Jamaican sprinter Junelle Bromfield (© Getty Images)
For all their sprint success, Jamaica has never won the women’s 400m title in the 30-year history of these championships, but in Junelle Bromfield and Tiffany James they have two athletes who are capable of ending that drought in Bydgoszcz.
Bromfield is the quicker of the two this year, having clocked 51.74 in Kingston back in March, but she finished runner-up to James at the Jamaican U20 Championships last month, 52.59 to 52.06.
The strongest challenge to the Jamaican duo may come from Nigeria’s Yinka Ajayi, who took almost two seconds off her PB this year, lowering it to 52.65 in Abuja. She went on to challenge the seniors at the African Championships in Durban last month, bowing out at the semi-final stage with a run of 53.54.
Cuba’s Roxana Gomez is another with title-winning credentials. The Cuban 17-year-old finished fifth at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali last year and has been a consistent performer this year, clocking her PB of 52.26 in La Habana last month.
Kenya’s Maureen Nyatichi Thomas has also been in impressive form this year, the 18-year-old lowering her PB to 52.40 at the national championships in Nairobi back in May, and it will be no surprise if she gets among the medals when the final takes place on Thursday night.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF
