Atheltics: Vili looking to take down rival in New York

Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus leads Valerie Vili 10-8 in head-to-head meetings. Photo / Getty Images

Champion shot putter Valerie Vili heads for next week's Diamond League athletics event at New York to take on arch-rival Nadezhda Ostapchuk with some confidence after a solid showing at a meeting in Taiwan last weekend.

Vili came close to her season's best of 20.57m achieved in February with a throw of 20.24m to beat Taiwan's Lin Chia-Ying (15.51m) and Korea's Lee Mi-Young (15.47m) at the international meeting in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei.

Ostapchuk beat world and Olympic champion Vili a second time this year at last month's Diamond League round in Shanghai, throwing 20.70m to the New Zealander's 19.72m.

Ostapchuk, who leads Vili 10-8 in head-to-head meetings, ended Vili's unbeaten run at the world indoor championships in March at Qatar, with a throw of 20.85m to Vili's 20.49m.

Until then, Vili had not been beaten in 28 meetings for the past 2-1/2 years.

Returning from Qatar, Vili replaced long-time coach Kirsten Hellier in April with former French national coach Didier Poppe and added Mike McGuigan as her strength coach.

"I am looking forward to...New York as I have never been there and I think it will be great fun," Vili said in her diary entry on the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) website.

At New York, Vili will also have to contend with another Belarusian, Natalia Khororenk-Mikhnevich, who won the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Meanwhile, triple Olympic champion and 100m sprint world record holder Usain Bolt has withdrawn from the New York meet with a tendon injury, organisers said today.

"I developed a stiffness in my Achilles tendon last week and sought medical attention," Bolt said in a statement released by the meeting.

"After careful consultation with Dr Hans Mller-Wohlfahrt at his clinic in Munich, I have been advised to take a two-three week break as a precautionary measure to avoid risking further damage."

Bolt had been expected to face American Tyson Gay in a 100m showdown between the world's two fastest men.

The event at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, is the fifth stop on the 14-meet international Diamond League circuit.

- NZPA