NEW YORK (Reuters) – World champion sprinter Tyson Gay tests his form after last year’s Beijing disappointment, and Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown renews her sprint rivalry with Lauryn Williams at today’s New York grand prix.
The three are among a host of Olympic and world medallists competing at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island with an eye toward this summer’s world championships in Berlin.
Double world middle-distance champion Bernard Lagat, Sweden’s Olympic heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft, who will compete in the long jump, and Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia are also among headliners in the meeting.
Jamaican sprinters swept the gold medals in the men’s and women’s 100 and 200 metres at the Beijing Games, leaving the once-dominant US sprinters playing catch-up in 2009.
“It should definitely push US sprinting to a new level,” American Williams, who preceded world champion Campbell-Brown as world 100 metres champion, told reporters.
“You have to choose whether you are going to be broken by it or step up to the challenge and become the dominant force. Right now Jamaica has that title, and there are no ifs, ands or buts about it. We have to step up to the challenge.”
Twice Olympic 200 metres champion Campbell-Brown said rivalries help drive athletics.
“Whenever you are in a race, there are certain people you have to be ready for. Rivalries are good for the sport because they help you push each other,” the Jamaican said.
