Eugene test for Thompson

The best women's 100 metres field of the season will assemble in Eugene, Oregon, today at the annual Prefontaine Classic.

Standing ready will be Olympic 100 and 200 metres champion Elaine Thompson. The 25-year-old will face world champion Tori Bowie of the United States and the CÙte d'Ivoire pair of Murielle Ahoure and Marie Josee Ta Lou, who went one-two in the 60 metres at the World Indoor Championships in March.

Fourth in those championships, the Jamaican nevertheless will settle into her blocks with a season's best of 10.93 seconds and a confidence boosting win at last week's Jamaica Invitational under her belt. She won that event in 11.07 seconds.

At 10.70 seconds, she has the fastest personal best in a field that also includes two-time World 200 metres champion Dafne Schippers of Holland, 2014 Commonwealth 100m and 200m winner Blessing Okagbare and Dina Asher-Smith of Britain, the World Under-20 100 metres champion on Eugene's Franklin Field track four years ago.

Asher-Smith held off Thompson's fast finish to secure third place in the 200 metres at last month's Commonwealth Games.

 

McLeod in action

 

Also set to be in action is Jamaica's Olympic and World 110 metre hurdles champion Omar McLeod. He and Ronald Levy, the freshly minted Commonwealth champion, will see action in the 110 metres hurdles. Among their rivals is Spain's Orlando Ortega, runner-up to McLeod in the Olympics; World Indoor 60m winner Andrew Pozzi of Britain and the men who preceded McLeod as World champion and Olympic champion, Sergey Shubenkov of Russia and American Aries Merritt. Thompson's MVP Track Club teammates Janieve Russell and Stephenie McPherson will race in highly competitive 400 metres hurdles and 400 metres races, respectively.

McPherson will have the Bahamian Olympic 400 metres champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo and World champion Phyllis Francis of the USA to contend with.

The Eugene meet is part of the 2018 IAAF Diamond League series and follows meets in Doha and Shanghai.

 

Schedule for Ja's athletes

 

 

3:03 p.m. :

400m Hurdles Women

Janieve Russell

3:41 p.m. : 100m Women

Elaine Thompson

4:03 p.m. : 110m Hurdles Men

Ronald Levy, Omar McLeod

4:31p.m. : - 400m Women

Stephenie McPherson