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Jamaica Athletics Invitational 2024: Top entries ft. Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley

Modified May 11, 2024 02:18 GMT

The Jamaica Athletics Invitational 2024 will be held on Saturday, May 11, at the National Stadium in Kingston. This is a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meet hosted by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA).

The inaugural edition of the Jamaica Athletics Invitational is a promising event to find aspiring athletes from the North American city. It serves as a platform for the youngsters to showcase their talent against a buzzing Jamaican crowd.

A total of 14 events will be held with athletes from Jamaica, the USA, and the United Kingdom set to participate. This will also be a preparatory event for all the Paris Olympics-bound athletes set to travel to the French Capital in July later this year.

This will be a warm-up for all the local athletes ahead of their National Championships scheduled by the end of June.

Let's look at some athletes set to hog the limelight at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational 2024.

Dina Asher-Smith

The 28-year-old Great Britain sprinter is one of the top contenders in the upcoming Jamaican Invitation 2024. One of the most successful female athletes from her country, Dina Asher-Smith will aim for an Olympics podium finish in Paris after her riveting battle with Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Tokyo.

She last competed at the Texas Invitational in April, clocking 11.10s in 100m and 22.29 in 200m.

Christian Coleman

The five-time world champion recently made headlines after pointing out that someone can challenge Usain Bolt's 9.58 seconds world record in 100m. The world can never know that the five-time world champion, who has a personal best of 9.76s, could be a front-runner to shatter that record.

After missing out on the USA's 4x100 relay team at World Athletics in the Bahamas, Coleman will be hungry to prove his mettle after the team qualified for the Olympics by bagging a gold in the finals.

Mathew Hudson-Smith

The 400m world champion will be the top contender to watch in men's 400m at Kingston. Having shattered the European record with a timing of 44.26s in the World Athletics Championships heats in Budapest, the Great Britain sprinter will strive for an elusive Olympic podium finish this year.

He settled for a silver in the World finals after trailing behind Jamaica's Antonio Watson. This will be a sweet revenge for the 29-year-old to win in front of the Jamaican crowd.

Marie-Josse Tau Loo

The fastest African woman in the history of 100m won't feel estranged from the Jamaican conditions because of her massive fan base in the Caribbean island nation.

The 35-year-old wasn't certain to make it to the inaugural edition of the Jamaica Athletics Invitation but turned up for the sake of her fans. Interestingly, her husband J Smith, whom she married in March this year, comes from Trinidad.

Russhell Clayton

The local athlete will ensure to put her best foot at the National Stadium in Kingston in a bid to win an elusive Olympic medal. The World Championship bronze medallist has targeted to run faster with the ambition of a first Olympic final appearance on her cards.

She clocked her personal best of 51.81s in Gainesville on April 13 followed by a poor show at the Bermuda Grand Prix, finishing sixth with 54.8s.

Fred Kerley

Fred Kerly was another notable omission from the United States' 4x100m relay team. The 2022 World champion lost to compatriot Coleman in 100m at the Diamond League in Xiamen last month.

Coleman picked up well in the second half of the race to go past Kerley to finish first. The two American sprinters will aim to outsmart each other in Jamaica on Saturday.