MO FARAH yesterday confirmed he will compete at July's prestigious Diamond League meet at Hampden Park.
With a reduced capacity of just 30,000 at the national stadium, tickets will be at a premium and it is expected the event will sell out even quicker than it did last year in London.
The double Olympic champion, who has yet to decide whether to compete at the Commonwealth Games, is set to run the 5000 metres. It will be his first track outing after his marathon debut in London in April.
"Glasgow will be one of my first track appearances in front of a home crowd in 2014 and, having produced my best in front of the British public in London, I'm really looking forward to getting back out there and taking in the home support," he said. "Nothing in the world can compare to a British crowd and I will be doing everything I can to get the Hampden crowd going."
Scotland's Eilidh Child will also compete probably against the world champion Christine Ohuruogu over 400 metres. It will be the English woman's first appearance in the city since 2006 in what is expected to be a tune-up for her bid for gold at Glasgow 2014.
"It is a real privilege to be competing at the first athletics event at Hampden," said Ohuruogu. "To have potentially 30,000 there in July, it's going to be an amazing atmosphere for both athletes and spectators."
With the UK Treasury confirming the event will have a special tax exemption, the promoters have targeted sprinter Usain Bolt after the Jamaican's star turn last summer when the meeting was held at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. Nils de Vos, the UK Athletics chief executive, has promised a strong overseas contingent in what will likely be the strongest field assembled in Scotland.
"They will be joined by all of the top box office attractions from the world of athletics," de Vos said. "Athletes love competing in the UK knowing that they will get incredible support and a fantastic atmosphere in Glasgow."
Scottish pair Andy Frost and Nick Percy have been handed an early competitive outing after being named in a seven-strong British team for next week's European Cup Winter Throws in Portugal. Frost, twice a fourth-placed finisher at Commonwealths, faces UK champion Alex Smith in the hammer while Percy competes in the Under-23 discus.
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