US sprinter Felix back in hunt for 200m domination

OSLO

Allyson Felix will seek out a further step back towards recovery after an injury-plagued 2013 when she races her preferred 200m at Thursday’s Diamond League in Oslo.

A four-time Olympic gold winner, Felix has been one of the dominant figures over the distance, winning three consecutive world titles, the first coming in Helsinki in 2005.

Last season, however, was one to forget, the American winning only two Diamond races before crashing out of the Moscow world championships 200m with a hamstring injury.

It was a far cry from 2012, when she claimed Olympic gold in not only the 200m, but also the 4x100 and 4x400m relays, guaranteeing her place as one of the most decorated athletes in the sport’s history.

Finished fifth in 400m at Shanghai.

On paper, at least, Felix, who finished fifth in the 400m at Shanghai last month, is well ahead of her rivals on Wednesday. The only sprinter to have gone sub-22sec, her season’s best of 22.44sec is also fastest, followed by Ivorian Murielle Ahoure’s 22.61.

The US-educated Ahoure claimed double sprint silver in the Moscow worlds and will likely be Felix’s main contender in the push for the line.

In the men’s 100m, veteran Kim Collins of the St Kitts and Nevis will be up against a welter of younger competitors, notably rising French star Jimmy Vicaut and Britain’s surprise world indoor 60m champion Richard Kilty.

Vicaut, Ghana-born Norwegian Jaysuma Saidy Ndure and Trinidad and Tobago’s 2008 Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson have all clocked 9.95sec this season.