Startlist:
Ashmeade
Bailey-Cole
Collins
Gay
Powell
Rodgers
Thompson
Vicaut
What a line-up! Another hugely interesting 100m race, for many reasons:
Will Gay survive uninjured, will he exhibit any sort of start, by how far will he win, and will he shut it down during the race?
Powell gets a shot at redemption against KBC and Ash who both beat him at nationals, and KBC and Ash will want to prove that he didn't just have a bad day, that they are genuinely better than he is now.
The journeymen Collins and Rodgers will of course be running, they run every race they can. They just ran in Birmingham on the weekend. I have no idea when they find time to train effectively, but both of them are as good as they ever were.
Vicaut will be there to try to redeem his mediocre Birmingham performance and his lame Ostrava performance. He had better start showing something soon--you can only give the guy so many chances before he has to start producing, and consistently, at that. At least he's uninjured and competing.
The competitors will get to measure themselves against the year's best, Gay, to see just how far behind they are. They will get to see how their second-halves stack up against a really good one.
This will be a one-off race, and so Powell might do alright, especially since he has presumably been resting and training since Ostrava--however, I'm predicting that if he draws a lane anywhere near KBC and/or Ashmeade, that he will panic and bail, unless he is comfortably ahead at 75.
He seems to do OK if next to Collins, because he knows he can run him down--but KBC and Ash are a different matter. It will be critical for Powell to NOT fold when Gay goes out in front, to maintain his composure and complete his race, because he needs to beat KBC and Ash, convincingly if possible, if he wants to build credibility with the Jamaican relay selectors.
KBC has been getting really good, but I don't think he necessarily travels very well, and he's still inconsistent. I pick Ash over him in this race just because Ash is more consistent, but I think that KBC is the faster man over 100m right now. I could see him going 9.8x-high if conditions permit.
Order: Gay - Ash - Powell
I'm predicting KBC to not have a good race based on his earlier inconsistency.
I desperately want Collins to go sub-10 wind-legal, and for Vicaut to finally go sub-10. Forecast is light winds, mid-upper 60's F, and clear. A tad bit cool, but nothing to worry about.