The hunt is on

JAMAICANS Danielle Williams, Ackera Nugent, and Janeek Brown go into the women’s 100-metre hurdles first round at the Paris Olympic Games on August 7, vying for a medal in one of the most competitive environments in the event’s history.

Historically, the event has not been a good hunting ground for Jamaica with Megan Tapper’s bronze in Tokyo marking the only medal at an Olympic Games.

And as if things couldn’t get any more difficult, the three are debutantes.

Williams, who has won World Championships gold medals twice, is a veteran at this level but has never been to an Olympics, Brown is a former NCAA Division One standout, and Nugent, the national champion and record holder at 12.28 seconds, a finalist at the World Championships a year ago.

The trio will face the might of defending champion, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, who will be hoping to do what no other athlete has ever done – win back-to-back gold medals.

A very consistent athlete in the event, Camacho-Quinn has medalled at the last three global events – third at the Eugene World Championships and second in Budapest last year.

But, with a season’s best of 12.39 seconds, Camacho-Quinn isn’t even ranked in the top five going into the Games.

Still, Camacho-Quinn, at a recent World Continental Tour meet in Switzerland, turned back third-ranked French athlete Cyréna Samba-Mayela, the World Indoor 60-metre hurdles silver medallist.

Then there is world record holder, Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, who won gold at the Eugene World Championships. She will also be hoping to improve on her fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics. Her season’s best is 12.40, but she can’t be counted out.

Williams is in a similar position to the one she was in when she struck gold at last year’s World Championships. Her times haven’t suggested she should be in the running in Paris but who would count her out even though her 12.46 season best shouldn’t even see her in the final next month?

Five athletes going into the Olympics have gone under 12.31 seconds, led by world leader Masai Russell of the United States with a season’s best and world lead of 12.25. She is just ahead of Nugent, whose 12.28 came at the National Championships. Samba-Mayela, Alaysha Johnson of the United States and countrywoman Grace Stark have all clocked 12.31.

Interestingly, the top five are also debutantes, but in an event that does not seem to like favourites, they might struggle.

Stark, who was third at the US’ national championships defeated Amusan and Russell at a recent American Track League meet in Gainesville, Florida, just to indicate how topsy-turvy the results could be.

Nugent is quick, clocking 11.15 seconds in a close second-place finish in the 100 metres in Memphis, Tennessee, and could use that to her advantage.

Nadine Visser of the Netherlands, Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas, Pia Skrzyszowska of Poland, and Ditaji Kambundji of Switzerland should all add to the puzzle.