The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

It has been over two weeks since Shaunae Miller and Allyson Felix faced off in the most widely discussed race of the 2016 track and field season, and the IAAF Diamond League continues to provide a platform to discuss a possible rematch between the two quartermilers.

In a press conference just ahead of today’s Diamond League meeting in Zurich, Felix was asked about her rivalry with Miller and the prospects for the future of the head-to-head matchup.

“It’s a fun rivalry. The 400m is an event that’s always a challenge for me, you know it isn’t my favourite, but it’s fun when I get to race against her [Miller] and I think that we’ll have a lot of great races to come,” she said.

“I think it was a good race in the Olympics. Of course I had hoped for more from myself, but with the year that I had I was happy to look back and see what I’ve accomplished.”

Miller will not participate in Zurich’s Weltklasse meeting, but Felix will contest the 200m against Diamond Race leader Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands, Olympic sprint double champion Elaine Thompson and veteran Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica.

“I’ve struggled with injuries a lot this year, so I’m happy to be here and I’m excited for this race. I don’t know if anything can compensate for what happened in Rio, but the 200m is my favourite event, so any time I get to run it, I enjoy it.

“I am also happy about what I accomplished in the 400m. It was very nice to be back home afterwards. Track and field is not the main sport in the US so it was fun to see the fans after the Olympics highlights.”

Miller’s personal best of 49.44 seconds for the gold medal in Rio has her sitting on top of the IAAF top list in the women’s 400 metres. Felix follows with her silver medal run of 49.51.

Between the two, they share the top six times posted this year.

The women’s 400m will not be contested in Zurich, but Miller will chase the Diamond Race title in Brussels on September 9.

She now stands in second position in the women’s 400m with 30 points behind Jamaica’s Stephanie Ann-McPherson who leads with 31. Natasha Hastings of the United States is third with 28 points.

In recent years, Felix has held the edge in the matchup between the two, including a win in the semi-finals in Rio, and at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.

The men’s 400m will be contested in Zurich, and Steven Gardiner will contest the field which also includes Olympic bronze medallist LaShawn Merritt of the United States, and Olympic finalists Isaac Makwala of Botswana and Bralon Taplin of Grenada.