Wayde van Niekerk in Bellinzona (© Ti-Press / Alessandro Crinari (organisers))
World champions Noah Lyles, Steven Gardiner and Grant Holloway lead the fields for the adidas Boost Boston Games on Sunday 23 May, organisers of the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting confirmed on Tuesday (19).
Wayde van Niekerk and Dafne Schippers, back-to-back world champions in 2015 and 2017 over 400m and 200m respectively, are also set to compete at North America’s first and only ‘street meet’.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, no spectators will be permitted at this year’s adidas Boost Boston Games, but it will be shown live internationally via local broadcasters and the World Athletics YouTube channel.
Lyles, the world 200m and 4x100m champion, leads the men’s 100m field. The 23-year-old has twice won the 150m in Boston, and most recently won the 200m at the USATF Golden Games in 19.90, the third-fastest time in the world this year.
The men’s 200m is set to feature an exciting clash between Olympic 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk and world 400m champion Steven Gardiner. Van Niekerk, the 400m world record-holder, last competed in Boston in 2017, when he ran 19.84 to set the still-standing event record in the men’s 200m. Gardiner’s best for the straight 200m, meanwhile, is only a fraction slower at 19.88, set in Boston in 2018.
Schippers will be taking to the blocks on Sunday for her Boston debut. The seven-time global medallist will contest the 100m, where her she will face 2018 US champion Aleia Hobbs, who has clocked 10.91 so far this year.
Holloway, the world 110m hurdles champion and world indoor record-holder, will also be making his first appearance at the adidas Boost Boston Games.
The men’s and women’s 600m road races are set to take place earlier in the day. In the women’s event, world 800m bronze medallist Ajee’ Wilson takes on Jamaican 800m record-holder Natoya Goule. USA’s Bryce Hoppel, Canada’s Pan-American champion Marco Arop and Kenyan indoor 800m record-holder Michael Saruni will clash in the men’s race.
Organisers for World Athletics
