Women’s 200m: Sha’Carri Richardson set to show her class
The world 100m champion might have been beaten in her season opener in Xiamen last week, but Sha’Carri Richardson was all smiles after the finish. The 24-year-old US superstar clocked 22.99 and was caught in the final metres by Australian teenager Torrie Lewis (22.96), but Richardson viewed it as a fine way to blow off the dust in her first race for seven months.
“I felt really good with this season opener,” said Richardson. “I was a little nervous but once I got on the track, it felt like home. I know what I’ve got to work on so I’m excited for my next meet.”
In Suzhou, she will take on another strong field over 200m that includes US compatriots Tamara Clark, Twanisha Terry and Anavia Battle along with Britain’s Daryll Neita, Bahamian Anthonique Strachan and Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji, who have all run under 22.2 and should provide stiff opposition.
Though she’s better known as a 100m athlete, Richardson showed she’s a force to be reckoned with over 200m last year, clocking her PB of 21.92 to finish third in the world final in Budapest. She confirmed last week that she plans to contest both events at the US Olympic Trials, and on the way there, she’ll be keen to make a statement and get back to winning ways in Suzhou.
Men’s Pole Vault: can Mondo reach cloud nine?
With Mondo Duplantis, we’ve come to expect the unexpected. In his season opener in Xiamen last weekend, few thought the 24-year-old Swede would attempt the highest clearance in history, but he once again defied logic, starting his outdoor campaign with an astonishing world record of 6.24m.
That was the eighth time he’s broken the world record, and Duplantis revealed afterwards that he’d been fired up by what was, for him, an unsatisfactory indoor season which was “a little sloppier” than expected. “So I brought a bit of fire to this outdoor season,” he said. “I was really excited to get it started.”
Given that’s how he began, it’s only logical to think he might go even higher in the weeks and months ahead. “It’s definitely possible, conditions-willing,” he said. “There’s still some higher heights in me, for sure, as long as everything is in the right place.”
Could a ninth world record be on the cards in Suzhou?
With good conditions forecast for Saturday night, there’s a chance Duplantis could send the bar up to 6.25m and continue taking his event in the stratosphere. A world record is something you can never expect, though with Duplantis, it’s something that’s always possible.
Also in the field is two-time world champion Sam Kendricks and Olympic silver medallist Chris Nilsen, who’ve both gone over six metres at their best, though as Kendricks so aptly put it last weekend: “Mondo is playing with a different set of cards.”
Men’s 100m: Coleman, Kerley, and the battle for sprint supremacy
There’s a good reason Netflix have been following a horde of 100m sprinters for a documentary series that will air ahead of the Paris Olympics: the world’s fastest, most powerful athletes are not short on personality, and the rivalries run deep in this event.
On Saturday night, two former world champions will clash as Christian Coleman takes on Fred Kerley, a match-up that’s currently tied at 2-2 when they’ve shared the same track over 100m. Coleman came off better in Xiamen last weekend, recovering from a sub-par start to win in 10.13 (-0.6m/s), with Kerley second in 10.17.
“I feel really good about the fact I was able to stay composed, stay in my lane and put together a good race,” said Coleman, who last month won the world indoor title over 60m. “I’ll take some positives from this and keep getting better.”
Coleman will no doubt adjust his approach this Saturday and we can expect to see something closer to his trademark, flying start, though Kerley will be keen to underline his claims for the Paris Olympics and get back to winning ways with a victory over his US rival.
But the pair might not have it all their own way, given the field also includes South Africa’s Akani Simbine, who has a best of 9.84 and has clocked 10.01 this season, while Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake and Rohan Watson will also be keen to put it up to their US rivals.
Women’s 100m hurdles: clash of the champions
There are few events where the stars are so willing to get on the line, week after week, as the women’s 100m hurdles. That is once again the case in Suzhou, where a blockbuster field has been assembled.
It is headlined by the last three global champions in this event: Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, Tobi Amusan of Nigeria and Danielle Williams of Jamaica. But that’s only part of the story, given world indoor champion and 60m hurdles world record holder Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas is also sure to feature, along with US stars Alaysha Johnson and Masai Russell – who’ve both run 12.3.
In Xiamen last week, Charlton got her typical flying start and led for much of the race, but Camacho-Quinn utilised the class and experience that carried her to the Olympic title in Tokyo to run her down over the final few barriers, winning in 12.45 to Charlton’s 12.49.
“I still got things to improve on,” said Camacho-Quinn. “Before I was telling coach, ‘I don’t think I’m ready,’ but 12.4, knowing it wasn’t even a clean race? I’m ready to go back and fix what I need to do.” On Saturday night, Camacho-Quinn will take some stopping if she’s cleaned up those technical imperfections, but in an event as loaded as this, she will have to be near her best to stay on top.
Men’s High Jump: Barshim continues on path to immortality
In an event as attritional as the high jump, longevity is tough to achieve. So it’s a measure of the outstanding, outlying ability of Mutaz Essa Barshim that he’s on the cusp of sporting history this summer. The 32-year-old Qatari has won medals at the last three Olympics, taking silver in 2012 and 2016 before winning gold in Tokyo.
With three world outdoor titles and one world indoor title also to his name, he already ranks among the all-time greats of his event, but this summer he could win his fourth consecutive Olympic medal.
The year did not start in ideal fashion, Barshim forced to bypass the indoor season due to hip and back injuries. “But now I’m feeling healthy again, training is good so I’m happy with where I am,” he said last week in Xiamen, where he cleared 2.27m in his first competition of the year but was beaten on countback by USA’s Shelby McEwen.
They will renew their rivalry in Suzhou in a field that includes world indoor champion Hamish Kerr of New Zealand, who soared over an Oceanian record of 2.36m to win that title in Glasgow. He finished third in Xiamen last week but the wet conditions on the runway that night were not ideal for jumping. With warm, dry conditions forecast for Saturday, expect to see the world’s best soar even higher.
As Barshim said last weekend, he will do everything possible in the coming months to be “ready to fight and be on the podium” at the Paris Olympics, where he has the chance to etch his name not just among the greats of his event, but of the sport as a whole. He can take a big step towards that goal in Suzhou.