Photo: World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will line up against Elaine Thompson in the Stockholm Diamond League tomorrow.
The Letzigrund Stadium will play host to the highly anticipated rematch and renewed rivalry, in the IAAF Diamond League Series for 2015. The Weltklasse Zürich 2015 meeting scheduled for this Thursday, September 3, is the 13th stop, and the penultimate meeting for 2015.
Several of the World Champions, from the just concluded 15th IAAF World Championships in Beijing,China, will seek to grab hold of 16 of the Diamond Trophies and a $40 000 US dollar prize money on offer to end their 2015 campaign on a high.
The winners of the Diamond league events at this meet are guaranteed to receive double points for victory, meaning only an eight-point lead at this stage guarantees overall victory in the Diamond Race.
The women’s 100 meter will be one of the most anticipated events of the meet. This will feature eight sprint finalist from Beijing, led by World Champion Shelly Ann Fraser- Pryce, with fellow country women fourth and seventh place finishers Veronica Campbell Brown and Natasha Morrison. They are being joined by the 200m silver medalist from the World Championship, Elaine Thompson, also from Jamaica, Bronze medalist from the USA, Torri Bowie, Trindad and Tobago’s Kelly-Ann Baptiste and Michelle- Lee Ahye, Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor and hometown girl Mujinga Kambundji completes the lineup.
Fraser-Pryce leads the women’s 100m table with 12 points, a lead of four points, after victories in Stockholm and London respectively. Okagbare-Ighoteguonor is in second on 8 points and the crown could come down to either winning the race.
Defending Diamond League champion over the 400m hurdles, Kaliese Spencer, will seek to resume her early season dominance, which she surrendered in July to World Champion Zuzana Hejnová who had three consecutive victories in the last three races . The Czech is now two points ahead at the top of the table.
Hejnova will seek to cop the title and execute another victory over a replicated field from the Beijing World Championships, missing only the silver medalist, USA’s Shamier Little. The field includes the likes of Great Britain Eilidh Child, USA’s Cassandra Tate and Georganne Moline, Denmark’s Sara Petersen, Jamaica’s Janeive Russell, along with South Africa’s Wenda Theron Nel.
Kirani James will have his hands full when he lines up in the men’s 400m. The lineup is probably tougher than the one he came across in Beijing, with all eight competitors in the field dipping below 45 seconds this season. Bahamian Steven Gardner, Isaac Makwala of Botswana , USA’s LaShawn Merritt, Dominican Luguelín Santos, newly crowned world champion South African Wayde Van Niekerk, USA’s David Verburg, Great Britain’s Rabah Yousif . James currently leads on 10 points, two head of the South African.
Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade will try to get his hands on another Diamond trophy when he and fellow country man Rasheed Dwyer, line up in the men’s 200m. The field includes the Diamond race leader Anaso Jobodwana of South Africa who has 9 points, Panamanian Alonso Edwards , Antigua’s Miguel Francis, Isaiah Young of the USA along with great Britain’s Daniel Talbot. Ashmeade is currently in sixth spot with 2 points and Edwards second on 8 points.
Jamaica’s Jason Morgan will do battle with World Champion Piotr Malachowski, who is six points ahead in the men’s discus race.
The 1500m is one of three Diamond races in which four men could still claim the overall victory. The race to the line will be between leader Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti who leads on 11 points, one ahead of Silas Kiplagat and World Champion Asbel Kiprop both of Kenya who trails on 10 and 9 points respectively. Mattthew Centrowitz of USA is fourth on 4 points and has a slim chance of copping the crown.
The 110m hurdles will feature race leader David Oliver on 12 points who will be trying to hang on to the title as he battles the high riding Cuban Orlando Ortega who is second on 10 points.
Great Britain’s World Champion Greg Rutherford in the men’s long jump and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, in the men’s High Jump will look to secure victories in their respective disciplines.
A titanic clash is expected for the women’s 3000m race as new world champions of three different disciplines will converge for this event; 1500m gold medalist Genzebe Dibaba, Almaz Ayana (ETH), winner of the 5000m Championship final, and Kenya’s 10000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot.
German Shot putter Christina Schwanitz and Kenya’s 800m runner Eunice Sum have won four out of six Diamond League clashes this season and World Champion long jumper Tiana Bartoletta who has three wins to her name are all in the driver’s seat. All three athletes now have a lead of eight points or more, meaning that they only need to compete in Zurich in order to claim the Diamond Trophy.
The 4×100 meter sprint relay for women will see a rematch of USA versus Jamaica.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login