This year’s crop of past Olympians and professional competitors is one of the best of the past decade as 53 former Olympians have signed on to compete at this weekend’s Drake Relays, said meet director Brian Brown.

Four-time Drake Relays champion sprinter Lolo Jones of Des Moines and six-time Drake Relays champion shot putter Christian Cantwell will highlight the professional field this weekend.

Jones will be in search of her fifth Drake Relays title in the 100-meter hurdles after a mid-race hamstring injury last year halted her race. Cantwell, who was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame on Thursday, won the silver medal in the shot put at the 2008 Olympics. Both Jones and Cantwell hold Drake Relays records in their events.

Some other top U.S. athletes that will be in this year’s field include sprinter Wallace Spearmon and distance runner Bernard Lagat.

Spearmon holds the world’s fourth-fastest time in the 200-meter dash at 19.85 seconds. With the return of the 200 invitational, Spearmon has a chance to break the 1997 Drake Relays record of 20.05 set by Michael Johnson.

“Bringing back the 100-meter [dash] for the women and 200-meter [dash] for men, it allows us to bring in some of the better athletes,” Brown said. “Wallace Spearmon is one of the better athletes in the country and the world.”

Lagat is the top U.S. runner in the men’s mile after gaining citizenship in the United States back in 2007. Competing for Kenya, Lagat won two bronze medals in the 1,500 meters and 2,000 meters at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the 1,500 in 2004. Lagat, a two-time Drake Relays in the mile run, will return to Drake Stadium after a five-year hiatus and compete in the men’s mile.

With one of the best professional fields in recent memory, Brown said that it bodes well for both the fans and the athletes to have a memorable weekend.

“It will be a love affair such that the athletes will feel the motivation from the fans and the fans will be able to see the athletes put all of their hard work into what we hope will be memorable performances,” Brown said.

In addition to these past Olympians, 315 athletes from 58 different foreign countries will compete on the Blue Oval this weekend. Former German Silver medalist shot putter Nadine Kleinert and the world’s third-ranked 400-meter sprinter Renny Quow of Trinidad and Tobago are just a few of the top foreign competitors scheduled to compete.

A former ISU athlete and Iowa State track and field’s resident Olympian Danny Harris has been in Ames this season helping out as a volunteer coach under assistant coach for sprints and hurdles Nate Wiens. A silver medalist in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Harris had an impressive career as both a Cyclone and as an Olympian. Harris is also one of the most decorated Drake Relays participants of all time, winning seven titles in the 400 hurdles and one in the 400-meter dash.

“It’s real simple, the Drake Relays is one of the greatest sporting events in this country. Every year as an athlete I could always count on 10 to 15 thousand people being in the stands on Saturday and having good competition and a great platform to showcase talent,” Harris said.

In 1986 as a junior at Iowa State, Harris set the Drake Relays record for both collegiate and professional competitors at 48.28 seconds. Harris, who was inducted into the Drake Relays Hall of Fame in 1992, hopes that he can hold onto his 24-year old record as he looks forward to attending Drake Stadium this weekend.

“Well first of all, I hope my meet record will stand for another year,” Harris said. “Secondly, it doesn’t change, Drake is a 101 year old institution and that’s what I counted on as an athlete just being able to go out there and have the Drake experience.” Harris said.

Although he will be watching the 400 hurdles race, Harris will also take back with him some teaching tools from other races that he can help with his guidance of the Iowa State athletes.

“I’ll be watching every event from the beginning to the end, that’s what makes it great watching not just my own individual event but every event,” Harris said.

As meet director, Brown will know who will be competing when in each event and race, but Brown says its the moments that are least expected that define what the Drake Relays are all about.

“The surface is great, the fans are great but there are those moments where there is a roar from the crowd and there is something special that brings the hairs up on the back of your neck, you try and prepare for those moments but when they happen, it’s so special.” Brown said.

Competition at the Drake Relays got underway on Thursday as former U.S. Olympian Diana Pickler set the Drake Relays record in the heptathlon, scoring 6,040 points. On the men’s side, Iowa senior Dan Rolling led competition in the men’s decathlon with five events remaining.