Moscow: Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price leads Jamaica's charge for a 100 metres double at the world championships on Monday following hot on the heels of Usain Bolt's rain-swept victory on Sunday. Arch rivals Jamaica and the US each have four sprinters through to the semi-finals, including American defending champion Carmelita Jeter.
Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare, who won a long jump silver on Sunday, is ranked second in the world behind Fraser-Pryce and has shown the form to end the 11-year domination of this event by U.S. and Jamaica athletes or at the very least become the first African woman to win a world sprint medal. The final also takes on Monday when six gold medals will be decided.
The 110 metres hurdlers also have semis and final (1830) to negotiate and defending champion Jason Richardson is optimistic of an American sweep of the medals.
"Cleanliness is next to Godliness so it won't matter if we sweep up in the race," he said. The track is extremely fast, I'm excited to see what I can do."
World record holder Aries Merritt, fastest man of 2013, David Oliver, and surprise US champion Ryan Wilson complete the American lineup. Amantle Montsho was the fastest in the semi-finals as she attempts to join Australia's Cathy Freeman as the only women to land back-to-back world 400 titles (1605).
The heptathlon gets underway, with the 100 metres hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m, minus world champion Tatyana Chernova and Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill who are both injured. France's Renaud Lavillenie is a big favourite for the men's pole vault (1500) with the world title the only one missing from his collection.
The Frenchman, who cleared 6.02 metres at the London Diamond League meeting last month, has won at the Olympics, world indoors and European championships indoors and out The practically invincible Valerie Adams, unbeaten in 38 competitions, goes for a fourth successive world crown in the shot put (1625) while in the men's hammer (1630) home favourite Sergey Litvinov hopes to go one better than the silver his father managed in the stadium at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
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