$1m jackpot chase kicks off in Berlin

World champions Jeremy Wariner, Blanka Vlasic, Irving Saladino and Janeth Jepkosgei will launch their bids for the $1 million Golden League Jackpot in Berlin today.

Wariner, the twice world champion, has been the dominant force in the 400 metres since winning the Olympic title four years ago.

A winner of a share of the jackpot two years ago, the 24-year-old Texan said the Golden League schedule fitted perfectly into his preparation plans for the US Olympic trials and the Games.

"The way the Golden League is set up this year, we have two big competitions before the trials and two before the Olympic Games," said Wariner, who ran 43.45 at the World Championship last year. "These are great races for me to see where I'm at and get a feel for competition."

His primary challenger in Berlin will be fellow American Lashawn Merritt, who finished second to Wariner at last year's World Championship. Merritt has clocked 44.34 this spring, the fastest performance in the world this year.

Vlasic, who claimed the first World Championship medal for Croatia last year when she won the high jump, is among the most solid favourites in the jackpot chase.

The 25-year-old will bring a 24-meet winning streak to Berlin.

Saladino, the world long jump champion, is also a heavy favourite.

At last weekend's FBK Games in Hengelo, the 25-year-old Panamanian leapt 8.73 metres, the longest in the world for 14 years. He has a 21-meet winning streak.

"In the end it felt easy," Saladino said of his leap. "It was easy and so I feel that it's very possible to do an even better job and go even farther."

Jepkosgei won the world 800 metres title last year, clocking 1:56.04 in a thrilling gun-to-tape victory.

Athletes must win their events at each of the six meets to claim a share of the prize, the largest in athletics.

The series includes stops at Oslo's Bislett Games on June 6, Rome's Golden Gala on July 11, Paris on July 18 and Zurich's Weltklasse on August 29, before concluding in Brussels on Sept. 5.

Last year, American 400 metres runner Sanya Richards and world and Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva, of Russia, each claimed half of the jackpot.

Doping

A decision regarding the ban of disgraced Olympic 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin will be issued on June 6, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said in midweek. It made the announcement at the end of a two-day hearing before a three-man CAS panel on Gatlin's appeal against the four-year ban imposed on him in May 2006 after he tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone. Gatlin, 26, was seeking to have the ban reduced to two years.