Florence, Italy: World 100m champion Fred Kerley will again miss out on a chance to test himself against absent Olympic gold medallist Marcell Jacobs, but the field for the blue riband event at the Florence Diamond League today still oozes class.
Jacobs also pulled out of last weekend’s Diamond League meet in Rabat, meaning there has not been a showdown between the pair since the Italian trumped Kerley for a shock gold at the Tokyo Olympics, pushed back a year to 2021.
“I’m not upset that he’s not competing,” Kerley said of Jacobs, who withdrew with a back injury.
“I just wish him health and that he gets back to 100 percent.”
Kerley will notably line up with US teammates Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell, the duo who completed the world championship podium in Oregon last year.
Kerley, winner of the meeting in Rome last year in 9.92sec before conquering the US championships and taking the world gold in Eugene, will also be up against Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala.
Omanyala has the fastest time of the season, 9.84sec run in Nairobi, but was second to Kerley in Rabat.
Completing the line-up will be Jamaica’s 2011 world champion Yohan Blake, South African Akani Simbine, Italy’s surprise European indoor champion Samuele Ceccarelli and Australian Rohan Browning.
“It will be a chance to test myself against high-level rivals, I’ll try to have something to say,” said Ceccarelli.
Fred Kerley
