NEW YORK CITY (June 5, 2012)—Meseret Defar, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and 2007 IAAF World Champion, will race at 5000 meters at Icahn Stadium for the first time since breaking the World Record on this track in 2006, adidas Grand Prix organizers have announced.

Defar, 28, will face fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba at 5000 meters, the first time the two have met in a non-championships race since Berlin in 2006. They last met in the World Athletic Final in 2009, with Defar edging Dibaba by .61 second. Dibaba, the 2008 double Olympic gold medalist at 5000 meters and 10,000 meters, is the current World Record-holder at the distance.

Withdrawing from the event is Dayron Robles of Cuba (slight injury).

In its eighth year as one of the premier track-and-field events in the world, the adidas Grand Prix, at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island, will begin at 1 p.m. this Saturday, June 9. Headlining the world-class international roster, which features athletes from 42 countries, are 72 Olympic or World Championships medalists, 40 of whom are Olympic gold medalists and/or World Champions. Tickets are available at adidasgrandprix.com or by calling 1-877-849-8722.

Tyson Gay, the three-time 2007 World Champion (100 meters, 200 meters, 4x100-meter relay) and American Record-holder (9.69) for 100 meters, joins the 100-meter “B” race as he returns from hip surgery. Gay, who has not competed in almost a year, is using the race as the equivalent of a rehab start before the U.S. Olympic Trials later this month; it will be his only race before he attempts to make his second Olympic team in Eugene.

Joining the field for the women's pole vault is Fabiana Murer of Brazil, the 2011 IAAF World Champion who was ranked #1 in the world for 2010. Also added is Luguelin Santos, the 18-year-old from the Dominican Republic who ran 44.45 to win at 400 meters in the Fanny Blankers-Koen meet in Hengelo on May 27. Santos's time, a national record, is #2 in the world this year.

Any further field updates will be available adidasgrandprix.com, by clicking on Events/Results and then the entry lists for each event.

All of the latest news, photos and additional information on the adidas Grand Prix can be found at adidasgrandprix.com, the event's pages on Facebook at facebook.com/adidasGrandPrix and on Twitter at twitter.com/adidasGrandPrix. When tweeting, use #agpny.