champion but others too," Felix said. "But that's what the Diamond League is all about. It's going to be a lot of fun and a great start to the season. I am in good shape and will be interested to see what time I can do."

Croatia's Blanka Vlasic will be looking to continue her dominance in the high jump, likewise world indoor and outdoor shot put champion Christian Cantwell.

Other highlights include the men's 400m hurdles, which will continue the long-standing rivalry between American athletes Bershawn Jackson and Kerron Clement. Jackson, who took the bronze in both the Beijing Games in 2008 and the world outdoors in 2005, faltered on his last trip to Doha, when he faded out of medal contention in the world indoors in March after a clash on the final bend.

Clement, a two-time 400m hurdles world champion, said he was confident he could come away with a victory if he stayed true to his game plan.