Five of the fastest women in the way of Sally Pearson defending her London 2012 100m hurdles gold will line up at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday 28 May at Hayward Field, Eugene (USA).
In recent days Pearson slammed her critics, indicating she will be ready to match it with the world’s best come August in Rio de Janeiro.
Pearson told Fairfax Media, “It’s the belief they don’t have in me after all I’ve done for Australian sport and Australian track and field that I don’t understand.”
“I just think, ‘Hang on. I haven’t even got there and you’re already saying this? How can you predict the future? You don’t know what I do in training and how quickly I adapt to things’. I never give up. It’s been a horrible ten months but I still believe that I can win”.
On the domestic front Michelle Jenneke has been the leading lady across the Australian summer season. With the absence of Pearson, the 2015 world championships representative clocked 12.93 seconds to claim the national title and a spot on the Australian Olympic team.
Pearson, 29, will continue her Rio preparations in Australia before heading to Europe to ensure she is ready for the 100m hurdles heats on August 16.
A prelude to the USA track and field Olympic trials, the IAAF Diamond League meet in Eugene will include five athletes with sub 12.4 second personal bests, rivalling the depth of an Olympic final.
2008 Olympic champion Dawn Harper Nelson, runner up to Pearson in London, 32, will face a quartet of young Americans staking a psychological edge ahead of the US trials in July.
US record holder Brianna Rollins will hope to rekindle her 2013 world championships gold medal form after missing out on a medal at the 2015 edition in Beijing, finishing fourth in a race that a host of pre-race favourites missed out on medals.
In March the former Clemson athlete won the USA 60 metres indoor title (7.76sec) and, finished second to the versatile Nia Ali at the world indoor championships last month in Portland.
Arkansas State graduate Sharika Nelvis, 25, will be confident heading to Eugene, her personal best and 2015 world lead time of 12.34 seconds run at Hayward Field in the 2015 USA championships, along with a 12.37 second run makes her the only woman in the field to clock two sub 12.4 second legal times at the track.
Current world lead Kendra Harrison is the youngest in the field, 23, running 12.36 seconds earlier this month.
2015 world championships bronze medallist Alina Talay will line up in Eugene and, if Beijing is anything to go by, don’t discount the Belarus national record holder from causing an upset.
Tiffany Porter, since 2010 has represented Great Britain, finishing second to Pearson at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The UK national record holder can’t be discounted for a top three finish.
Women’s 100-metre Hurdles Prefontaine Classic entry list
Brianna Rollins (USA) – 12.26pb
Sharika Nelvis (USA) – 12.34pb
Jasmin Stowers (USA) – 12.35pb
Kendra Harrison (USA) – 12.36pb
Dawn Harper Nelson (USA) – 12.37pb
Nia Ali (USA) – 12.48pb
Tiffany Porter (Great Britain) – 12.51pb
Alina Talay (Belarus) – 12.66pb
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