• World record-holder at sprint hurdles is targeting British event on Tuesday 13^th July
• American is in great shape after emphatic victory at US Olympic Team Trials
• Gateshead is hosting its second Wanda Diamond League event of 2021

Keni Harrison, the world record-holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, has joined the star-studded line-up for the Müller British Grand Prix at Gateshead International Stadium on Tuesday 13^th July.

The 28-year-old set the world record of 12.20 at the Anniversary Games in the London Stadium five years ago and she will travel to Gateshead next month in great shape following victory earlier this week in the US Olympic Team Trials in Eugene.

Harrison said: “I always enjoy competing in England – the fans are knowledgeable and I usually race pretty well there too! My world record came at the Anniversary Games in London in 2016. Then a couple of years later I won the world indoor title in Birmingham and enjoyed another win at the Anniversary Games in London that summer.

“I was really pleased to win the US Olympic trials this week and am now looking forward to finalising my preparations for the Tokyo Games. The Müller British Grand Prix in Gateshead next month will be a great place to do it too and I’m excited about the competition.”

The Müller British Grand Prix is part of the Wanda Diamond League. The event was originally set to be staged in London – the scene of Harrison’s world record five years ago – but earlier this summer it was moved to the North East of England.

When Harrison set the mark in London in 2016 there was a brief delay with the result as she had dipped so low at the finish line that her torso was under the beam. But moments later the world record time flashed up on the screens in the stadium and the arena erupted in noise.

She did not make the US Olympic team that year for the Rio Games despite breaking the world record that summer. But this year she goes to the Tokyo Olympics as world record-holder and American champion.

In Gateshead she will face British No.1 Cindy Ofili, among others.

Elsewhere British star Dina Asher-Smith will be racing over 200m and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands will compete in the women’s mile. Johannes Vetter of Germany could give Jan Zelezny’s world record a scare in the javelin if conditions are good, while the women’s pole vault sees British record-holder Holly Bradshaw taking on Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi, world outdoor champion Anzhelika Sidorova, world indoor gold medallist Sandi Morris and world leader in 2021 Katie Nageotte.

Gateshead staged the first Wanda Diamond League event of 2021 in May after it was moved from Rabat in Morocco to the North East of England and now, on 13^th July, the same venue will host the seventh Diamond League of the season.

The Müller British Grand Prix will be broadcast internationally from 7-9pm with BBC showing the action live for domestic viewers.

Tickets are now on sale for the Müller British Grand Prix. Visit britishathletics.org.uk to buy and for more information.