Reigning Front Street Mile and International 10K champion Juan Luis Barrios of Mexico won’t be returning to defend his titles next month.

But with some four weeks remaining before International Race Weekend, Bermuda Track and Field Association have already confirmed seven leading milers from seven different countries for the Friday night elite event.

Among them are former two-time winner James Thie of Wales and last year’s third-place finisher Neil Speight of England.

Also returning will be Russian Alexander Skvortsov who will line up in the following day’s International 10K with his wife Silvia.

All three can expect some fierce competition from two young newcomers, Kenya’s Jackson Langet and American Joel Williams, both of whom are currently training together in the USA.

Also new to the KPMG-sponsored event will be Colombian Edgar Bermudez who is already on the Island training for the January 12 race.

Meanwhile, Guernsey-based entrant Lee Merrien has indicated that he plans to take advantage of the Bermuda race to take a look at the local talent he can expect to come up against at the Small Island Games in Greece next June.

The BTFA have confirmed they are also speaking with Kenyan star Geoffrey Rono, second to Barrios in both the Mile and International 10K last year, and are hopeful his name will be inked onto the entry list in the coming weeks.

However, Barrios, who won the Mile last year in four minutes, 5.63 seconds and then became the first athlete to complete the Mile/10K double by romping home in the Saturday race in 29:52, has told organisers he is unable to return as the Mexican athletics federation have scheduled him to compete in Europe in January.

In announcing the confirmed entries, new race director Anthony Raynor noted: “We are extremely excited about the field for the Elite Mile and the response overall from international athletes looking to come to Bermuda for International Race Weekend in 2007.

“It is extremely gratifying to learn that there is significant interest overseas in our event and we see the 2007 race as being a major stepping stone towards our ultimate goal of once again being one of the world’s top international running events in the future.

“There is still a great deal to do to prepare for the January event but we are already clearly focused on marketing and promoting 2008.”