As if the women’s 200-meter field for the Prefontaine Classic this season wasn’t loaded enough, organizers have just added the reigning 400-meter Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas to the list for May 27th in Eugene, Ore.
This comes in addition to the double Olympic champion in the 100 and 200 meters Elaine Thompson, reigning World Champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands, three time Rio Olympic medalist with a bronze medal in the 200 meters for the U.S.) Tori Bowie and American sprint legend Allyson Felix, who Miller-Uibo held off last year in the Olympic 400m final.
Given the depth of quality set for this race, the meet record of 21.81 (still held by former American sprinter Marion Jones) could realistically be under threat. Four of these women have sub-22 personal bests, while Uibo-Miller possesses the fastest time under any conditions in 2017 at 21.90 along with her world leading 49.77 in the Shanghai Diamond League Meet’s 400 meters.
Bowie holds a wind legal world leading 22.09 from April. Thompson has a world leading 10.78 in the 100 meters in Shanghai and is undefeated in her young Diamond League season through both shorter sprint events.
Thompson and Schippers pushed each other to their respective bests of 21.66 and 21.63 at the last IAAF World Championships in Beijing two years ago. Felix is looking for some redemption after missing out on making the U.S. team in the 200 meters in 2016.
At minimum, this should be a thriller with several rematches of what was witnessed in 2016, possibly offering a preview of what is to come in London this year.
