At the official curtain-raiser to the annual event, the gathering was staged in the same venue which holds the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize ceremony each December and the Norwegian capital welcomed the American sprints legend together with Jimmy Vicaut, Jaysuma Saidy Ndure, Adam Gemili and Richard Kilty.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the assembled media, 52-year-old Lewis recalled his time spent competing at the Bislett stadium in the 1980\u2019s and 1990\u2019s:
\u201cI remember when I first came back in 1980 \u2013 the event was so small, we had to stay with local people,\u201d he said.
\u201cI had great experiences here but the best was on my birthday in 1989.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four-time Olympic long jump champion, two-time Olympic 200m and 4x100m champion and 1984 Olympic 100m champion retired from the sport 17 years ago and keeps busy by running his own business and with coaching and United Nations duties.<\/p>\n
The three-time world 100m and two-time world long jump champion can boast bests of 9.86m and 8.87m, respectively, and Lewis spoke openly about his career in Oslo:
\u201cThe best day of my career was the day I retired because I\u2019d exceeded my expectations and had no regrets,\u201d he revealed.
\u201cI\u2019d competed all around the world and did it all \u2013 I look back with fond memories.\u201d
\u201cBelieve it or not, my Olympic and world medals are all in a safety deposit box in storage and I only looked at them once a year as I never thought medals would win me a race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis also offered some advice to the present-day athletes, saying:
\u201cThe biggest thing is to set an ultimate goal \u2013 if you can understand that then every day is working towards it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Jimmy Vicaut spoke of his intentions to improve the 9.92 French record.
The 22-year-old European indoor 60m champion and European 100m silver medallist equalled his 9.95 personal best last month and ran a windy 9.89 for third place in Eugene at the end of May.
\u201cIt\u2019s the best beginning to my season and I hope to go quicker tomorrow,\u201d Vicaut explained.
\u201cMy goal is to qualify for both events at the European Championships (in Zurich in August) and I hope to stay injury-free and beat record.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another athlete with a 9.95 clocking to his name in the field tomorrow night is Norway\u2019s Jaysuma Saidy Ndure.
The 30-year-old European bronze medallist registered the national record mark last weekend and placed fourth in the Doha leg of the IAAF Diamond League at the beginning of May.
The 2011 world fourth placer said:
\u201cI feel I\u2019m in good shape so it\u2019s going to be a good race.
\u201cI still have time to improve \u2013 I\u2019ve been focusing on my start this year and working hard so my goal is to run sub-10.
\u201cI\u2019ve been working hard on my 200m so I\u2019ll compete in both events in the European\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Great Britain\u2019s Adam Gemili appears on the verge of his first sub-10 second clocking, following a 10.07 season\u2019s best in Rome whilst finishing third in the IAAF Diamond League event last week.
The 20-year-old world 200m fifth placer has a best of 10.05 stretching back to the 2012 season when he took the world junior 100m title and said:
\u201cIt\u2019s a long season ahead so I\u2019m taking my time and getting quicker.
\u201cI\u2019m prioritising the 100m at the moment and then I\u2019ll move on to some 200m\u2019s.
\u201cBritish sprinting has been given a boost and I hope I can go sub-10 soon.\u201d
The 2013 European under23 100m champion continued:
\u201cI hope to do both the Commonwealth Games (in Glasgow next month) and the European Championships but I\u2019m still deciding on what to do where.\u201d<\/p>\n
His compatriot, Richard Kilty should also feature highly tomorrow evening.
The 24-year-old world indoor 60m champion has a best of 10.10 from last summer and is confident of a strong display despite his 10.26 performance in Rome:
\u201cUsually it takes me a couple of races to get into the swing of things so I hope I\u2019ll be ready by the time of the British championships (at the end of June),\u201d Kilty explained.
\u201cThe 200m was my favourite event last year but I missed so much speed-endurance work because of the long indoor season so I\u2019m focusing on the 100m this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nicola Bamford for the ExxonMobil Bislett Games media team. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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