Mega showdown
Despite his huge success, not very often does sprint coach guru Glen Mills exhibit emotion in his area of expertise.
So when he said he is excited about the women’s 100m line-up for the Racers Grand Prix, track and field fans should take heed as there is something special around the corner, especially that Mills has hinted at it.
Jamaica’s double 100m Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will come face to face with American rival Carmelita Jeter in what is expected to a hotly contested 100m at the Racers Grand Prix on June 11.
“I am excited about the women’s 100m with Shelly-Ann, World Indoor champion Barbara Pierre, Jeter, plus Remona Burchell, a young Jamaican on the rise. She was all the rage in college a year ago and Natasha Morrison,” said Mills.
“That would be a good field,” he told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.
Fraser-Pryce, who has had the better of Jeter on a number of occasions, has often times criticised male sprinters for avoiding head-to-head competition in the build-up to major championships and is once again showing that she lives for good competition.
Fraser-Pryce, who has a personal best of 10.70 seconds, takes on Jeter, who has twice dipped below that time with clockings of 10.64 and 10.67 seconds.
In 2013, before a race against Jeter in Birmingham, England, Fraser-Pryce said there should be a lot more clashes and think it would get a lot more excitement than a number one, two or three ranked athlete taking on a number 21, 22 or 23 ranked athlete.
“There’s not much there they can expect. You know what will happen,” Fraser-Pryce was quoted as saying.
So with that in mind, Fraser-Pryce will once again match strides with Americans Jeter (10.64), Pierre (10.85), Jamaicans Natasha Morrison (10.96), Samantha Henry-Robinson (11.00) and Remona Burchell (11.03), and the Trinidad and Tobago duo of Kelly-Ann Baptiste (10.84) and Michelle-Lee Ahye (10.85).
Fraser-Pryce, who skipped two recent meets because of a toe injury, should be back in action on May 28 at Pre-Fontaine Classic in the United States before unleashing at the Racers Grand Prix.
While Jeter has not been in the best of form at 36 years old, she is experienced enough and will be fine-tuning her preparations for one last assault at Olympic glory in August.
Pierre has been a revelation this season, having taken her personal best from 7.08 down to 7.00 on her way to capturing the IAAF World Indoor 60m title. She has improved her start, which she used to good effect in defeating both Dafne Schippers of The Netherlands and Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson. That explosive start will be severely scrutinised by Jamaica’s Fraser-Pryce who is the best starter in the game.
Morrison, who made the women’s 100m final at the World Championships last year, is said to be burning up the track at her new overseas training camp, and all eyes will be on her to see how well she has developed.
Burchell is a little bit unknown to most Jamaicans, having strutted her stuff for Alabama University. But the former Herbert Morrison sprinter will want to remind her Jamaican fans of what she is made of and announce herself to the world.
The Trinidad and Tobago pair Ahye and Baptiste will, of course, make this race worth going miles to see.
But once again, one of the biggest rivalries in athletics will resume and it can only be seen at the inaugural Racers Grand Prix on June 11.