Olympic 100m Gold medalist Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs from Italy, Silver medalist Fred Kerley and African champion Ferdinand Omanyala are expected to thrill fans when the Kip Keino classic gets down tomorrow at the Kasarani Stadium.
Marcell and Kerley will come face to face for the first time in six weeks since Jacobs stormed to victory to take the world indoor 60m gold in Belgrade when the Italian chased down the American world 100m champion Christian Coleman in the final.
‘Fun and fast times’ is all he could say when quizzed about his expectations for the World Continental Tour Gold event, set for Saturday at Moi Stadium, Kasarani.
“The last time I was here was a wonderful experience. It is great to be here once again and I am expecting some fun and also fast times.
I heard this time round there will be crowds in the stadium so I am looking forward to that,” Kerley said.
Kerley, who holds a world-class 9.84sec from Tokyo, is looking forward to a meeting on a track he knows well but despite the magnitude of the task that awaits him, Kerley was unequivocal about his readiness.
On his part, Jacobs is relishing his Nairobi debut and another match-up with the American Kerley, who raced here last September over 200m setting a personal best 19.76 sec and the 27-year-old Italian has promised a fast time.
African champion and homeboy Ferdinand Omanyala ran an African record 9.77sec to finish second to American Trayvon Bromell in the last meeting here and the fast-rising star says this year is going to be different.
Just before the dust settles in the 100m race Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price, the three-time Olympic gold medallist will take on rising Namibian star Christine Mboma, the Olympic 200m silver medallist.
The 35-year-old Fraser-Price opened her outdoor season with a second-place finish in a 200m in Jamaica in April.
Fraser is happy with the quality field entered for the 100m although her anticipated clash with Sha’Carri Richardson was scratched out after the American dropped out of the meeting.
All in All, the man for whom the home fans will be cheering though is Africa’s fastest man, Omanyala, who has earned a propensity for bringing the crowd to its feet whenever he takes to the lane.
