Multiple World and Olympic sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s first international race of the season will see her go head-to-head with last year’s World Athletics Under-20 200 metres gold medallist Christine Mboma of Namibia at the Kip Keino Classic tomorrow at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya.
Fraser-Pryce, who began her outdoor season at the Velocity Fest meet last month at the National Stadium in Kingston, will compete in her first 100m race of the season in the World Athletics Continental Tour event.
Organisers announced last month that American star Sha’Carri Richardson, who competed in the 4x200m relay at the Texas Relays in March, would be in the event, but the final line-up in mid-week did not include the 22-year-old.
Fraser-Pryce is coming off a season debut where she clocked 22.79 seconds in the 200m at the Velocity Fest meet on April 23, where she had the lead but slowed down in the final metres to finish second.
THE HOME OF ATHLETICS
On arriving in Kenya, Fraser-Pryce said that she hopes to repay the support of the fan base in Kenya with a strong performance, seeing it as the best environment to begin her 100m slate.
“The world talks about Kenya is the home of athletics, and I definitely wanted to come here and open my season in the 100m. Hopefully, I will be able to put up a solid race with good execution,” Fraser-Pryce said in an interview with The East African.
Mboma currently has the eighth fastest time in the world this year, clocking 10.97 seconds last month in Botswana. She had clocked 21.81 seconds in placing second to Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson Herah (personal-best 21.53) at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
With ambitions of going down to 10.5 seconds in the 100m this year, Fraser-Pryce says that the strong field will motivate her to come out firing.
“It’s definitely crucial because, that way, you can practise what you have been doing in training. I want to focus on myself as an athlete and what I want to accomplish in 2022,” Fraser-Pryce said. The field also includes Javianne Oliver and Shannon Ray of the United States.
Meanwhile, the men’s 100m will feature a clash between Tokyo Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy and silver medalist Fred Kerley of the United States. Other notable events include the men’s and women’s 3000m steeplechase, headlined by the respective Olympic men’s and women’s champions, Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco and Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai. Both defeated Kenyan athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.
daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com