KINGSTON, Jamaica— Jamaicans Briana Williams, Britany Anderson, Natoya Goule and Christopher Taylor are among a host of stars that will line up at today’s New Balance Indoor Grand Prix that will be held outside of Boston for the first time and will take pace at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island, New York.

The meet was normally held at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston but was moved to New York due to concerns regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and as such no fans will be allowed to attend the meet today as well.

Williams will open her season in the women’s 60m; Anderson, fresh off her personal best 7.96 seconds in Arkansas on Sunday will be one of the favourites in the women’s 60m hurdles; Goule will also be favoured in the women’s 800m; while Taylor will make his first competitive appearance in the 300m.

Williams, who said earlier last week she was eager to go, will face off against Jenna Prandidni, Morolake Akinosun, Candace Hill and Aleia Hobbs for a place in the final.

Her coach Ato Boldon had said last week as well that his priority was for her to start racing and not necessarily to run fast times yet, but did admit she was stronger than at this time last year and in much better shape.

Anderson has started the season well with two personal bests so far and will be joined by compatriot Jeanine Williams; but will face a star studded line-up that will include Great Britain’s Tiffany Porter who won Sunday’s race in Arkansas, beating Anderson at the line, and Americans Kendra Harrison, Gabrielle Cunningham and Sydney McLaughlin.

Goule, who is ranked number seven in the world, will hope to better her season’s best 2 minutes 01.08 seconds and will race against Americans Ce’aira Brown, Kaela Edwards and Sopha Gorriaran, and Canadian Lindsay Butterworth.

Taylor, who started running indoors just this year, will contest the Jessie Loubier Memorial Men’s 300m where he will face a small field that will include Jereem Richards, Kahmari Montgomery and Taylor McLaughlin.

Another Jamaican, Kevaun Rattray, is down to contest the men’s 60m, arguably the strongest field on the programme, and will go up against the likes  of Americans Noah Lyles, Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell, as well as Barbadian Mario Burke.

Paul A Reid