EUGENE, Ore., Sporting Alert – Follow live blogging updates from the main events at the 2016 Prefontaine Classic – IAAF Diamond League meeting – at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday.
After Friday night’s “distance night” where the likes of Mo Farah and number of field event stars secured wins, the focus of attention will now be on main events, with a number of tasty matchups ready to be unfold.
Among the highlighted events on Saturday’s day 2 of action are the men’s and women’s 100m dashes, as well as the men’s 400m, men’s 110m hurdles, women’s 100m hurdles, the women’s 1500m and the men’s Bowerman Mile run.
The men’s 400m race, which includes the likes of Olympic champion and world leader Kirani James and his American rival, LaShawn Merritt, expected to get lots of traffic, as the starters have informed media that they are all targeting fast times for the one-lap event.
Maybe it’s too early to talk world record, but with such a strong field assembled, nothing can ever be ruled out.
James and Merritt will be joined by Isaac Makwala, Rusheen McDonaldo and Youssef Ahmed Masrahi, who all have life time best marks under 44 seconds.
I am anticipating a fast time today, maybe not the 43.18 seconds world record of Michael Johnson, but certainly something faster than James’ current world-leading time of 44.08.
The women’s 100m dash will see Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce looking to test her fitness after picking up a minor toe injury earlier in the season.
The world and Olympic champion has been dealing with a toe problem, which forced her to miss the Jamaica International Invitational and two previous IAAF Diamond League meetings, but it seems as though she is good to go for Saturday.
In the men’s 100m, Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin will clash.
