Vili joins exclusive club

New Zealand world and Olympic shot put champion Valerie Vili has joined a glittering group of athletes who will be ambassadors for the 2010 Diamond League.

Vili joins 13 others who will promote the lucrative 14-meet league, which this year ventures outside Europe for the first time. It begins with a one-day meet in Doha on May 14 and has stops in China and the United States.

Other league ambassadors include sprint giants Usain Bolt of Jamaica and Tyson Gay of the United States, Ethiopian distance king Kenenisa Bekele and Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic.

2010 IAAF Diamond League Calendar

May 14, Doha
May 23, Shanghai
June 4, Oslo
June 10, Rome
June 12, New York
July 3, Eugene, USA
July 8, Lausanne
July 10, Gateshead, England
July 16, Paris
July 22, Monaco
Aug 6, Stockholm
Aug 13-14, London
Aug 19, Zurich
Aug 27, Brussels

- NZPA