Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson will be on the hunt for double diamond trophies when she competes in the women’s 100m and 200m at the season-ending Zurich Diamond League Finals set for this Wednesday and Thursday.
Jackson, the outstanding sprinter this season, will be one of 14 Jamaicans down to compete at the event where all 32 Wanda Diamond League winners will be decided.
At Wednesday’s meet scheduled for Zurich’s Sechselautenplatz, Jamaica will have just one representative, Commonwealth Games silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd in the women’s shot put, one of six Wanda Diamond League trophies to be decided on the day.
Thomas-Dodd, who has a personal best of 19.55m and a season’s best of 19.53m, will face five challengers including world champion, American Chase Ealey, who has a PB of 20.51m.
Others expected to pose serious threats for the Diamond Trophy are Canada’s Sarah Mitton with a PB of 20.33m, and Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands with a PB of 24.24m.
On Thursday at the Letzigrund Stadium, 13 Jamaicans are down to compete when the remaining 26 Diamond Trophies will be delivered and headlining that list is Shericka Jackson, the World Championships 200m gold medallist and World Championships 100m silver medallist.
The woman who inflicted the first defeat of the season in the shorter sprints on many-time World Championships 100m gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce last week, will contest both sprints within an hour.
Joining her in the 100m will be Fraser-Pryce, who had indicated that she had ended her season after a hamstring niggle and subsequent loss last week, only to stage an about-turn. Her compatriot Natasha Morrison will also contest the event, against Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast, as well as Americans Aleia Hobbs and Sha’Carri Richardson, as well as Great Britain’s Daryll Neita and Twanisha Terry of the US.
Jackson will be the sole competitor from Jamaica in the 200m.
Shaneika Ricketts will contest the triple jump in an event where world record holder Yulimar Rojas is the standout performer, along with Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk of Ukraine and Patricia Mamona of Portugal.
In the women’s 400m Stephenie Ann McPherson and Candice McLeod are down to compete, while Britany Anderson is the sole representative of the black, green and gold in the women’s 100m hurdles.
The women’s 400m hurdles will have Rushell Clayton and Janieve Russell in action, while Natoya Goule will contest the 800m.
Hansle Parchment and Rasheed Broadbell are Jamaica’s two reps in the men’s 110m hurdles, while Yohan Blake will be the sole competitor from Jamaica in the men’s 100m.
