The 27-year-old Jamaican has not competed outdoors in Stockholm since the 2008 season and as the current world leader with 10.74, fireworks are expected from the diminutive track star. <\/p>\n
Fresh from victories in Eugene and Paris, the world indoor 60m champion explained:<\/p>\n
\u201cTraining has been very hard but I\u2019m looking forward to getting this race going and into the world champs. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the Jamaican Championships, I went back into a loading phase \u2013 lifting weights and running over-distances like 250m\u2019s, which I don\u2019t like so I\u2019m a lot stronger this year and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing what the hard work has done\u201d<\/p>\n
With the 10.90 meeting record under threat, Fraser-Pryce continued:<\/p>\n
\u201cMy race in Paris (10.74) was great \u2013 the female athletes are not far in times so it\u2019s more about executing the race rather than the time but I was really excited when that time came up. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t focus on meeting records and times \u2013 if I execute well, I\u2019ll run a fast time.\u201d
Aiming to add a seventh world crown to her collection at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing next month, she revealed: <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be loaded at the worlds \u2013 they\u2019re all hungry so it\u2019s great and it keeps me on my toes. I\u2019m doing the 100m and 4x100m and my coach isn\u2019t sure if I\u2019m doing the 200m \u2013 I\u2019ve earned the spot but my mind\u2019s more on the 100m. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe 200m is definitely more strategic, I\u2019m not an endurance runner so I prefer the 100m \u2013 I have a good start and my legs are very strong so I can push out hard and I transition well.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Olympic and world champion, I don\u2019t think of myself like that \u2013 just as an aggressive athlete, even though I smile a lot on the start-line \u2013 deep down, we\u2019re all nervous but I just focus on myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having not lost a major championship final since 2011, the outgoing Fraser-Pryce admitted she was leaning towards dying her hair green for her quest for glory in China and is excited to return to the scene where she made her major international debut:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to going back to Beijing \u2013 it\u2019s so ironic when I went in 2008 (for the Olympics), I had no idea I\u2019d get a medal, I was more star-struck and here I am – years later, going back as a champion,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, two of the world\u2019s finest high hurdlers took their turn in front of the global press with world number one, Orlando Ortega and the USA\u2019s David Oliver enlightening the room with their tales of fast times and transfer of allegiance. <\/p>\n
For Ortega, the interviews fell on his 24th birthday as the former Cuban explained that he is now officially cleared to represent Spain in competitions. <\/p>\n
The Olympic sixth-placer \u2013 who sped to a 12.94 world-lead to win in Paris earlier this month following a win in Birmingham also \u2013 will make his debut in Stockholm and divulged: <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t expect the time, I was happy with the way I ran. It\u2019s very important to maintain my times and it\u2019s always been a dream to compete for Spain since I left Cuba \u2013 I hope for the best going forward. <\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it would be impossible to compete in Beijing but I hope to compete in Rio (at the 2016 Olympics) and in Portland (at the 2016 IAAF World indoor Championships).<\/p>\n
\u201cMy focus is to win the IAAF Diamond League – that would be my gold medal for the year.\u201d
World champion, Oliver holds a 12.98 season\u2019s best and the 33-year-old is aiming to replicate his 2013 victory here tomorrow evening. <\/p>\n
The 2008 Olympic bronze medallist revealed:
\u201cIt\u2019s always great to be back in Stockholm \u2013 I had my first big comp here in 2005 so I have good memories of competing here. <\/p>\n
\u201cI sign up for every race I can do, I love to compete so I don\u2019t skip meets – I just worry about myself, I\u2019ve been in this sport at the highest level for 11 years so I just handle the business in my lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re like real men, we face-off all the time, we\u2019re not scared of each other. You never forget where you came from and all the grind that you\u2019ve put in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m incredibly nervous in every race, my heart\u2019s always in my throat every time I\u2019m on the starting line but I try to stay calm.\u201d
The winner in Shanghai, New York and at the recent Pan-American Games, Oliver continued:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been running fairly well in the IAAF Diamond League \u2013 I\u2019m leading at the moment and I hope to win the series, that\u2019s the ultimate goal. <\/p>\n
\u201cParis was the first time I\u2019ve been under 13-seconds since 2011. I do feel I\u2019m one of the most consistent performers around, I pride myself on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nicola Sutton for Stockholm Bauhaus Athletics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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