By Owen Morgan
Two of Wales’ brightest young athletes have been included in a world class line-up for the Muller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham this weekend.
Cardiff AAC duo Jake Heyward and Jeremiah Azu will compete alongside more then 50 global medallists on Saturday.
Ranked as the world’s number one indoor event, the Grand Prix will feature the likes of Rio 2016 double sprint gold medallist Elaine Thompson, of Jamaica and Greece’s world and Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi at Arena Birmingham.
Seventeen-year-old Azu impressed on the same Midlands track last weekend when he claimed a bronze medal at his first senior British Indoor Athletics Championships.
The fastest under-20 sprinter in the UK so far this year, Azu broke his personal best in each of the three rounds at the British championships – clocking 6.66s in the final.
The time put him top of the Welsh all-time under-20 rankings ahead of Christian Malcolm.
Among the others invited to compete in the 60m will be world indoor silver medallist Su Bingtian, of China.
There will be plenty of domestic competition from newly-crowned British champion Dominic Ashwell and second-placed Adam Thomas. World number-two ranked Reece Prescod is another Brit who will be on the blocks.
Azu will be joined in Birmingham by clubmate Heyward, who also competed at last week’s British Championships where he took part in the 3,000m.
The Cardiff AAC athlete finished seventh in a strong field, clocking a time of 8:07.35 behind the likes of Chris O’Hare, Charlie Grice and Andy Butchart.
This Saturday, the 19-year-old will be competing in his specialist event, the 1500, where he has won gold at both European youth and junior championships.
Heyward will face an impressive line-up, featuring Yomif Kejelcha. The Ethiopian was just 0.01s outside the world indoor record at New York’s Millrose Games last week and could challenge Hicham El Guerrouj’s 22-year world indoor 1500m record of 3:31.18.
The meeting will be rounded off when Britain’s European 1500m champion Laura Muir competes in the women’s mile with an eye on Welsh athlete Kirsty Wade’s 31-year-old British record of 4:23.86
Saturday’s sell-out meeting will be televised live on BBC One between 13:15 and 16:30.