Stakes raised for Anniversary Games, says Proctor

The cream of British athletic talent, led by reigning double Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah, will compete at the games, on July 9, at the London Stadium.

Leading British athletes set to compete alongside Proctor and Farah include Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Adam Gemili, Richard Kilty, James Dasaolu, Martyn Rooney, Dina Asher-Smith and Andrew Pozzi.

The competition is a matter of weeks before the best athletes on the planet return to the track and field in London for the IAAF World Athletics Championships (August 4 to 13).

And Proctor believes having the World Athletics Championships being just weeks after the games has sparked added incentive to an already prestigious competition.

"I can't wait for the Muller Anniversary Games," she said. "The best athletes in the world always want to compete there, and the stakes are even higher this year because the World Championships is on the same track just a few weeks later.

"The crowd in the London Stadium is always fantastic and I'm sure the send-off for the British athletes will be an amazing spectacle and really loud."

Pozzi, reigning European indoor 60m hurdles champion, added: "We're incredibly lucky. We have a home World Championships first and foremost, but to have the Muller Anniversary Games, it really is the biggest meet on the circuit.

"You look at the start list and every event is always absolutely packed, so it's really good to have that in the calendar as the last major meet, because it gets everyone focused and ready and almost a taste of the home support before coming back to the World Championships."

Sportsbeat 2017