Dai confirms for Diamond Leagues in Birmingham and London. 16 June 2011

Dai Greene has set his sights on becoming British record holder this summer, with two big opportunities on home soil when he lines up at the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix and Aviva London Grand Prix as part of his preparations for World Championships glory.

The 25-year-old will look to stamp his authority on the track ahead of this year’s IAAF World Championships by breaking the British Record that has stood for almost 20 years. 

Dai will have his first chance at Kriss Akabusi’s long-standing British benchmark of 47.82, set in August 1992, when he lines up at Birmingham Alexander Stadium on 10 July, before returning for a second attempt at the record at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre four weeks later as part of his final preparations for the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea later in August.

“I certainly have the British record in my sights now and came really close at the Continental Cup in Split last year,” said Dai.

“I met Kriss Akabusi at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards last year and he knows it won’t be long now! My priority is to win medals, but if I want to be the best, I have to be breaking records and it would be great to do that in front of my home fans in a packed-out stadium.

“I saw the crowd’s reaction when Mo Farah broke the European record at the NIA back in February and I would love to experience that buzz. The crowd was electric.

“If I have the whole stadium behind me, I’m confident that I can go out there and really be in with a chance of breaking the record, which has stood now for 19 years.”

Akabusi first claimed the record in 1990 with a run of 47.92, eclipsing the previous British best of 48.12 set by former World Record holder David Hemery at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Two years later Akabusi again lowered the mark to 47.82 en route to bronze at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

But having seen only two men hold the record for a staggering 42 years, Akabusi is desperate to see the record fall and has tipped Greene as the man to do it.

“He can break my record, without any shadow of a doubt,” said Akabusi. “He’s a young man going places with great athletics pedigree. He’s a top championship performer. Last year was such a great year for him and he already came so close to breaking my record then.

“He’s managed low 48s and high 47s so many times that you can’t help but feel it’s a matter of when and not if. He’s the real deal and I can say without any doubt that he’ll be the next British record holder. And it won’t take very long.”

Dai believes the prospect of capacity stadiums at both events can drive him to first place in 2011 and has called on the people of both cities to get behind all the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland stars.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to racing at both the Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix and the Aviva London Grand Prix this summer. For any athlete, you always want to be racing in front of your home crowd and I can’t wait to do that, especially after winning the Europeans and Commonwealths last year. I certainly aim to come away from both races with a victory for Great Britain.

“I’m really happy with the way I have started my season in both Rome and New York, this is a really important year for me to make my mark on the world stage and build towards achieving my goals for London 2012.

The Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix will be at the Alexander Stadium on 10 July, the Aviva UK Trials and Championships will be at the Birmingham Alexander Stadium 29-31 July and the Aviva London Grand Prix will be at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre 5-6 August. For tickets or more information go to uka.org.uk/aviva-series or phone 08000 556 056