VCB, Felix eagerly await JII meet
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Jamaican sprint queen Veronica Campbell Brown and American Allyson Felix, who have dominated the women’s 200m for almost a decade, are both looking forward to a rare meeting over the 100m at the Jamaica International Invitational (JII) on May 4 in Kingston.
In a teleconference put on by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) yesterday, both athletes said they were “excited” to be taking part in the race, that they would use to gauge their preparation for the upcoming season with the Diamond League set to start in three weeks’ time.
IAAF World 2012 female Athlete-of-the-year Felix, who won three gold medals, including the 200m at the London Olympics last year, will be making her first trip to Jamaica in 11 years since she represented the USA at the 2002 IAAF World Junior Championships in Kingston, said: “I’m just excited to open my season and see where I am.”
After a long 2012 season, the 27-year-old Felix said she is “gradually” getting back to where she “needs to be this year. I’ll be racing to get sharpness. I need to be in shape for the US nationals, so for that race (in Jamaica) it’ll be opening up and seeing where things are at.”
Campbell Brown, who will be running her first 100m, told the participants in the teleconference: “That race will be my first 100m, so I’ll be trying to see where I am at as well. It’s always a pleasure and it’s always so much fun, and (it is) exciting to compete at home, so I’m looking forward to entertaining all the fans that are coming out to support us.”
The two fierce competitors, who will be meeting for only the sixth time since 2010, have raced against each other in the individual sprints 18 times in their career.
Campbell Brown, the reigning IAAF world 200m champion, has the marked advantage in the 100m, winning six out of seven times, while the American has won seven times in 11 meetings in the 200m, including in London where Campbell-Brown was fourth.
Felix will open her Diamond league season at the opening meet in Doha, Qatar, while Campbell Brown will compete for the first time at the Adidas Classic in New York in late May.
