The Eugene Diamond League belatedly hands Dina Asher-Smith an opportunity to measure herself against the fastest woman in the world in Elaine Thompson-Herah.
It should be her second face-off with the double-Olympic champion in a week, only for the Jamaican sprint queen’s peculiar decision to drop out of last weekend’s Birmingham Diamond League with a “discomfort” in training before popping up in Kingston to race on the same day.
Thompson-Herah was able to clock an impressive 10.94 seconds that night despite being injured, less than two tenths of a second faster than Asher-Smith’s time (11.11), which was admittedly run under chillier conditions at the Alexander Stadium.
Despite her cautious approach to travelling and her declaration that she is “not 100% fit”, the 29-year-old aims to produce a spectacular performance on Saturday, which would somewhat dim the shine on what Asher-Smith has described as “the top-billed event” in athletics.
The legendary Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce aside, who instead runs in the 200m this weekend, Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic provides a World Championship preview. Joining Thompson-Herah and Asher-Smith are four Tokyo Olympic finalists: Shericka Jackson, Marie-Josée Ta Lou, Mujinga Kambundji and Teahna Daniels. There is also the mystique surrounding the return of the controversial Sha’Carri Richardson, with an American medal contender all that is missing from this breathtaking event.
“It makes me proud, it’s nice that women’s sprinting is the top-billed event,” Asher-Smith said after her season opener. “It’s amazing and inspiring to see everybody running faster. I shouldn’t put limits on myself.
“I could have done a few things differently if I’m being picky. I could have run a bit taller, but that will get tidied up the more I race.
“We’re targeting the World Championships, because I’ve got a title [women’s 200m] to retain, but also to perform at all three championships [World, Commonwealth and European]. You have to take your time and ease into it.
“We’re going to try and perform at all three. Each race, it might not be pretty, but you have to learn from it, so there are no mistakes at the championships.”
Expectation is growing surrounding Florence Griffith Joyner’s women’s 100m world record of 10.49, with Thompson-Herah - or Fraser-Pryce - tantalisingly close. The double-Olympic champion’s 10.54 in Eugene last year shows the potential entering this weekend (and at this summer’s World Championships), with Birmingham, due to its sub-optimal conditions, merely serving as an appetiser for this weekend.
Asher-Smith, whose PB is 10.83, maintains times are not her priority, instead focussing on competition, though Thompson-Herah may well drag her to new territory.
“I’m never much of a time person,” the 200m world champion declares. “Sometimes you can execute a race perfectly but there’s a head wind or it’s freezing cold, so I don’t think it’s ever wise to focus on times.
“It was my opener, some people are two, three or four races down, that comes with sharpness. I tend to take a little bit of time. I was happy. I genuinely have improved every aspect, mentally, physically, technically, but I peak at championships.”
At least we will see each sprinter’s trajectory entering the summer, with British Championships in Manchester just four weeks away.
Asher-Smith has already held off world class competition at this premature stage of the season. But Thompson-Herah is not merely world class, she is a martian in comparison to Saturday’s star-studded field.
It should be emphasised how Asher-Smith, and most of the female sprinters right now, have shown a refreshing appetite towards competition. At least when compared to some currently involved in middle and long-distance running, where Joshua Cheptegei, the Olympic champion over 5000m, will attempt to break the world record on Friday.
This is exciting in a vacuum, less so when you realise the Ugandan could attack his own world mark of 12:35.36 less than 24 hours later among illustrious company. Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega, Diamond League winner Berihu Aregawi, Canadian record-holder Mo Ahmed, two-time Olympic medallist Paul Chelimo, Jacob Kiplimo, Getnet Wale and Hagos Gebrhiwet are all primed to race. Wouldn’t it be fascinating to see all of those try to take down the No 1 in the world?
It is like Rafael Nadal playing in another tournament this week while Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and others battle it out at Roland Garros.
Instead the women’s 100m continues to build more momentum, intrigue and tension for those seconds before the gun goes off. Thompson-Herah is the headliner, but Asher-Smith is ready to find out where she stands.
