( L - R ) CAMPBELL AND WILLIAMS
THE WORLD'S two fastest women, Jamaica's sprint queen Veronica Campbell and American Lauryn Williams, renew their rivalry in Madison Square Garden, New York today.
Williams, who beat Olympic 200m champion and 100m bronze medallist Campbell for the world championship 100m crown last summer, will face off at today's 99th Millrose Games in the Adidas-sponsored women's 60-metre dash.
Campbell, the joint fastest woman over the 60m dash last year with her 7.09 clocking, and Williams (7.12) the third fastest so far this season, should face fireworks from other lanes around them in what organisers said is the strongest field in the history of the game.
American outdoor 100m champion Lisa Barber, 2004 NCAA 60m champion Muna Lee, 2005 Visa Champion Angela Daigle-Bowen, two-time World Indoor silver medalist Angela Williams and Olympic sprint relay gold medalist Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas are the other 'big guns' in the super field.
EXCITED
Barber defeated Williams, Daigle-Bowen and Ferguson to win the 60m in a career-best 7.09 in the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on January 28.
Campbell is excited about the race.
"I'm excited to come to the Millrose Games. There's a large 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," USA Track & Field's website quoted Campbell last month.
Campbell, Jamaica's national sprint champion, anticipates a hot race with Williams and the other competitors.
"Lauryn (Williams) is a great competitor and I always have fun competing with her," she said. "This is going to be a very fun race. It should be really good competition.
"I have a lot of respect for Lauryn and all of my competitors. In order to do well, you have to have somebody there.
GOOD RACE
"A true champion always needs somebody there to push them. It should be a really great race. I know a lot of people are looking forward to it," she said.
Williams also expects a good race.
"I think it's going to be an exciting race," said the American. "I know she's training hard. That's the sort of person she is," Williams told USA Track & Field website.
Another Jamaican, Andrea Bliss will feature in the women's 60m hurdles.
Bliss, a silver medallist from last year's CAC Championships will line-up against veteran Gail Devers, who has won two Olympic gold medals, three World Outdoor championships and five Millrose crowns. Olympic gold medalist Joanna Hayes will also compete.
In the rarely run 500m, former Jamaica 400m champion and Olympic finalist Michael Blackwood will face Bershawn Jackson, the World 400m Hurdles champion, LaShawn Merritt and Leonard Byrd.
