( L - R )CAMPBELL AND WILLIAMS
NEW YORK CITY, New York (CMC):
ORGANISERS OF next month's 99th Millrose Games are building up the sprint bang between Jamaica's Olympic champion Veronica Campbell and World Champion Lauryn Williams, of the United States, as the major attraction at the meet.
The pair will clash in an anticipated explosive 60-metre run at the February 3 renewal of the Millrose Games, arguably the most prestigious event on the indoor track and field calendar in the U.S.
Campbell, who became the first Caribbean woman to win an Olympic sprint title when she landed 200-metre gold in Athens in 2004, relishes the challenge and says Williams will bring out the best in her.
"I have a lot of respect for Lauryn and all of my competitors. In order to do well, you have to have somebody there. A true champion always needs somebody there to push them. It should be a really great race," Campbell said.
"I know a lot of people are looking forward to it," she added.
Williams, the reigning Pan American Games 100-metre champion, scored her biggest career win when she toppled Campbell (silver) to land the World Championship 100-metre crown in Helsinki last summer and admits her rivalry with the 23-year-old Jamaican motivates her.
"When I'm training, I'm trying to beat Veronica, when I'm going to cheat on a sit-up, I think, 'What would Veronica be doing right now?" said Williams.
HUGE JAMAICAN SUPPORT
Campbell also sees the huge support from the Jamaican community in New York for the Madison Square Garden meet as a plus for her.
"I'm excited to come to the Millrose Games. There's a lot of concentration of Jamaicans in New York, so I'm looking forward to competing in New York. I have a lot of friends in New York," she said.
Campbell, still to decide whether she will compete at the World Indoor Championship in Russia in March, is slated to compete at the Norwich Union Indoor meet in Scotland on January 28 before the Millrose Games and the February 10 Tyson Invitational in Arkansas.
