SHANGHAI, China (Sporting Alert) — Olympic champion Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, Carmelita Jeter, Kirani James, Luguelín Santos and LaShawn Merritt are some of the big names getting ready to take part in Saturday’s Shanghai IAAF Diamond League meeting.
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Fraser-Pryce, who opened the season on the circuit with back-to-back 200m, will face World champion Jeter 100m in Shanghai. Jeter holds the fastest time in the world this year at 10.95 seconds and should be a very tough competitor to beat on Saturday.
“Having Carmelita there, you know you have to perform. It raises the level of the game,” Fraser-Pryce said at the meeting press conference.
“Sprinting for women has been in the same time region – Carmelita’s 10.64 aside – for a while now,” the Jamaican added.
Meanwhile, the men’s 400m dash is expected to draw some attention as well, with Olympic champion James of Grenada taking of American Merritt and Dominican Republic’s Santos.
Another event of interest is the men’s 110m hurdles, which features world record holder Aries Merritt and his American countryman Jason Richardson.
However, there will be no Liu Xiang of China and both men are hoping the 2004 Olympic champion, who ran 12.97 seconds last year, will make a return to the track as soon as possible.
“I’m not sure when Liu Xiang will be back,” Richardson said.
