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World record holder Christian Coleman will be aiming for his third straight victory at the Millrose Games after bagging wins in 2022 and 2023.
World record-holder Christian Coleman will be seeking his third straight 60m victory at the Millrose Games, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in New York on Sunday, February 11.
Coleman will be opening his season at the event after a mixed 2023 season where he lost some races and emerged victorious in others.
He completed his season at the Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League final meeting where he stunned triple World Champion Noah Lyles.
At the Millrose Games, he will be up against Canada’s Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse, who has not run the 60m at Millrose since 2016.
Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, who set a PB of 6.45 in his first-ever indoor 60m race last weekend in Boston, should also prove to be a nightmare for the American.
Meanwhile, Tia Jones turned heads in Boston last week when she sped to victory in the 60m hurdles, clocking 7.72 – just 0.04 shy of the world indoor record.
At the Millrose Games, Jones will take on the likes of two-time world champion Danielle Williams, two-time world indoor champion Nia Ali, defending Millrose champion Devynne Charlton of The Bahamas, and NCAA champion Ackera Nugent of Jamaica.
Sprint sensation Julien Alfred is opening her season after an incredible 2023 campaign. The Saint Lucian star, who was undefeated last year in the 60m and 100m until placing fifth in the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest, will line up against Jamaicans Shashalee Forbes and Briana Williams and US contenders Tamara Clark and English Gardner.
In the men’s 60m hurdles, 2022 world silver medallist Trey Cunningham of the US, who is second on the world list, will take on a strong slate that includes 2023 world bronze medallist Daniel Roberts.
On her part, Alicia Monson broke the North American record in the 3000m last year at Millrose and is on a mission to win her third straight title on this track – with a record perhaps in a different event.
The two-mile distance is one more lap than 3000m and her ultimate goal is the continental record of 9:10.28. Monson will be in fast company with Olympic 1500m silver medalist Laura Muir of Great Britain, US mile record-holder Nikki Hiltz, and world U20 5000m champion Medina Eisa of Ethiopia.
World indoor silver medalist Elle St Pierre will vie for her third title in the women’s Wanamaker Mile with the race being a rematch between herself, and Jessica Hull of Australia, who won their showdown in the 3000m last week with an Oceanian indoor record.
Olympic 800m bronze medalist Raevyn Rogers, who contested the 400m last week in Boston, returns to her specialty at Millrose and will face Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin.
Noah Kibet and Bryce Hoppel, the world indoor silver and bronze medalists respectively, will clash in the men’s 800m.
(02/10/2024) Views: 452 ⚡AMPThe NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...
more...Every day, we are getting closer to one of the most anticipated events, The Millrose Games 2024. The track and field world is amped up to witness the thrilling performances of top-notch athletes in all the exciting events. Among this one athlete that has grabbed every track and field enthusiast’s attention is Dina Asher-Smith. This British Sprinter is ready to make a spectacular comeback in the 2024 iteration of the Millrose Games after facing trials and tribulations due to her hamstring injury.
After sustaining an injury at the World Championships in Oregon, the athlete had to pull out from several events. However, after a year of grappling, Dina Asher-Smith has announced her participation in the Millrose Games 2024. Let’s have a panoramic view of the same.
Dina Asher-Smith to participate in two events at the Millrose Games.
The British Sprinter Dina Asher-Smith faced a tough time after her hamstring Injury in 2022 as she had to pull out from the Commonwealth Games. She sustained this injury while performing at the 4x100m relay. However, more than a year after this incident, the Olympian has added her name to the Millrose Games giving a great start to her 2024 season. A US track and field Insider took to their X account to announce the same.
The post carried, “Dina Asher-Smith will be running the 60m at the Millrose Games on February 11th!” Apart from this, the champion has added her name to the 4x400m as well. She is extremely excited to showcase her skills here at one of the most prestigious track and field competitions.
She expressed, “The Millrose Games is one of the most prestigious and historic indoor competitions in the USA, and I am looking forward to racing there for the first time.” Dina Asher-Smith further added, “I am really enjoying my new training setup in Austin, and I’m looking forward to a big year in 2024”. This competition is going to be a great one as some of the most anticipated races will be held among the top-notch athletes.
Athletes to compete with the British Olympian at the Millrose Games 2024
The Millrose Games will be held on the February 11, 2024 at the Armory in NYC. The Armory this year will witness great races yet again with some of the notable athletes participating in the event. The 60m will be one of the anticipated races as along with Dina Asher-Smith, other renowned athletes will also be gracing the event.
The first name on the list of the 60m event is the first woman in NCAA to break the seven-second barrier over the 60m, Julien Alfred. This Saint Lucian Sprinter is the Joint North American holder for the 60 meters. Then is the Olympian American athlete English Gardner. The Jamaican athlete Briana Williams will also be competing.
Other athletes like Shashalee Forbes, Tamari Davis, Marybeth Sant-Price, and Celera Barnes will be a part of the competition. The track and field enthusiasts cannot wait to witness which athlete will sprint towards victory and take the gold home.
(01/23/2024) Views: 485 ⚡AMPThe NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...
more...With just over three weeks to go until the running of the 116th Millrose Games, the excitement for this spectacular event has never been greater. One of the deepest races of the afternoon will be the Women’s 60 Meter Dash, which features no fewer than four Olympic medalists, in addition to an NCAA champion, last year’s runner-up, and more.
The 116th Millrose Games will take place at the Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory on Sunday, February 11th.
The stellar field is as follows:
-Dina Asher-Smith is the 2019 World Champion in the 200m. She is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, and her 2019 gold is one of five World Championship medals that she owns. Asher-Smith holds the British records in the 60m, 100m, and 200m.
“The Millrose Games is one of the most prestigious and historic indoor competitions in the USA, and I am looking forward to racing there for the first time,” said Asher-Smith. “I am really enjoying my new training set up in Austin, and I’m looking forward to a big year in 2024.”
-Julien Alfred was a seven-time NCAA champion at the University of Texas. Her 60m best is not only the NCAA record, it also equals the North American record. In her first season as a professional, Alfred finished fifth in the 100m at the 2023 World Championships, representing St. Lucia.
-English Gardner is an Olympic gold medalist on the 4x100m relay in 2016. A local favorite from New Jersey, she is the tenth-fastest woman in history in the 100m, and she won this race at the Millrose Games in 2019.
-Briana Williams won Olympic gold on the 4x100m relay for Jamaica in 2021, and she is a two-time World Junior Champion.
-Shashalee Forbes is an Olympic silver medalist on the 4x100m relay, and she won the 200m Jamaican championship in 2017.
-Tamari Davis placed second in this race at last year’s Millrose Games, before winning a gold medal on the 4x100m relay at the World Championships.
-Marybeth Sant-Price is the 60m bronze medalist at the 2022 World Indoor Championships.
-Celera Barnes is an NACAC champion on the 4x100m relay.
Stay tuned over the coming weeks before the 116th Millrose Games, as the world-class start lists are finalized. Top athletes already confirmed to compete include Laura Muir, Elle Purrier-St. Pierre, Yared Nuguse, Alicia Monson, Grant Fisher, Danielle Williams, Josh Kerr, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Christian Coleman, Keni Harrison, Andre De Grasse, Nia Ali, Chris Nilsen, and KC Lightfoot, with even more Olympians and World Championship medalists still to come.
As always, the Millrose Games will feature the absolute best athletes in the sport, including dozens of Olympians and world champions. The Millrose Games is a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet. With highest-level competition at the youth, high school, collegiate, club, and professional levels, there is truly something for everyone at the Millrose Games.
(01/19/2024) Views: 477 ⚡AMPThe NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...
more...Yohan Blake, the 2011 World 100m champion, has insisted that he has a lot left in the tank as he begins his preparation to earn a spot on Jamaica’s team to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris next year.
Blake, who turns 34 in December, missed out on a chance to make his country’s team to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August, but insists he will not be deterred by this most recent setback as he looks forward to suiting up in national colours for his fourth Olympic Games.
“Not everybody can say they have been to four Olympics. I've gone three already and I'm looking forward to this one being my fourth to be honest, I know I have a lot left with me and I know I can spring some surprises. I am just really focusing on just getting this year to start off on a good level,” the 2012 double Olympic silver medallist told Sportsmax.TV on Friday following the launch of his Reviere Purified Water at the AC Hotel in Kingston.
The 2023 season was a challenging one for Blake, who boasts lifetime bests of 9.69 and 19.26 over the 100m and 200m, respectively.
During the season, he failed to break 10 seconds despite coming closest in Poland on July 16 when he ran a time of 10.01. However, he expressed contentment with what has transpired knowing he has a lot to work on for the coming season.
"I've been consistent, running 10-zeros. I never got the 9s, but I am okay with it," Blake reflected. “I've been doing some revision on the last races, the guys have been pulling away from me from the last 40 metres, so I'm doing some work on that.”
That work is being done in a new environment following the break-up of Titans International that sees Blake, Akeem Blake and Briana Williams as well as Frater walking away from the training group that was led by Coach Gregory Little.
With Frater now being totally in charge of his training, Blake expressed confidence that he will make the necessary steps forward in the coming season.
“Michael Frater is an athlete and he's our coach and he really understands me as well. And, you know, I have young Akeem Blake and Briana (Williams) in the camp as well. So we're looking to push each other and now some younger ones as well. We’re looking to push each other and as I said this is my last Olympics,” Blake said.
Frater has made adjustments to Blake’s programme aimed at keeping him sharp and explosive. "He wants to keep me sharp, and he wants me, when I touch the track, to be ready, and be a bit more explosive.”
Blake was once among the most explosive athletes on earth. After defeating Bolt in both the 100m and 200m at the Jamaica national championships in 2012, Blake ran times of 9.75 and 19.44 at the London 2012 Games to win two silver medals to go along with the gold medal in the 4x100m relay in which Jamaica established a world record of 36.84.
He was seemingly poised to challenge Bolt’s world records of 9.58 and 19.19 when a series of injuries derailed him. The worst of those injuries occurred on a cold evening at the Glasgow Grand Prix in July 2014.
“I remember that race clearly in Glasgow when my muscle was frozen. It was really cool and it popped. When I went to the doctor, the doctor said I suffered from muscle spasms,” he said in reflection, adding that some of his injuries were his own doing.
“You know, one of my biggest letdowns in life is I think I worked too hard and I pushed myself too much. I don't know when it’s time to rest and my body is really upset with me sometimes because I do not know when to rest but don't regret any of what happened. It has made me strong as well and I'm here, I'm still running fast,” he said.
“I can get an injury and do surgery and I'm here still running with aluminium in my leg. I'm trying.”
(10/26/2023) Views: 476 ⚡AMPFor this historic event, the City of Light is thinking big! Visitors will be able to watch events at top sporting venues in Paris and the Paris region, as well as at emblematic monuments in the capital visited by several millions of tourists each year. The promise of exceptional moments to experience in an exceptional setting! A great way to...
more...Sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, the defending champions at 100m and 200m respectively, feature on Jamaica’s team for the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 on August 19-27.
The duo filled the top two places in the 100m and 200m in Oregon last year, with Jackson taking silver in the 100m and Fraser-Pryce finishing runner-up in the 200m. Fraser-Pryce, who has competed sparingly this season due to a slight injury earlier in the year, will be vying for a historic sixth world 100m title.
World leader Rasheed Broadbell and Olympic champion Hansle Parchment have both been named in the men’s 110m hurdles, while world leader and world U20 record-holder Jaydon Hibbert will contest the triple jump.
Jamaican team for Budapest
WOMEN
100m: Shashalee Forbes, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson
200m: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Natalliah Whyte
400m: Candice McLeod, Nickisha Pryce, Charokee Young
800m: Natoya Goule-Toppin, Adelle Tracey1500m: Adelle Tracey
100m hurdles: Ackera Nugent, Megan Tapper, Danielle Williams
400m hurdles: Rushell Clayton, Andrenette Knight, Janieve Russell
High jump: Lamara Distin, Kimberly Williamson
Long jump: Tissana Hickling, Ackelia Smith
Triple jump: Shanieka Ricketts, Ackelia Smith, Kimberly Williams
Shot put: Danniel Thomas-Dodd
Discus: Samantha Hall
Hammer: Nyoka Clunis
4x100m: Shashalee Forbes, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Natasha Morrison, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Natalliah Whyte, Briana Williams
4x400m: Candice McLeod, Nickisha Pryce, Janieve Russell, Ronda Whyte, Shiann Salmon, Charokee Young
MEN
100m: Ryiem Ford, Oblique Seville, Rohan Watson
200m: Rasheed Dwyer, Andrew Hudson
400m: Sean Bailey, Zandrion Barnes, Antonio Watson
800m: Navasky Anderson
110m hurdles: Orlando Bennett, Rasheed Broadbell, Hansle Parchment
400m hurdles: Roshawn Clarke, Jaheel Hyde, Assinie Wilson
High jump: Romaine Beckford
Long jump: Tajay Gayle, Carey McLeod, Wayne PinnockTriple jump: Jaydon Hibbert
Shot put: Rajindra Campbell
Discus: Fedrick Dacres, Traves Smikle, Roje Stona
4x100m: Ackeem Blake, Michael Campbell, Ryiem Ford, Oblique Seville, Tyquendo Tracey
4x400m: Sean Bailey, Zandrion Barnes, Demish Gaye, Malik James-King, Jevaughn Powell, Antonio Watson
Mixed 4x400m: D’Andre Anderson, Rusheen McDonald, Joanne Reid, Stacy-Ann Williams.
(08/03/2023) Views: 698 ⚡AMPFrom August 19-27, 2023, Budapest will host the world's third largest sporting event, the World Athletics Championships. It is the largest sporting event in the history of Hungary, attended by athletes from more than 200 countries, whose news will reach more than one billion people. Athletics is the foundation of all sports. It represents strength, speed, dexterity and endurance, the...
more...Sha'Carri Richardson will make her return to competitive athletics action on Saturday (August 21) at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
The American is back after serving a one-month suspension handed to her when she tested positive for a cannabinoid at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, where she had originally won the women's 100m race.
Her return will pit the world's third-fastest woman this year against the three Olympic medalists from Tokyo – Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Shericka Jackson, all from Jamaica.
On July 1, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that Richardson had accepted being suspended for "for an anti-doping rule violation for testing positive for a substance of abuse", having previously received a provisional ban on 28 June.
While competing at the Trials, Richardson provided a sample on 19 June that returned a positive test for a chemical found in marijuana, THC.
THC is a banned substance in-competition, although it is not prohibited out of competition, under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules which classify it as a substance of abuse.
Although Richardson consumed the drug out of competition, she returned an in-competition positive and was therefore sanctioned under USADA's own regulations, which state: "If an athlete tests positive for a substance of abuse during an in-competition test, but the athlete can establish that they used the substance out-of-competition and that their use of the substance was unrelated to sport performance, then the athlete’s period of ineligibility will be reduced to three months with no need to further analyse the degree of fault."
USADA added in handing out a one-month suspension: "Richardson’s period of ineligibility was reduced to one month because her use of cannabis occurred out of competition and was unrelated to sport performance, and because she successfully completed a counselling program regarding her use of cannabis."
The sanction meant her qualifying results at the trials were expunged.
Her suspension ended before the start of the athletics program at Tokyo 2020, but as USA Track & Field (USATF) selects its Olympic team based solely on results at Trials, Richardson was not considered for selection in either the 100m or 4x100m relay.
In Eugene, which was also the site of the U.S. Trials where Richardson had run 10.86 in the final, she and the three Tokyo 2020 medallists headline a world-class field in the women's 100m.
That start-list includes Tokyo relay silver medallists Teahna Daniels and Javianne Oliver of the USA and two other 100m finalists Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji (6th) and Marie-Josée Ta Lou (4th) of Côte d'Ivoire. Briana Williams, the fourth member of the Jamaican 4x100m gold-winning relay team, completes the lineup.
Richardson ran a 10.72 at the Miramar Invitational in Florida in April, a time that made the 21-year-old the sixth-fastest woman ever over 100m and, at the time the world leader in 2021.
Since then this year, only two other women have gone faster – Richardson is surpassed by Fraser-Pryce (10.63 in June) and Thompson-Herah's Olympic record 10.61.
The clash between the young American talent and the Olympic medallists is tantalising after they were unable to race each other in Tokyo.
Indeed, the five fastest women this year will all be competing in the race – Jackson and Ta Lou are fourth and fifth respectively.
Richardson's last international 100m race was at a rainy Gateshead Diamond League in England in May, when she finished second in 11.44 seconds into a very strong headwind (-3.1 m/s). Earlier that month, the Texan sprinter also overcame a headwind to clock a rapid 10.77 (-1.2 m/s) at the USATF Golden Games.
The American is also down to race the women's 200m against the likes of Kambundji, Ta Lou, Olympic bronze medallist Gabrielle Thomas, relay silver medallist Jenna Prandini, world champion Dina Asher-Smith, and American track legend Allyson Felix.
(08/20/2021) Views: 1,460 ⚡AMPThe Pre Classic, part of the Diamond League series of international meets featuring Olympic-level athletes, is scheduled to be held at the new Hayward Field in Eugene. The Prefontaine Classicis the longest-running outdoor invitational track & field meet in America and is part of the elite Wanda Diamond League of meets held worldwide annually. The Pre Classic’s results score has...
more...The Jamaican women brought out the big guns for the final of the 4x100m relay, and it paid off. Briana Williams ran the lead leg, handing off to Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, then Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson (who also ran in the heats) for the win in a national record of 41.02. They edged out the USA, who took silver in a season’s best 41.45, anchored by Gabby Thomas (with a lot of ground being made up in the third leg by Jenna Prandini).
Great Britain came through for bronze in 41.88. It was the third time in four Olympics that these three nations have stood on the podium in this event, in various configurations of gold, silver and bronze.
There were a few moments of doubt over whether the Jamaicans might have been out of position in the first hand-off, but ultimately the result stood, and the team started celebrating. Switzerland ran well, with 100m finalists Ajla del Ponte and Mujinga Kambundji racing hard to put their team on the podium, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. Team Netherlands fumbled the handoff from lead Nadine Visser to Dafne Schippers, and their race was done.
Miller-Uibo gets gold in 400m final
The women’s 400m final netted another gold for defending gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who also won five years ago in Rio, in a personal best and area record of 48.36, after some doubt about whether the schedule would allow her to double. (Miller-Uibo also ran the 200m, but didn’t make the final.) Marileidy Paulino took silver in a national-record-setting performance for the Dominican Republic of 49.20. Allyson Felix, who won silver in this event in Rio, earned the bronze in 49.46, her fastest time yet this year and an unbelievable 10th Olympic medal for the American.
Team USA redeems itself in the men’s 4x400m relay heats
The first heat of the men’s 4x400m was fast and furious, with Team USA running well after its disastrous 4x100m performance. Anchor Michael Norman crossed the line first, in 2:57.77, followed by Botswana (who ran their fastest man, Isaac Makwala, as their lead leg, a strategy that paid off for them) and Trinidad and Tobago as the last auto-qualifier from this heat. Italy and the Netherlands, in fourth and fifth, had to wait and see if they would advance, but both qualified through to the final in the end. All five saw times under three minutes, and this heat produced three national or area records – for Botswana, the Netherlands and Italy.
The second heat was almost as fast, producing two national records (but in the fourth and fifth finishers, India and Japan, who did not advance). Poland and Belgium dominated, with the Poles crossing the line first in 2:58.55. Jamaica finished third, all of them running under three minutes. Going through to Friday evening’s final are USA, Botswana, Trinidad and Tobago, Poland, Belgium and Jamaica.
(08/06/2021) Views: 878 ⚡AMPAllyson Felix leads a host of Olympic medalists at the world’s top annual international indoor track and field meet, the NYRR Millrose Games, live on NBC Sports on Saturday.
Felix, the most decorated female track and field Olympian with nine medals, competes in the 60m at the Armory in New York City. She takes on a field including U.S. 100m champion Teahna Daniels and 17-year-old Jamaican phenom Briana Williams.
NBC and NBC Sports Gold air live coverage of the Millrose Games on Saturday from 4-6 p.m. ET. Full start lists are here.
Athletes are preparing for the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., the following weekend, and the Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., in June. The world indoor championships, traditionally held in even years, have been postponed due to host nation China’s coronavirus.
Felix is racing indoors this season for the first time since 2016. She missed the last indoor season following the birth of daughter Camryn. Though Felix is predominantly a 400m sprinter, she said in the fall that she plans to be ready to race the 200m at the Olympic trials. The 200m comes after the 400m at trials, so it could be a safety net if Felix is unable to make the team in the 400m.
In other Millrose Games events, the 60m hurdles features Olympic 110m hurdles champion Omar McLeod of Jamaica, plus the two fastest men from last year — world champion Grant Holloway and Daniel Roberts, both Americans.
World champion Nia Ali and world-record holder Keni Harrison are entered in the women’s 60m hurdles.
Another world champion, Donavan Brazier, leads an 800m field that includes fellow U.S. Olympic team contenders Bryce Hoppel, Brannon Kidder and Isaiah Harris.
In field events, Olympic champion Ryan Crouser takes on world champion Joe Kovacs in the shot put. Olympic silver medalist Sandi Morris headlines the women’s pole vault.
Action concludes with the Wanamaker Men’s Mile. Two-time Olympic 1500m medalist Nick Willis of New Zealand aims to win that race for the first time.
(02/06/2020) Views: 1,507 ⚡AMPThe NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...
more...Briana Williams has gone pro!
The 17-year-old Jamaican, who had an outstanding year in 2019, has signed a multi-year contract with Nike. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Recognized as one of the rising stars in track and field having won the sprint double at the World U20 Championships in Tampere in 2018, Williams was courted by a number of shoe companies with PUMA and Nike being the frontrunners.
Nike eventually won the right to the signature of the talented teen, whose coach Ato Boldon confirmed the signing to Sportsmax.TV.
“Briana has had people dedicated to her abilities for many years. Even before me, Coach Tennessee and Coach Damion Thomas, have done right by her,” Boldon said.
“I was just handed the baton for this leg of the race, but I’ve been around this industry a long time and for a company like Nike, who can back anyone, to put this level of support behind Briana, makes all of the work over the last five years, worth it. She is extremely blessed and fortunate to be where she is at just 17.”
Williams, who turns 18 in March, said the Nike deal has provided a platform for her to chase her dreams.
“I’m extremely proud. I have come a long way. This is a big deal for me because I’m young but I’m ready to show the world what I am capable of,” said Williams who now belongs to the group (HSI) that includes indoor 400m WR holder Mike Norman and world champions Christian Coleman and Dalilah Muhammad.
“I’m glad that Nike gave me this opportunity. It means the world to me as a girl with big dreams.”
The year 2019 was a big year for Williams. She won the 100m at the NACAC U18 Championships in Mexico and the Pan Am U20 Championships in Costa Rica during the year in which she ran unbeaten at the junior level.
She also won the Austin Sealy Award at the CARIFTA Games for the second year running after winning three gold medals, duplicating her achievements in 2018. In June, she set a Jamaican junior record of 11.02s in New Mexico.
Track & Field News, considered the bible of the sport, recognized her stellar year by naming her their High School Athlete of the Year for 2019.
The prodigious teen suffered a setback during the year when she returned an adverse finding for a banned diuretic found in her urine sample at the Jamaican National Championships in June where she finished third in the 100m behind two-time Olympic champions Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
As such, her time of 10.94s, which would have been a U18 world record and a national junior record for Jamaica, was subsequently struck from the record books.
Following a hearing before an Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel in September, Williams was reprimanded but was free to compete. However, due to how late the verdict came, her chances of competing at the 2019 World Championships in Doha were effectively dashed.
(01/20/2020) Views: 2,714 ⚡AMP
Jamaica's 17-year-old sprint sensation Briana Williams is listed to compete in the women's 60m at the 113th NYRR Millrose Games, scheduled for Saturday, February 8 at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York.
Williams, who is based in Florida, will take on a strong field with five Olympians led by American Allyson Felix, arguably the most accomplished athlete in track and field. Felix is a six-time Olympic gold medalist and 13-time world champion.
After giving birth to her daughter in November 2018, Felix returned to competition this past season, winning a gold medal on the mixed 4x400m relay at the Doha World Championships to surpass Usain Bolt as the most decorated athlete in the history of the sport.
The Millrose Games will be the third meet that Williams is confirmed for since being found of 'no-fault' from the Independent Anti-Doping Panel in September following a positive drug test.
She took an over-the-counter flu remedy at the Jamaican trial in June which had the banned diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide in its components. The young sprinter then decided in September to withdraw from the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, a competition she had qualified for at the Jamaican trials.
At the trials, Williams had the best race of her young career, finishing third at 100m in a wind-legal time of 10.94 (+0.6) seconds, which broke the national junior record -- though World Athletics did not ratify the effort, nullifying a potential World U18 record. Still, she became just the second high school athlete to ever break the elusive 11-second mark.
Williams will also face Teahna Daniels, the 2019 USA champion in the 100 m. Daniels had a breakout season in 2019, dipping under the 11-second barrier with a personal best of 10.99, before making the final in Doha where she finished seventh. Also joining the field is Morolake Akinosun, a former four-time NCAA champion. Akinosun also won an Olympic gold medal on the Rio 4x100m relay, competing alongside Felix for Team USA.
Defending Millrose champion English Gardner and Deajah Stevens, a former NCAA champion who competed in the 200m at the Rio Olympics are also in the field.
Williams will open her season on January 11 in South Carolina, USA followed by the Queen's School/Grace Jackson Invitational in Kingston, Jamaica on January 25, both also over 60m.
(01/14/2020) Views: 2,109 ⚡AMPThe NYRR Millrose Games,which began in 1908 as a small event sponsored by a local track club, has grown to become the most prestigious indoor track and field event in the United States. The NYRR Millrose Games meet is held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armony, which boasts a state-of-the-art six-lane,...
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