A bevy of gold medalists from the recent world track and field championships return to the sport’s premier circuit, the Diamond League, for a meet in Silesia, Poland, on Saturday, live at 10 a.m. ET on CNBC and Peacock.
The sprints are the showcase. In the women’s 200m, world champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica takes on Olympic and world 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas.
Jackson ran the second-fastest time in history at worlds, a 21.45 that was 11 hundredths off Florence Griffith-Joyner‘s world record from 1988. Miller-Uibo, who is expected to focus on the 200m for the 2024 Paris Olympics, could push Jackson to chase that 21.34.
The field also includes Americans Gabby Thomas, the fourth-fastest 200m runner in history, and Tamara Clark and Jenna Prandini, who were second and third at the USATF Outdoor Championships two months ago.
Elsewhere, Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce returns after a record-breaking fifth world 100m title. The 35-year-old mom won worlds in 10.67 seconds, which was seven hundredths off her personal best. Only two women have ever broken 10.60 in the 100m — Griffith-Joyner and Elaine Thompson-Herah.
The world record most likely to fall in Poland is in the men’s pole vault. At worlds two weeks ago, Swede Mondo Duplantis broke it for the fifth time since the start of 2020.
Here are the Silesia entry lists. Here’s the schedule of events (all times Eastern):
7:30 a.m. — Men’s Pole Vault
7:35 — Women’s Hammer Throw
7:35 — Men’s Hammer Throw
7:45 — Men’s Shot Put
8:50 — Men’s Triple Jump
8:55 — Women’s Shot Put
9:23 — Women’s Javelin
9:33 — Women’s 100m Hurdles
10:04 — Men’s 400m Hurdles
10:09 — Women’s High Jump
10:13 — Women’s 800m
10:25 — Men’s Long Jump
10:28 — Men’s 100m
10:37 — Women’s 3000m
10:52 — Men’s Javelin
10:56 — Women’s 400m
11:06 — Men’s 400m
11:16 — Men’s 800m
11:28 — Women’s 200m
11:38 — Women’s 1500m
11:52 — Women’s 100m
Here are five events to watch (statistics via Tilastopaja.org and World Athletics):
Men’s Pole Vault — 7:30 a.m. ET
At worlds, the 22-year-old Duplantis became the second-youngest track and field athlete to ever hold an Olympic gold medal, world championship and world record in an individual event (after Ethiopian distance runner Kenenisa Bekele). From here on out in 2022, he’ll try to become the second male pole vaulter in the last 50 years to record an undefeated season with a global title (American Sam Kendricks, 2017). The rest of the top four from worlds is entered, including silver medalist Chris Nilsen.
Men’s 100m — 10:28 a.m. ET
World champion Fred Kerley isn’t entered, but the other three Americans from the world championships final are: silver medalist Marvin Bracy-Williams, bronze medalist Trayvon Bromell and Christian Coleman, who was sixth in defense of his 2019 World title. Bromell, Coleman and Kerley share third place on the U.S. all-time list with personal bests of 9.76 seconds. Kerley is the only man in the world to break 9.80 this year.
Men’s 400m — 11:06 a.m. ET
A rematch between American Michael Norman and Grenada’s Kirani James, the gold and silver medalists at worlds. Norman is working on an undefeated year in the 400m. The only man to beat James anywhere in 2022 is Norman. Americans Champion Allison and Michael Cherry could play spoiler.
Women’s 200m — 11:28 a.m. ET
From 2012 through 2019, Miller-Uibo beat Jackson in all 17 of their head-to-heads. Since Jackson shifted from the 400m to the 100m/200m last year, she won both of their shared finals in the 200m. Jackson’s 200m personal best before she left the 400m was 22.05; she has since run 21.45. Miller-Uibo’s personal best in the 200m, without ever focusing solely on the event, is 21.74 with three more sub-22s. They are both 28 years old. Will this be the start of Miller-Uibo’s two-year chase to overtake Jackson?
Women’s 100m — 11:52 a.m. ET
Fraser-Pryce led a Jamaican sweep at worlds, but her primary challengers here are the three American entrants from worlds: Aleia Hobbs (sixth at worlds), Melissa Jefferson (eighth) and TeeTee Terry (eliminated in the semifinals). Fraser-Pryce, for all of her accolades, is working on what could be her first full season undefeated at 100m (she won all four of her races, all in Kingston, in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign). Hobbs was the last U.S. woman to win a Diamond League 100m more than three years ago, marking the nation’s longest drought since the Diamond League’s inception in 2010.
OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!
Follow @nbcolympictalk
