Yohan Blake takes on competitive field at Wanda Diamond League
World Athletics Championships gold medallist Yohan Blake will be hoping to continue his gradual improvement when he lines up in a competitive men’s 100m at today’s Wanda Diamond League meeting in Paris.
Blake, who is one of four Jamaicans down to compete at the event, has run faster in each of his previous three 100m outings and has a season’s best of 10.05 seconds going into the event.
Shot-putter Danniel Thomas-Dodd, 800m runner Natoya Goule, as well as quarter-miler Candice McLeod will also be competing at the meet which is the fourth stop on the 14-meet global series.
Blake, who was second at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in Hengelo, Netherlands, earlier this week, will be lining up against Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy who will be making his first competitive outing in the 100m this season after withdrawing from a meet two weeks ago.
American Noah Lyles, Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya and two-time World Under-20 champion Letsile Tebogo are also expected to compete.
Thomas-Dodd, who improved on her national record recently to 19.77m, is ranked number three in the world and will face the two Americans who are ranked ahead of her on the World Athletics ranking tables — Maggie Ewan (20.45m) and Chase Ealey (20.06m).
Goule will face long-time rival Ajee Wilson whose season’s best 1:59.01 seconds is the fastest in the field.
McLeod will be part of a 400m race that will see Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser-Bahrain, American world record holder in the 400m hurdles Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic.