World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and World Indoor 60m champion Murielle Ahoure
World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and World Indoor 60m champion Murielle Ahoure

The women’s 100m clash at Sunday’s (23 May) Gateshead Diamond League, featuring  Jamaicans Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, American Sha’Carri Richardson and Dina Asher-Smith, will be a stella showdown.

Richardson, base on early season form, is the one to beat. In four races, heats and finals, Richardson ran 11.00 (heats) and 10.72 (final) in Miramar, Florida, on 10 April. A month later, she ran 10.74 (heats) and 10.77 (final) in Walnut, California.

Richardson’s 10.72 makes her the 6th best all-time world performer and No. 4 on the all-time U.S. performer list. Only world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner, Carmelita Jeter and Marion Jones have ever run faster as Americans.

Jamaicans Fraser-Pryce and Thompson Herah, both with 10.70, are the only two non-American to run fastest than 10.72.

Olympic sprint double champion Thompson-Herah has a season-best of 10.78 in Clermont, Florida. It shows she is also in good shape this season. She also ran 10.76 in the heats in Clermont, but a +2.4m/s wind-aided this performance.

World 100m champion Fraser-Pryce is a championship athlete. Despite being the older of the four, she is also dangerous. She, however, is yet to run a 100m this season.
Fraser-Pryce’s only two runs came in 23.19 and 22.66 a month apart in Kingston.

In the men’s 200m, Canadian Andre De Grasse, who won 200m silver at the Rio Olympics behind Usain Bolt, is down to face a strong field.
The Canadian will take on Canada takes on Britain’s Adam Gemili (Rana Reider; Blackheath & Bromley) and in-form American Kenny Bednarek.

Mariya Lasitskene competes internationally for the first time since the 2019 World Championships in the women’s high jump. She will face Ukrainians Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Yuliya Levchenko.

In a repeat of the 2019 World Championships, Sam Kendricks, Armand Duplantis, and Piotr Lisek are all due to compete in the pole vault.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen faces surprise world leader Adam Ali Musaab from Qatar in the men’s 1500m. The programme closes with the women’s 1500m featuring Laura Muir and Jenny Simpson.

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Anthony Foster is a renowned Jamaican sports journalist, honored twice as the Jamaica sports journalist of the year (in 2004 and 2005). His journalistic achievements are globally recognized. Notably, he authored an award-winning article on Usain Bolt, the iconic 6-time Olympic champion, 11-time World champion, and record holder for the sprint double. This significant piece was published in the Jamaica Gleaner in 2004. Anthony's extensive coverage includes prestigious events such as the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016. He has also provided coverage for seven (7) World Athletics Championships held between 2007 and 2022, alongside various other international sporting events. Noteworthy mentions comprise his coverage of the 2007 World Cup of cricket and his cherished experience reporting on the 2004 clash between his favorite football team, Argentina, and the USA.