Greg Rutherford has become the latest star name to be announced for the Great CityGames in Manchester on May 9.
The Olympic gold medal winning long jumper will be looking to triumph in the event for the third successive year and competes against emerging fellow-Brit Dan Bramble, who announced his arrival at the world stage with an 8.21m jump in Florida last Saturday.
Rutherford will be looking to underline his status as the world’s number one long-jumper ahead of the World Championships in Beijing this August, after a successful 2014 saw him add Commonwealth and European Championship gold to his London 2012 victory.
#TBT to the first and only comp so far this year. #Winning http://t.co/t6kfRFA6IB via
— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) April 23, 2015
In 2014 Rutherford also returned to the top of the global rankings – after an injury-plagued 2013 – with a 8.51m jump, which was also a new British record.
Bramble, 24, has had a stunning breakthrough year so far and stands at second on the 2015 world ranking list after improving his all-time best by 30cm with that 8.21m jump, which also helped him jump from 23rd to fifth in the UK all-time list in the process.
The two long-jumpers will be joined by returning star Jessica Ennis-Hill, who will be competing at her first event since giving birth, and her heptathlon rival Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Also competing will be British sprinters Chijindu Ujah and Adam Kilty, as well as 100m legend Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis.
25,000 spectators are expected to line up on Deansgate to watch the seventh edition of the games, which preclude the Great Manchester Run, and have hosted luminaries such as sprint legend Usain Bolt in the past.
