The presence of reigning world women’s 200-meter champion Dina Asher-Smith at the International Meeting City of Savona-Memorial Giulio Ottolia will make the 10th edition of the tournament quite interesting.
And Filipino-American Olympic aspirant Kristina Knott will be there to soak up the world-class competition at the Fontanassa sports center in Savona, Italy on Thursday.
The second part of tournament will be held on May 19 in Castiglione, where Knott will also be around to seek qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.
While Asher-Smith is expected to put up a big show in Savona, world and Olympic medalist Marie Josée Ta Lou will also be around to make her presence felt as well.
“Savona and Castiglione have turned out to be huge international competitions with some great entries, one being the reigning world champion at 200m in Dina Asher-Smith in Savona and world and Olympic medalist Marie Josée Ta Lou in both Savona and Castiglione,” said Knott’s coach Rohsaan Griffin.
Joining the fray is Ivet Lalova, a Bulgarian sprinter, who placed fifth in the 2004 Athens Games. She is seen as Asher-Smith’s main challenger.
Twenty-year-old Dalia Kaddari from Sardinia and the Italian junior record holder, will also be there with Scottish bet Beth Dobbin, along with Knott and Australian record holder Jacinta Beecher.
Since April, Knott has been getting into the groove again after she came up with one of her best showing in nine months.
Knott, who hopes to hit the Olympic qualification time of 22.8 seconds, took a bronze medal in the women’s 200-meter Olympic Development Race in 23.17 seconds at the 2021 Louisiana State University Alumni Gold Athletics meet in Baton Rouge.
This came an hour after she almost set a new national record in the 100-meter dash as the 5’6” Knott clocked 11.28 seconds.
Her time, which came close to a national record-breaking performance in August last year, was good for a fifth-place finish, behind Alelia Hobbs, who earned first place in 10.91 seconds.
This time, Knott hopes to get a better performance in the presence of Asher-Smith, known as the fastest British female sprinter.
At the 2019 World Championship in Doha, Asher-Smith ruled the women’s 200-meters with a British record of 21.88 seconds.
