MIRAMAR, FL — World leader Ronnie Baker and former Olympic and world champion Justin Gatlin headline a very strong men’s 100 meters field for the Miramar Invitational, which will be held at the Ansin Sports Complex on April 10 in Florida. The Miramar Invitational is a Silver Label meeting on the Continental Tour and is also part of the 2021 USATF Journey to Gold – Tokyo Outdoor Track & Field Series.
Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion and 2005 and 2017 world champion will open his 2021 Olympic season against a high-quality field that includes sprinters who will all be aiming to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games later this summer. The 39-year-old American had a short campaign last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic so he will be hoping to use these early meets to see how well his preparations have been going thus far.
Meanwhile, Baker will be looking to build on his 9.94 seconds season opener at the 2021 Texas Relays this past weekend. The 2018 World Indoor bronze medalist looked at ease when breaking 10-seconds in Austin, Texas, on Saturday and said after the race that he will be working on a few things, including his first 30m of the race, to help improve his performances going forward.
Lots of Sub-10 Seconds Runners Set For Miramar Invitational
The race is set to also feature six other sprinters who have broken the 10-second barrier at some point in their respective careers. American Mike Rodgers, the 2010 World Indoor silver medalist and a member of the USA’s gold medal team at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, has a personal best of 9.85 seconds from 2011.
The 35-year-old competed in four meetings during the indoor season, and ran a season-best 6.52 for the 60m in Lodž.
Fellow Americans Cravon Gillespie, Cameron Burrell, and Marvin Bracy are also slated to get their season underway at the Miramar Invitational, which will also see Jamaican Julian Forte and Cejhae Greene from Antigua & Barbuda also competing for the title.
Greene, who was the world leader entering last week’s track and field meet schedule with 10.01 seconds, has a personal best of 10.00 and could be pushed to finally join the sub-10 club at the end of the meeting.
The prize money allocation for each event is as follow: $1600 for winners, followed by $1200, $900, $600, $400, and $300 for those who follow the winners.
