Thompson vs Miller-Uibo in Zurich

The Zurich Weltklasse has always been a jewel in the crown of the European track and field circuit and today, as part one of the 2019 Diamond League final, the Swiss city will host a brilliant field in the women's 200m. Jamaica's Elaine Thompson will face undefeated 2018 Commonwealth champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo in a race that could decide who is the queen of the curve.

Speaking yesterday, Thompson said her world leading time of 22.00 seconds from the National Senior Championships could be lowered in Zurich or at the World Championships next month.

"The girls are running fast and I was in a good decent shape at the National Trials, even though I don't think I'm been that close back to it after National Trials because I'm in the load for the season but if it break, no worries", said the 2016 Olympic champion at both 100 and 200m.

Lane assignments

Looking ahead she predicted, "It will break one day. I know the girls will be going faster, even if not tomorrow but in the World Championships."

Asked whether the lane assignments will affect the outcome in Zurich, she assessed, "I don't think so, because I'm not really a curve runner, so I will take less curve and more straight. Whichever lane takes me closer to the straight, I'll take that."

That may have been an oblique reference to the 2016 Olympic Games when she won the gold medal from lane six. That's the corridor used by the long-legged Miller-Uibo when she beat Thompson, this year in Monaco, 22.09 to 22.44 seconds.

The Zurich field also includes Britain's 2018 double European champion Dina Asher-Smith, who outlasted Thompson in chilly Stockholm, and two time World champion Dafne Schippers of Holland.

The tall Bahamian will focus on the 400m at the World, so Zurich is a virtual world championship for her.

"I've been training really, really hard, and I hope the results show tomorrow," Miller-Uibo said.

At the Commonwealth Games last year, Miller-Uibo won the gold medal, with Asher-Smith third and Thompson fourth.

Whether she wins the Diamond League first prize of US$50,000 in this 200m duel, Thompson sees the race as a stepping stone to Doha and the September 27 - October 6 World Championships. "I'm doubling, doing the 100 and the 200m," she said, "so doing both helps to prepare my body to the World Championships in less than five weeks."

Thompson will run the 100m at the second leg of the Diamond League final in Brussels on September 6.