Sha’Carri Richardson and Shericka Jackson are among a very strong women’s 200 meters field for the 2021 Allianz Memorial Van Damme – Brussels Diamond League meeting at Boudewijnstadion on Friday (3).
The talent-loaded lineup also includes world champion Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain, Olympic silver medalist Christine Mboma and her Namibian compatriot Beatrice Masilingi, who was also a finalist at the recently concluded Tokyo 2020 Games.
READ MORE: Gatlin says Sha’Carri Richardson has run 10.50 in practice
Jackson, who has been focusing on the 100 meters since the Olympics, will be racing over the 200m for the first time since her disappointing first-round exit from the event in Tokyo.
The Jamaican comes into the race with a personal best of 21.82 seconds and will be looking to carry over her fine form in the 100m this season over to the 200m.
Meanwhile, Richardson will be aiming to rebound from her bitter ninth-place finish in a 100m race at the Prefontaine Classic earlier this month.
The American has a seasonal best of 22.11sec, but hasn’t contested a 200m since winning in Ostrava on May 19. It is understood that Richardson has already rebuffed her last-place performance in Eugene and is now looking forward to showing everyone that she is indeed one of the best sprinters in the world.
Watch For Mboma and Asher-Smith Too…
Doha world champion Asher-Smith seems to have fully recovered from the tight hamstring problem that forced her to withdraw from the 200m in Tokyo and she too is expected to be among the front-runners on Friday.
The Briton star owns a season’s best of 22.06sec and posted a wind-aided 22.19sec (2.4m/s) to finish third at the Prefontaine Classic.
Olympic silver medalist Mboma, the world U20 record-holder with 21.81sec, is coming off a gold medal-winning run at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, on August 21 and the Namibian teen wouldn’t surprise anyone if she pulls off the victory in Brussels.
Masilingi has been flirting with breaking 22-seconds this season and she will head into Friday’s race with that milestone high up on her list of things to accomplish before the season ends.
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