J’CAN INVASION! - 10 locals to compete at NY meet on Sunday

IN-FORM SPRINT hurdlers Danielle Williams and Britany Anderson lead a strong Jamaican contingent to this Sunday's New Balance Grand Prix in New York (NY).

The group of 10 Jamaicans also includes 2016 Olympic 110-metre hurdles champion, Omar McLeod, 2021 Olympic finalists Natoya Goule-Tappin and Christopher Taylor, and Olympic relay gold medallist Briana Williams.

Danielle Williams, the 2015 World 100-metre hurdles champion, and Anderson, are coming off big 60-hurdle wins, with both setting personal bests last weekend. Williams produced a time of 7.84 seconds for victory in Karlsruhe, Germany, to join Gillian Russell-Love at joint number three on the Jamaican all-time performance list, and Anderson, the 2017 World Under-18 champion, took top spot at the Millrose Games in 7.91 seconds. They will meet the fast American pair of 2018 World Indoor silver medallist Christina Clemons and Olympic finalist Gabrielle Cunningham.

McLeod and Briana Williams will go in the flat 60-metre races. McLeod did 6.70 seconds at the Millrose Games to open his 2022 season and will match spikes with fast-starting Ronnie Baker, the American who was a 100-metre finalist last year at the Olympics. Also in this 60-metre field are former St Jago High School standout Kevaughn Rattray, and Ryiem Forde, who impressed during his days at Jamaica College.

Briana Williams, still just 19, will face Americans Aleia Hobbs and Mikiah Brisco for the third time this season and will hope to reverse her fortunes after placing third and fourth behind the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based training partners on their home track and then at Millrose. Williams matched her personal best - 7.18 seconds in the Baton Rouge preliminary round on January 14 and placed fourth at Millrose in 7.22 seconds on the 29th.

Goule-Tappin, who was second in the Millrose 800m, will race Samantha 'Sammy' Watson, the former World Under-18 and Under-20 champion. With her 31st birthday just over the horizon in March, Goule-Tappin looks steady. The 2019 Pan-American Games winner opened her season with a win over 1000 metres, in two minutes 41.03 seconds on January 14, and logged a time of 2.02.14 behind four-time World Championship bronze medallist Ajee Wilson at Millrose.

Like Anderson, Goule and McLeod, Taylor is coming to his second New York meet in two weekends. He outlasted American Vernon Norwood to win the 400 metres at Millrose and goes with compatriot Johnoy Thompson in the New Balance 200 metres. The field includes Josephus Lyles, who Taylor beat to win the 2015 World Under-18 400 metres title, and 2016 World Indoor 60-metre champion, Trayvon Bromell.

Jordan Scott will carry a Jamaican leading triple jump mark of 16.27 metres into a contest that will feature two-time Olympic silver medal winner Will Claye of the United States. Twice the Jamaican champion, Scott was the National Collegiate Athletic Association indoor triple jump winner in 2019.