Anderson in gigantic women’s battle

ANOTHER GIGANTIC battle is in store for the women’s 100 metres hurdles at this Saturday’s Athletissima Lausanne Diamond League in Switzerland, as the world’s five fastest females in the event this year, led by Nigerian Tobi Amusan, will be fighting for top honours.

At last month’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the event was billed as the race of the Championships. And, it was indeed a classic, as several lifetime bests were achieved, especially in the semi-finals where the eventual champion, Amusan, wrote her name in the record books with an amazing 12.12-second clocking.

With more than half the starters in that event registered for competition, the Lausanne women’s 100m hurdles is expected to sizzle and another world record could be on the cards here.

Included in the line-up is Jamaica’s Britany Anderson, the new national record holder in the event, following her 12.31 seconds in the semi-finals in Eugene. She could steal the show, given her form that produced some very close second-place finishes this season.

The star-studded line-up also includes Diamond League leader Jasmine Camacho Quinn of Puerto Rico, who had to settle for a close third in Eugene; former world record holder Kendra Harrison, of the United States, who had a disappointing run at the World Championships, but seems to relish the Diamond League; and recent NACAC Senior Championships gold medallist Alaysha Johnson, also of the United States.

This race will definitely be like a boxing grudge match and a lot of pride will be at stake. Anderson, who has not competed since her silver medal success in Eugene, could make the rest work in her favour.

Just a few days ago, in The Bahamas, a Jamaican member of her training camp in Florida, Christopher Taylor, raced to a personal best of 44.63 seconds to win the men’s one- lap event at the NACAC Senior Championships. This could be a good sign for the well-rested 21-year-old Anderson,.

Meanwhile, the men’s 110-metre hurdles has strong Jamaican representation, as Commonwealth Games champion Rasheed Broadbell, who missed the NACAC Senior Championships, is a late addition to this weekend’s event, where he faces countryman Hansle Parchment.