Thurmond, Boase, Måkestad, and Crawford primed for Lausanne Diamond League meet...

LAUSANNE, Switzerland--Four athletes with Washington ties are among the participants in Thursday's Samsung Diamond League stop, the Athletissima 2011 meeting in the city where the International Olympic Committee calls home.

Washington grad Aretha Thurmond (left/photo by Paul Merca), who made her fifth world championship team with her second place finish at the USA championships in Eugene last week, competes in the discus against a field that includes reigning Olympic and US national champion Stephanie Brown-Trafton, and Cuba's Yarelis Barrios.

While it's not a Diamond League race this week, Bothell HS and UW grad Jordan Boase will contest the men's 400 meters, a week after getting bounced in the semis at nationals.

Former Washington middle distance standout Ingvill Måkestad, who won the 1500 at the European Team Championships-First Division in Turkey almost two weeks ago, will run the 1500 in a field that includes the top two point scorers in the Samsung Diamond Trophy in Maryam Jamal of Burundi and Anna Mishchenko of the Ukraine at 4 points each as the Diamond League season reaches the halfway mark with this meet.

Rainier Beach HS grad Ginnie Crawford, who finished fourth at last week's USA championships in the 100 hurdles, will face the top two finishers in last Sunday's finals in US champ Kellie Wells, and Danielle Carruthers.

The Athletissima 2011 meeting will be streamed live on universalsports.com beginning at 11 am, pacific time.

The complete start list is available here.

NOTES: USA Track & Field, which has operated without a chief executive officer since September after Doug Logan was fired, will extend the service of interim CEO and current chief operating officer Mike McNees through the 2012 Olympics.

The board of USATF will activate three committees: Management, Strategic Positioning and Operations. The committees will work intimately with the Interim CEO and key staff members, and will engage all 15 voting board members, as a transition through 2012 Olympic preparations.

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