Christie named 10K ambassador

Former Olympic sprint champion Linford Christie will be the brand ambassador of the TCS World 10K run to be held here on May 27.

Christie, who won the 100M at the Barcelona Olympic Games, joins an illustrious list of World 10K brand ambassadors, with Maurice Greene, Paul Tergat and Constantina Dita having donned the role in previous years.

Christie is expected to be in Bangalore three days before the event to promote the event and encourage amateur athletes, the organisers, Procam International and the sponsors, Tata Consultancy Services, stated at a press conference on Tuesday.

“I am delighted to be the event ambassador for the TCS World 10K Bangalore 2012,” Christie said in a message. “It is so vital that besides the amazing competitive field, there is also the average runner who participates for health and fitness, charity and also for self belief. This event has always been much anticipated every year and 2012 is no exception. I am honoured to be a part of it and encourage everyone to be a participant in whatever way possible,” Christie said.

Christie is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at four major competitions — the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. The first European to break the 10-second barrier, the Jamaican-born Christie has a personal best of 9.87 seconds and clocked 9.96 to win the Olympic gold.

World champion in 1993, Christie is no stranger to controversies and two years after his retirement, he tested positive for nandrolone during an invitation meeting, leading to a two-year ban from the International Association of Athletics Federations.

“Being the Olympic year, many international athletes will be using this event as a preparatory exercise,” said former Test cricketer Yajuvindra Singh, Head, Corporate Affairs India, Tata Consultancy Services, reiterating his company’s support for the race as well as the charities associated with it.

Dilp Jayram, CEO, Procam International, said more than 21,000 people have registered for the races and registrations have been closed for all events barring the Majja run. Entries for Majja run will close at 5.00 pm on May 17.