GAINESVILLE, Fla. (April 13) – The 2023 Tom Jones Memorial Invitational meet will welcome the appearance of Elaine Thompson-Herah, the double Olympic sprint champion who will compete in the women’s 200-meter dash for the first time this season at the James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville this weekend.
Thompson-Herah has been taking it easy this season and her last competition was in Kingston, where she failed to break the 60-second mark in a 400m race. She hopes to jumpstart her season with a quality half-lap performance at the meet, which is hosted by the University of Florida, home of the Gators. – Read more: Erriyon Knighton to race in the 400m at Tom Jones Memorial Invitational
The Jamaican track star, who won back-to-back Olympic 100m and 200m sprint double titles is expected to face stiff competition from American Angie Annelus, a two-time NCAA champion, who finished fourth at the 2019 world championships. American sprinter Melissa Jefferson and Canadian Kyra Constantine will also be in the running for the top spot.
Thompson-Herah currently holds a personal best of 21.53 seconds for the 200m and has run sub-22 seconds seven times in her career. On paper, the 30-year-old sprint star is the fastest entrant and is the favorite to win the event.
Jefferson, who finished fourth at the Texas Relays 2023 earlier this month, and Constantine, who has been competing against tough opposition this season and comes in good race shape and are the leading chief rivals to Thompson-Herah in Gainesville.
However, the likes of the likes of Annelus, who will make her season debut, Maia McCoy, Nicole Yeargin, Edidiong Odiong, and Jamaica’s Junelle Bromfield, are also expected to challenge for the podium places in an event that appears to be wide open at the moment.
With several world-class talents, including Noah Lyles, Erriyon Knighton, and Tobi Amusan, are slated to be on display at 2023 Tom Jones Memorial Invitational this week, viewers can stay tuned for updates and results from World-Track.
