Fred Kerley and Michael Norman (© Getty Images / JAAF)
World gold medallists Fred Kerley and Michael Norman will renew their rivalry when they go head-to-head in the 100m at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, this season’s fourth World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, in Yokohama, Japan, on 21 May.
Kerley claimed the 100m crown at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Oregon, where his US compatriot Norman won the 400m title. The versatile sprinters have previously clashed in 10 finals across the 100m, 200m and 400m, Kerley leading that head-to-head 6-4. The world 100m champion, who claimed Olympic 100m silver in Tokyo, has finished ahead of Norman in their two contests over the shorter distance, while they are matched on one win apiece in the 200m and their head-to-head record in 400m finals stands at 3-3.
Kerley has the quicker 100m PB, 9.76 to 9.86, while Norman is faster in the 200m and 400m, with respective lifetime bests of 19.70 and 43.45 compared to Kerley’s 19.76 and 43.64.
Now they clash in the 100m for the third time and both athletes will be looking to make a statement in another World Championships year as Kerley competes at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix for the first time and Norman returns to the event at which he claimed 400m victory in 2022.
The Yokohama 100m will also feature Japan’s Ryuichiro Sakai, plus Australia’s Rohan Browning and Jake Doran.
Joining Kerley and Norman at the Golden Grand Prix will be their compatriot Michael Cherry, a member of USA’s winning 4x400m teams at the Olympics in Tokyo and World Championships in Doha. He will contest the 400m against USA’s Kahmari Montgomery and Japan’s Fuga Sato and Kaito Kawabata.
Another sprint star has also been confirmed for the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya, with Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce returning to the Continental Tour Gold meeting on 13 May.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on her way to a 100m win in Nairobi (© AFP / Getty Images)
The five-time world 100m champion has already been announced for the Continental Tour Gold event in Gaborone, Botswana, on 29 April and after that she will travel to Kenya, to the scene of her 10.67 season opener last year.
