US hurdler Devon Allen discussed his professional ambitions in both track and field and the NFL (National Football League) on Thursday (11th August), and the absence of Russian competitors from Rio 2016

SOUNDBITE (English): Sam Kendricks, US pole vaulter;

"In the vaults, the Russians have always had a history of being very immaculate in the event. I can only express that I am kind of disappointed that this issue (Russian doping) didn't come to light sooner, so that the clean athletes could shine through, and more delegation and more due process in that respect. But being an event that is confined by the rules we compete by, it defines what makes a champion and what makes second place, and what makes a fair jump and what does not make a fair jump. You have to understand that this is just a process the sport has to go through in order grow."

SOUNDBITE (English): Devon Allen, US hurdler:

"As an athlete, you want to always compete against the best, and like you said, the defending world champion is Russian (Sergey Shubenkov). So as a competitor it's kind of disappointing because obviously I want to compete against him. But on the other side, I don't make the rules, I just kind of show up and compete. I can't really say whether it's good or bad, but I think that the athletes that are here are going to compete well, and I'm just excited to compete against them."

SOUNDBITE (English): Brianna Rollins, US hurdler:(On the elimination of world record holder Kendra Harrison at the Olympic trials)

"I actually think that our trials is a good system. It's a fair chance that we all get, we all get prelims, semifinals, and a finals. It's unfortunate that Kendra Harrison couldn't have made the team. But she bounced back at London, and broke the world record, so I was happy for her, since she was able to do that. But it's part of our sport. We never know what could happen. It's about being your best on that day."

SOUNDBITE (English): Devon Allen, US hurdler:(On the lure of playing in the NFL, which he is contemplating)

"I always joke around and say if I was born in Europe I'd probably be a soccer player, just because that's the popular sport there. I think really a lot of US athletes that are great, especially explosive and really fast, end up playing (American) football just because that's one of the most popular sports in the US, and it's one of those things a lot of people can see the future and make some money and live."