Fraser-Pryce set for long-awaited 100m debut
Five-time World Athletics women’s 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is to make her highly anticipated 100m debut this season when she lines up in the short sprint in the Spitzen Leichathletik Luzern, a World Athletics Continental Tour – Silver event.
Fraser-Pryce will be one of 21 Jamaican athletes who will compete at the event at Stadion Allmend in Switzerland.
Also set to feature is men’s 400m runner Rusheen McDonald, who is coming off a 44.03 seconds clocking on Tuesday; shot putter Rajindra Campbell, who is making his European debut; Tajay Gayle in the long jump; as well as Janieve Russell and Andrenette Knight in the women’s 400m hurdles.
Fraser-Pryce, coming off a dream 2022 season when she won her fifth 100m World Championships title and ran seven sub-10.70 seconds timings, was scheduled to run the 100m earlier in May at the Kip Keino Classic in May, but was forced to withdraw after she suffered an injury.
She finally made her debut at the recent Jamaica’s athletics championships, finishing second in the 200m with a creditable 22.26. The expectations are for a fast time today.
Natasha Morrison, Briana Williams, Jonielle Smith and Serena Cole will also take part in the 100m, going up against Americans Jenna Prandini and Morolake Akinosun.
Smith will also contest the women’s 200m in which Prandini and her fellow Americans Brittany Brown and Anavia Battle are also down to compete.
Fresh off his second fastest 400m ever earlier this week, there are expectations that if the conditions are right McDonald could challenge his own national record 43.93.
Today, he will be up against American Ryan Willie and Botswana’s Collen Kebinatshipi both who have been under 45.00 seconds this year.
National champion Rohan Watson, who won his first outing in Europe when he won in Italy last week, will line up in the 100m along with Nigel Ellis, Julian Forte and Michael Campbell. Forte is also down to run the 200m.
Knight is coming off a life time best run at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial in Hungary and will face national champion Janieve Russell as well as Americans Dalilah Muhammad and Anna Cockrell in what should be a competitive women’s 400m hurdles.
Olympic bronze medallist Ronald Levy is to make his second appearance in the 110m hurdles and first since June. He is to join Tyler Mason, Orlando Bennett and Damion Thomas as they go up against France’s Sasha Zoya, Eric Edwards of the United States and Rafael Pereira of Brazil.
Danielle Williams, who ran her season best 12.55 on Tuesday, and Amoi Brown are to run the 100m hurdles against American Tonea Marshall.
Gayle has been consistently jumping over 8.20m in his last two outings and is to face American Jarrion Lawson and Bahamian LaQuan Nairn in the men’s long jump.
Christoff Bryan is set to contest the men’s high jump, taking on Donald Thomas of the Bahamas, Vernon Turner of the USA and Bohdan Bondarenko of Ukraine, while Rajindra Campbell could challenge for a podium position in the men’s shot put.