Oakley set for pro debut at Prefontaine

Dejanea Oakley, Jamaica’s top female 400 metres runner this season, will make her professional debut at this weekend’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, the ninth stop of the Wanda Diamond League.

The two-day meet, which starts on Friday, will see a record 17 Jamaicans in action and promises several heavyweight clashes on the track and in the field.

Oakley will be the lone Jamaican competing on Friday and is scheduled to line up in her pet event. The former collegiate star clocked a personal best and world-leading 48.79 seconds at the same venue during the NCAA Division One Outdoor Championships a few weeks ago. However, she was displaced at the top of the world rankings by the Dominican Republic’s Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino, who ran a season’s best and world-leading 48.48 to win at last Sunday’s Paris Diamond League.

Both athletes will clash in what should be an acid test for the Jamaican, who is still unbeaten this season. Also expected to challenge are Nigeria’s Ella Onojuvwevwo (49.47), American Aaliyah Butler (49.78) and Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser. Naser’s season’s best is 51.56 but she has a personal best time of 48.14.

Saturday’s programme is expected to be even more exciting, with the women’s 100m set to steal the spotlight. Six of the world’s top-10 ranked sprinters are set to compete.

Five Jamaicans have entered the event. They are led by World Championship silver medallist Tina Clayton, who has a season’s best. She will be joined by national champion Shericka Jackson (10.81), Tia Clayton (10.91), Jonielle Smith and Brianna Lyston, both of whom have run 10.94 this season.

Leading the field is British Virgin Islands sensation Adaejah Hodge, the world’s fastest woman this year following her stunning 10.63 in the semi-finals of the NCAA Championships.

The United States will also be strongly represented by Sha’Carri Richardson, who posted a season’s best 10.77 in Florida two weeks ago, along with world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (10.84), Tamari Davis (10.99) and Great Britain’s Amy Hunt (10.97s). There will be two rounds, with the eight fastest advancing to the final.

Another event expected to draw major attention is the women’s 100m hurdles, where the world record could be under threat. World leader and unbeaten American Masai Russell, who has run 12.14 this season, looks set for something special.

World record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria is also in fine form after equalling her season’s best 12.28 to win in Paris. Americans Grace Stark (12.38s) and Bahamian Devynne Charlton (12.37s) should also make for a thrilling contest, while Jamaicans Danielle Williams (12.59) and Ackera Nugent (12.61) will be hoping for big improvements.

World Championship 200m bronze medallist Bryan Levell, with a season’s best of 19.93, returns from injury in the men’s 200m and will be joined by fellow Jamaican Adrian Kerr (20.28). World champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana leads the field with 19.84.

World Championship silver medallist Orlando Bennett (13.20) and bronze medallist Tyler Mason, who will make his season debut, are down for the 110m hurdles. The event also features three men who have run under 13 seconds this season, including new world record holder Ja’Kobe Tharp of the United States (12.75), along with compatriots Jamal Britt (12.89) and Kendrick Smallwood (12.95).

In the field events, Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell, fresh off his national record of 22.44m in Zagreb last week, will contest the men’s shot put against a strong field that includes world leader Joe Kovacs of the United States 22.58m and Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri, who has thrown 22.50m this season.

Roje Stona (68.47m) and Ralford Mullings (65.92m) will lead Jamaica’s challenge in the men’s discus against a world-class field featuring Australia’s Matthew Denny (73.68m), Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh (72.61m) and Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna (70.60m).