Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown and USA’s Allyson Felix clash over 100m should be the highlight of the Jamaica International Invitational, an IAAF World Challenge meeting, in Kingston on Saturday.
Campbell-Brown and Felix have faced each other over 100m on seven occasions with former crossing the line in front six times, three of which came in the USA.
Both will meet in Jamaica for the first time and Campbell-Brown, who is considered the reigning queen of Jamaican track and field, will want to give local fans something special to remember.
Felix, who will be running in Jamaica for the first time since the 2002 World Junior Championships, said, “I am happy to be back in Jamaica since 2002 World Junior and I am really looking forward to it. We (Felix and Campbell-Brown) have always had good battles over the years and this time is no different.”
Campbell-Brown added, “It’s always a pleasure and it’s always so much fun and exciting to compete at home so I’m looking forward to entertaining all the fans that are coming out to support us.”
Campbell-Brown has two Olympic Games 200m titles, and also one each over 100m and 200m at the IAAF World Championships while Felix, considered to be more of a 200m specialist, has three World Championships gold medals in the longer sprint, and another from the London 2012 Olympic Games to her name.
Both women have also enjoyed tremendous success on their countries’ 4x100m Relay teams.
Trinidad and Tobago’s 2011 World Championships 100m bronze medallist Kelly-Ann Baptiste, who was sixth in the event in London last summer, and Ivory Coast’s US-based Murielle Ahoure are the other two big names to line up alongside Felix and Campbell-Brown in the 100m.