Diamond League debut for Amber Anning, Nickisha Pryce in London

Shawn Price July 19, 2024

LONDON – Razorback sprinters Amber Anning and Nickisha Pryce make their debut in a Diamond League meet on Saturday at the London Olympic Stadium as they both race in the 400m.

Also competing in the meet are Sandi Morris, Ryan Crouser, Shamier Little, and Andrenette Knight. Coverage of the meet will be available on Peacock TV and CNBC at 8 a.m. (CT).

With some athletes enroute to Paris for the Olympic Games, which begin a week from today with the Opening Ceremony on July 26, the London Diamond League provides an opportunity for elite competition until the track and field portion begins on August 2 in Paris.

Pryce, a two-time Jamaica champion, headlines the 400m field with her 48.89 career best which set a Jamaican and collegiate record earlier this season. Anning, the recent UK Athletics 400m champion, is one of three British sprinters in the London race as she is joined by Laviai Nielsen and Victoria Ohuruogu.

Lane assignments have Anning in lane 4 with Pryce in lane 6. Also in the 400m field are Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands, Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland, along with Americans Talitha Diggs and Lynna Irby-Jackson.

Little and Knight both race in the 400m hurdles after they each finished fourth in the U.S. and Jamaica Trials, respectively. Both were named to relay pools for the Olympic Games. Little will race in lane 5 with Knight in lane 8.

Racing in lane 6 is Femke Bol of the Netherlands, who headlines the 400m hurdles field having produced a career best time of 50.95 in a recent race. That time ranks Bol as the second best performer with the third fastest performance behind the pair of world records (50.65, 50.68) set by Sydney McLaughlin.

Crouser, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is one of four entrants in the London Diamond League shot put who have surpassed 75 feet. In addition to world record holder Crouser (77-3.75 | 23.56), three other entrants include Joe Kovacs (76-2.75 | 23.23), Leonardo Fabbri (75-3.5 | 22.95), and Tom Walsh (75-1.75 | 22.90).

Morris, who recently won a street vault in Memphis, Tennessee, following a fourth-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, is among a field of nine vaulters. The group includes American Katie Moon and Nina Kennedy of Australia, who shared the World Championship title in 2023, along with 2024 World Indoor champion Molly Caudery of Great Britain.