Olympic silver medalists Shanieka Ricketts and Wayne Pinnock will spearhead Jamaica’s quest for Diamond League titles Friday as they headline the opening day of the Allianz Memorial Van Damme Wanda Diamond League finals in Brussels.
Both athletes, riding high on the momentum of their recent successes, are looking to cap their seasons with a coveted Diamond Trophy and a lucrative cash prize of US$30,000.
Pinnock will be the first of 10 Jamaicans in action Friday, competing in the men’s long jump finals at 2:17 p.m. (Eastern time). Fresh off his first Diamond League victory in Zurich last week, where he triumphed over Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece, Pinnock is primed for another big performance.
Season’s best leap of 8.36 meters
His season’s best leap of 8.36 meters will be tested against a field of strong competitors, including Tentoglou, who boasts a season’s best of 8.65 meters, Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer (8.41m), and Italy’s Mattia Furlani (8.38m). Fellow Jamaicans Carey McLeod and world champion Tajay Gayle will also join Pinnock in the event, adding further depth to the competition.
Meanwhile, Ricketts, who secured a silver medal at the Paris Olympics with a season’s best of 14.87 meters in the women’s triple jump, will be looking to build on that success. The 32-year-old is targeting her second Diamond Trophy, having first claimed the title in Zurich in 2019. Ricketts will face fierce competition from Cuba’s Leyanis Hernandez-Perez, who has three Diamond League wins this season and a season’s best of 14.96 meters, as well as fellow Jamaican Ackelia Smith, an Olympic finalist.
Jamaica’s sprinting hopes Friday rest on the shoulders of Ackeem Blake and Rohan Watson, who will line up in the men’s 100m final. Blake, who recently clocked a morale-boosting 9.96 seconds at a World Athletics Continental Tour meet in Switzerland, enters the race with a season’s and personal best of 9.89 seconds. He will face stiff competition from Americans Fred Kerley, the Olympic bronze medalist with a season’s best of 9.81, and Christian Coleman, who has clocked 9.86 this season.
Other Jamaicans in action
Other Jamaicans in action Friday include Danniel Thomas-Dodd in the women’s shot put, Fedrick Dacres in the men’s discus, and Natoya Goule-Toppin in the women’s 800m.
One of the most anticipated showdowns of the day will be the women’s 100m, featuring a clash between Olympic champion Julien Alfred of St. Lucia and American world champion Sha’Carri Richardson. Alfred claimed victory in Paris, but Richardson recently edged her in Zurich, setting the stage for a thrilling rematch in Brussels.
Additionally, three Jamaicans will compete in non-Diamond League invitational 400m events. Stacey-Ann Williams, fresh off a personal best of 50.00 seconds in Zagreb, Croatia, and Stephenie Ann McPherson will challenge American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the women’s event. In the men’s 400m, national record-holder Rusheen McDonald will go up against Belgian brothers Kevin and Dylan Borlee.
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