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Zurich

The Stars of Athletics to Coach their Youngest Fans

Weltklasse Zürich goes on tour! On Tuesday, 28 August, as of 5.30 p.m., the meeting’s traditional training session will be held at 11 venues in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and – for the first time – in the Ticino town of Mendrisio. Teams of two international and two Swiss stars will train with 100 kids, sharing their experience and their passion for the sport. Depending on the distance of the venue from Zurich, the illustrious coaches will arrive by helicopter or limousine at the various training grounds.

Champions coaching fans – a unique opportunity to train and chat with stars
This week, the local organising teams were provided with the final lists of the famous guest coaches scheduled to join them for the special training sessions. At least one Olympic, world or European champion will be present in each city and town. All of the coaches will be athletes again at Weltklasse Zürich two days later, competing in front of a sold-out Letzigrund Stadium (live coverage on SF2, as of 8 p.m.).

Renaud Lavillenie, newly crowned pole vault Olympic champion from France and Swiss record holder Nicole Büchler will team up to coach a group of young athletes in Chur. The session in Basel will be led by Tyson Gay, second-fast sprinter of all time, together with the local Olympic 200m semi-finalist Alex Wilson. 800m world record holder David Rudisha will make an appearance in Aarau. The first Ticino training session will be held in Mendrisio, featuring two long jump experts: Olympic bronze medallist Fabrizio Donato of Italy and national record holder Irene Pusterla.

Yohan Blake to train with Zurich kids
The Zurich edition of the kids training session will be considerably larger than elsewhere: As many as 250 children and teenagers will train at Fluntern sports ground together with a dozen Weltklasse Zürich stars. The team of coaches will include reigning world champion Yohan Blake and shot put Olympic champion Valerie Adams, who currently lives in Magglingen.

Tickets to the event drawn in a raffle
A raffle determined the participants of the prestigious training sessions. All spots are taken (with the exception of the ones for a few winners of local media lotteries, which will be determined within the next days).

 

The venues of training sessions and the guest coaches
(as at 16 August 2012):

Aarau:

David Rudisha (KEN/800m): world record holder, Olympic champion 2012 and world champion 2011.
Dawn Harper (USA/100m hurdles): 2012 Olympic silver medaillist in London. 2008 Olympic champion in Beijing. 
Christoph Ryffel (SUI/long distance): Swiss champion 10000m.
Fausto Santini (SUI/400m hurdles): Swiss champion in 2009 and 2010. Participant 2010 European championships in Barcelona.

Basel:

Tyson Gay (USA/100m, 200m): second-fastest runner in the 100m of all times (9.69). Fourth in the 100m and silver medallist with the 4x100m relay team at 2012 Olympic Games in London. Triple world champion in Osaka in 2007 (100m, 200m, 4x100m).
Jesse Williams (USA/high jump): 2011 world champion in Daegu. Ninth at 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Alex Wilson (SUI/200m): Olympic and European championship semi-finalist in 2012. Fifth at 2012 European championships in the 4x100m. Two-time 200m Swiss champion in 2011 and 2012. U23 European championship finalist in 2011. Swiss record holder 100m U23 (10.26) and 200m (20.51).
Ellen Sprunger (SUI/heptathlon, 4x100m): 19th place in the 2012 Olympic heptathlon in London. Semi-finalist 4x100m at 2012 Olympic Games. Second most successful Swiss heptathlete of all times. Swiss national record holder 4x100m. 6th place at 2012 European championships in Helsinki 4x100m. Multiple Swiss champion in various events.

Bern:

Kim Collins (SKN/100 m): World Champion 2003 in Paris
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (CAN/100m hurdles): 2008 Olympic bronze medallist in Beijing. 2009 world championship silver medallist in Berlin. Weltklasse Zürich winner in 2010.
Maja Neuenschwander (SUI/marathon): 2012 Olympic Games participant in London (53th place). Multiple Swiss champion. Swiss champion 2012.
Mujinga Kambundji (SUI/100m, 200m): Swiss champion 100m and 200m. 2012 Olympic Games participant with the 4x100m relay team. European championship participant in Helsinki (100m).

Biberist:

Andreas Thorkildsen (NOR/javelin throw): Olympic champion of 2004 and 2008. Sixth at 2012 Olympic Games. World champion in 2009, European champion in 2006 and 2010.

Wallace Spearmon (USA/200m): fourth at 2012 Olympic Games. Weltklasse Zürich winner in 2010. World championship silver medallist in 2005, and world championship bronze medallist in 2007 and 2009.

Jonas Fringeli (SUI/decathlon): European championship participant in 2012. Four-time Swiss indoor champion (2009-2012), and 2011 Swiss champion.

Léa Sprunger (SUI/200m, 4x100m): 200m semi-finalist and sixth with the 4x100m relay team at 2012 European championships in Helsinki. National record holder 4x100m. National record holder 200m U23. Participant at 2012 Olympic Games in London 200 m and 4×100 m.

Chur:

Churandy Martina (NED/100m, 200m): 2012 European champion 200m and 4x100m in Helsinki. Olympic finalist in London (100m/6th place, 200m/5th place, 4x100m/6th place).
Renaud Lavillenie (FRA/pole vault): Olympic champion 2012, world indoor champion 2012, two-time European champion (2012 and 2010), two-time European indoor champion (2011 and 2009).
Jacqueline Gasser (SUI/200m, 4x100m): 6th in the 4x100m at 2012 European championships in Helsinki. National record holder 4x100m. Member of the Swiss team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London (did not participate due to injury). Two-time 200m Swiss champion (2011 and 2010).
Nicole Büchler (SUI/pole vault): national record holder (4.60m). 8th place at the 2012 world indoor championships in Istanbul. Two-time Olympic Games participant (2012 und 2008) and two-time world championship participant (2011 and 2009). Five-time Swiss champion.

Frauenfeld:

Björn Otto (GER/pole vault): silver medallist at the 2012 Olympic Games, at the 2012 European Championships in Helsinki, and at the 2012 world indoor championships in Istanbul.
Angelo Taylor (USA/400m hurdles): two-time 400m h Olympic champion (Sydney in 2000, Beijing in 2008). Fifth at 2012 Olympic Games in London. 4x400m Olympic champion in 2008, and 4x400m silver medallist at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Three-time world champion with the relay team in 2007, 2009, and 2011.
Reto Amaru Schenkel (SUI/100m, 200m): second-fastest Swiss 100m runner of all times (10.19). Swiss record holder 4x100m. Participant 2012 Olympic Games in London. Semi-finalist 2012 European championships in Helsinki. Semi-finalist at Daegu world championships in 2011 (200m). Fifth in the 4x100m relay final at the European championships in Helsinki, and fourth in the 4x100m relay final at the 2010 European championships in Barcelona.
Kariem Hussein (SUI/400m hurdles): semi-finalist at Helsinki European championships in 2012. Swiss champion 2012 and 2011. Qualified for 2012 Olympic Games, did not participate due to an injury.

Hochdorf:

Sanya Richards-Ross (USA/400m): 400m Olympic champion London 2012. 2009 world champion 400m in Berlin. Three-time Olympic champion with the 4x400m relay team (2004, 2008, 2012). Four-time world champion with the 4x400m relay team (2003, 2007, 2009, 2011). Five-time Weltklasse Zürich winner.
Kellie Wells (USA/100m hurdles): 2012 Olympic bronze medallist. World championship finalist in Daegu in 2011. Samsung Diamond League meeting winner in Doha and London.
Noemi Zbären (SUI/100m hurdles): 2nd at world junior championships in Barcelona in 2012. Swiss junior record holder. 2nd at 2011 U18 world championships in Lille. Youngest Swiss athletics participant at 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Michelle Cueni (SUI/100m, 200m): 6th 4x100m at Helsinki 2012. Olympic Games semi-finalist 4x100m in London. Swiss record holder 4x100m. 2012 Swiss indoor champion 60m.

Mendrisio:

Fabrizio Donato (ITA/ triple jump): 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallist. 2012 European champion in Helsinki.
Irene Pusterla (SUI/long jump): Swiss record holder long jump (6.84m) and triple jump (13.42m). 7th at 2012 European championships in Helsinki. Participant at 2012 Olympic Games in London and at 2011 world championships in Daegu. Finalist (8th) at Paris European indoor championships in 2011. Multiple Swiss champion.
Laura Polli (SUI, race walking): Swiss champion.

Schaffhausen:

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM/100m, 200m): two-time Olympic champion (2008 and 2012). 100m world champion in Berlin in 2009. 2012 Olympic Games silver medallist 200m and 4x100m.
Brittney Reese (USA/long jump): Olympic champion London 2012. 2011 world champion in Daegu and 2009 world champion in Berlin. 2012 world indoor champion in Istanbul and 2010 world indoor champion in Doha. Weltklasse Zürich winner in 2010 and 2011.
Andreas Kundert (SUI/110m hurdles): Swiss record holder. Seven-time Swiss champion. Participant at world championships in Daegu in 2011 and in Osaka in 2007.
Blessing Okagbare (NIG/100 m/Long Jump): Olympic bronze medallist long jump 2008 in Beijing. Olympic finalist 100 m 2012 in London.

Teufen:

Carmelita Jeter (USA/100m, 200m): 2011 world champion 100m. London Olympic champion 4x100m. Olympic silver medallist in the 100m and bronze medallist in the 200m in London. World record holder 4x100m.
Félix Sánchez (DOM/ 400m hurdles): two-time Olympic Champion (London, 2012, and Athens, 2004). Two-time world champion (Edmonton, 2001 and Paris, 2003). Four-time Weltklasse Zürich winner (2001-2004).
Simon Walter (SUI/decathlon): participant 2009 world championships in Berlin and 2010 European championships in Barcelona. Swiss champion 2008.
Ivet Lalova (BUL/100m): 2012 European champion in Helsinki 100m. 2005 European indoor champion in Madrid 200m. Olympic finalist in Athens in 2004 100m and 200m. Daegu world championship finalist in 2011 100m.

Zurich:

Yohan Blake (JAM/100m, 200m): 2011 world champion in Daegu 100m. Olympic Games silver medallist 100m and 200m at London 2012. 2012 Olympic champion 4x100m. World record holder 4x100m. Jamaican champion 100m and 200m.
Valerie Adams (NZL/shot put): two-time Olympic champion (London 2012 and Beijing 2008). Three-time world champion (Daegu 2011, Berlin 2009, Osaka 2007). Two-time world indoor champion (Istanbul 2012 and Valencia 2008).
…and many more stars