EDMONTON (Sporting Alert) — Olympic bronze medallist Warren Weir headlines the men’s 200 metres field at Saturday’s Edmonton International Track Classic and he is looking forward to running a fast time.
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Weir, who finished behind fellow countrymen Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake at the London Olympic Games last summer, comes to Edmonton in rich form after winning the 200m title at the Jamaica national championships last weekend with a new personal best of 19.79 seconds.
The time is joint second fastest in the world this year, world record holder Bolt also running the same time when winning in Olso earlier this month.
Weir beat the odds to win a medal at the Olympics last year, but believed he didn’t get the respect he deserved.
Following his performance at the Jamaica trials last weekend, the 23-year-old sprinter said his mission was to make a statement to the doubters.
“A lot of people said the medal in London was because it was not a strong field,” Weir said on Thursday.
“So I was trying to say I am a force to be reckoned with. I think Jamaica and the world got the message.”
In Edmonton Weir will be challenged by countryman and training partner Jason Young, who has a personal best of 19.86secs, set last year.
Young’s fastest so far this season is 20.20.
The women’s 200m will see Americans Lashaunte Moore and Shalonda Solomon going up against Jamaicans Patricia Hall and Samantha Henry-Robinson, who have all ran under 23-seconds already this season.
Elsewhere a the meet, USA’s Lolo Jones and Nia Ali will start favorites to win the women’s 100m hurdles, while American reigning 110-metre hurdles world champion and Olympic silver medallist Jason Richardson will face in the men’s sprint hurdles and he will be up against USA champion Ryan Wilson.
London Olympic 400m champion Sanya Richards-Ross of USA, who missed out a qualifying for the individual event at this summer’s IAAF World Championships, leads the women’s field in Edmonton, with Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic, who became the youngest 400-metre Olympic medallist when he won a silver in London, heads the men’s lineup.
American champion Duane Solomon, who is coming off a big time 1:43.27 performance to win the men’s 800m title will face off with countryman Nick Symmonds in the two-lap event. Maggie Vessey of USA is amongst the starters on the women’s side.
Jamaicans Blake and Veronica Campbell-Brown withdrew from the meeting.
