VCB, Briana Williams could clash at California meet
VETERAN Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell Brown, chasing a sixth Olympic berth, and up-and-coming Briana Williams, seeking her first senior team selection, could meet in the final of the women’s 100m at the reorganised Mt SAC Relays to be held in Walnut, California, today.
The event that is traditionally held in mid-april at Mt San Antonio College included a collegiate section, but that was cancelled this year due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and will instead be run as the USATF Golden Games and Distance Open at Mt SAC.
Eleven Jamaicans are down to take part in the event, including Campbell Brown and Williams who will both be seeking performances that will set them up for the Jamaican National Trials next month from which the team to the Olympics will be chosen.
Campbell Brown, who will turn 39 next Thursday, has four individual Olympic medals in her glittering career and has a season-best 11.72 seconds which ranks her 27th among Jamaicans, while Williams’ only run in the event so far this year was a wind-aided 11.28 seconds (2.4m/s) in Oregon three weeks ago.
American Sha’carri Richardson, the world leader with 10.72 seconds done in early April, will go into the race as favourite, and Morolake Akinosun, Jenna Prandini and English Gardener will all be hoping to be in the running for the top spots.
The men’s
400m hurdles, which will have the top two runners in the world so far, could be one of the highlights of the day with world leader Alison Dos Santos of Brazil, who ran a personal best 48.15 seconds at the Drake Relays two weeks ago, and American Kenny Selmon who had a season’s best 48.81 seconds. Jamaica’s Kemar Mowatt, who is ranked number eight in the world with his 49.60 seconds, will be aiming to run faster today.
Shiann Salmon, who is tied with Janieve Russell on 56.02 seconds for the best Jamaican so far, will contest the female 400m hurdles in which she will face American World Championships silver medallist Shamier Little who will be making her season’s debut in the event after a series of fast 400m races.
American Ashley Spencer, who is ranked fifth in the world, Kori Carter and Cassandra Tate will also add quality to the field.
Commonwealth Games bronze medal winner Javon Francis, who is still seeking his first individual spot in an Olympic or World Championships team, is the only Jamaican in the men’s 400m that will see Trinidadians Machel Cedeno and Deon Lendore as well as Americans Michael Cherry and Michael Norman. Natoya Goule and Aisha PraughtLeer are set to line up in the women’s 1500m while Rushelle Burton will contest the women’s 100m hurdles that will have one of the more competitive fields with world record holder and world number two Kendra Harrison, Tiffany Porter, Sydney Mclaughlin and Queen Harrison.
In the field events Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-dodd and Lloydrica Cameron, who recently improved her personal best to 18.14m – the third-best performance ever by a Jamaican but which still leaves her seeking the shot put Olympic qualifying mark of 18.50m – will take part.
World and Olympic finalist Kimberly Williams will also take part in the women’s triple jump.