3. Schippers vs Thompson & Felix
Two of the aforementioned women were part of the world’s second fastest women’s 200m final EVER, a race which propelled them to the Top 5 on the all-time list, edging the third woman to 6th position overall. This was none other than the women’s 200m final in Beijing last year which Dafne Schippers won with a blistering Championship Record (CR) and European Record (ER) of 21.63s.
Elaine Thompson stormed to the Silver medal with an equally astonishing 21.66s! Even more remarkable was the fact that a feat of this magnitude was achieved in the absence of Allyson Felix who has won everything there is to win in the women’s 200m including three world titles, an Olympic GOLD and four Diamond Race titles. The American opted for the 400m in Beijing, but will be going for the 200m/400m double in Rio this August.
The International Athletics Association Federations (IAAF) adjusted the timetable to suit Felix’s ambition to go for the double and it will be worth seeing how she fares against Schippers and Thompson, who pushed her to 6th place on the all-time list. Arguably the most decorated women’s 200m specialist, can Felix muster enough will power to successfully ward off the challenge posed by this duo, considering that she’s also gunning for the 400m title?
All three athletes competed in the same race for the first time at the Brussels Diamond League, a few weeks after the World Championships last year. Schippers triumphed, with Felix and Thompson following in 2nd and 3rd positions respectively. It was the Dutch woman’s 5th head-to-head encounter with Felix and she currently leads the record 3-2, including victories in Glasgow and Zurich in 2014. Reigning Olympic champion Felix took the upper hand in Brussels in 2014 and Lausanne last year.
Thompson is also one to watch out for, seeing that she still has so much to offer after a breakthrough year in 2015, running a World Lead (WL) of 10.92s in the 100m, before beating Felix and Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare at the Jamaica Invitational. She also clocked a Meeting Record (MR) and then PB of 22.10s at the London Grand Prix, before her scorching race in Beijing. Which of these women will rule the 200m in 2016? We’re keeping our fingers crossed!
I want know if Nigeria has any hope in the coming Rio Olympics. Thanks.
Well, we can only be hopeful. It’s a tough call, but anything can happen.
As long as the rivalry between Nigel AMOS and Rudisha (800m) is not in the list then the expected excitement in the league is incomplete.
Hi Ogopotse, the rivalry between Nijel Amos and David Rudisha is the real deal and cannot be ignored, so we put it in a different article titled ‘Top 6 African Athletics Rivalries in 2016’. Here is the link: https://www.makingofchamps.com/2016/02/01/8321/. Thanks!