Sprint stars set for star-studded 100m in Eugene

Some like it hot and some like it hotter. Then there are fans of the men’s 100 at the Prefontaine Classic. The world’s best sprinters will all be in action in the 100m when the Wanda Diamond League resumes in Eugene on August 21st.

All nine starters in the star-studded field have personal bests of under 10 seconds, and they have 54 Diamond League victories and five Diamond Trophies between them.

Fresh from his Olympic gold medal in the 200m, Canada’s Andre De Grasse will be among the favourites, though he faces stern competition from a host of US stars desperate for victory on home soil.

Fred Kerley claimed silver in the 100m in Tokyo, while Ronnie Baker and world leader Trayvon Bromell have won three of the four 100m races in the Wanda Diamond League so far this season.

Michael Norman is the reigning Diamond League champion in the 400m, and will be hoping to pick up his second career Diamond Trophy this year, while South Africa’s Akani Simbine claimed a maximum eight points with victory at the first 100m race of the season in Florence in June. 

With Cravon Gillespie, Isiah Young and Justin Gatlin also in the running, the men’s 100m appears too close to call. 

There should also be fireworks in the women’s 1500m, where Olympic gold and silver medallists Faith Kipyegon and Laura Muir go head to head at Hayward Field. The Kenyan and British stars were separated by just over a second in Tokyo, and will meet again alongside the likes of Cory McGee, Rababe Arafi and Winnie Nanyondo in Eugene.

Click here for more information on the Eugene Diamond League.