OLYMPIC and world champions Maurice Greene of the United States and Tonique Williams-Darling of The Bahamas will be special guests at the sixth staging of the Douglas Forrest Invitational Meet set to take place next week Saturday inside the National Stadium.

Chairman of the meet, Brian Smith made the announcement yesterday morning at a press conference at the Alhambra Inn, Tucker Avenue.

Greene — who won the 100m at three consecutive World Championships (1997, 1999, 2001) and was the Olympic Games 100m champion at Sydney in 2000 — is expected in the island next Wednesday, while Williams-Darling — the 2004 Olympic 400m champion in Athens and the 2005 400m world champion in Helsinki — will arrive next week Thursday.

According to Smith, “the practice of bringing in former stars of track and field is to provide motivation as they interact with our present athletes”.

Some 3,000 athletes from 80 schools are expected to take part in the meet to be held inside the National Stadium for the first time.

“There will also be a team from the Star Trackers Running Club in Bahamas, an athlete is coming in from Columbia University in New York, and we are waiting for a team in Curaçao to confirm as soon as their flight arrangements can be finalised,” Smith added.

“We have sent an invitation to our friends at the Special Olympians body and they have kindly consented to play their part by taking part in 200m races, both male and female,” he pointed out.

Nineteen sponsors led by the Jamaica Money Market Brokers and their dynamic group marketing manager Imani Duncan have lent their support to the Douglas Forrest meet, named after the principal of Kingston College from the 1950s to the 1970s.

The January 16 meet begins at 8:30 am with the 400m hurdles and the last event, the 4x400m hurdles, is scheduled to be run at 5:45 pm.

Other events at the meet, limited to four athletes per event for each school, are the 3,000m, 5,000m, 200m, 800m, 1,500m, medley relay, 4x400m relay, long jump, high jump, shot put, and triple jump, with some consideration being given to pole vault.

President of the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association Howard Aris also spoke at the press conference, with veteran broadcaster Bobby Fray as master of ceremonies.