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Friday, March 29, 2024

Knott: It’s championship time

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The time has come for Filipino-American sprinter Kristina Marie Knott to show what she can do best in the women’s 200-meter sprints of the Tokyo Olympics.

Kristina Knott

But first, the 25-year-old Knott will have to get past some of the stumbling blocks that are in her way of reaching the semifinals.

First, Knott will have to deal with world no. 13 American sprinter Jenna Prandini, a two-time national champion in 2015 and 2018, and a 2016 Olympian, who finished 10th in Rio de Janeiro.

Second, Gambia’s track queen Gina Bass, also known as the “poor Olympian,” will be out to prove herself after overcoming major challenges in training, while going through COVID-19 restrictions.

“It’s championship time. And anything to do with tapering should have been done weeks before. At this point, you should have given everything you worked for and it will hopefully show at the competition,” said Knott.

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It will be an interesting encounter with Prandini, who accepted  an unexpected role when she was named as the replacement for Sha’Carri Richardson in the women’s 100 meters.

Knott had already faced the world no. 14 ranked Richardson in a women’s 100-meter run in a  Miramar invitational last April. But Richardson, who won the 100 meters  at the US Olympic Trials, won’t be around as she was suspended last June 30 after testing positive for marijuana. Richardson is world no. 6 in the women’s 100.

“Tapering time is now over. It’s now time to show off and show out,” added Knott.

Bass has made headlines for sweating it out at her country’s independent stadium and  worked towards her Olympic dreams, even though it was not a standard training facility.

Despite shortcomings encountered  in training, Bass was able to secure an Olympic qualification at the 2019 African Games following an upset win  Cote d’Ivoire’s star Marie Josee Talou.

Prandini and Bass will be a challenge since their season’s best time are 21.89 seconds, and 22.62 seconds respectively.

And then, there’s Australian Riley Day, who is known for having 22.77 seconds as her fastest time this year.

Knott, with a season best time of 23.17 seconds, will need to go below 23 seconds to become one of the top three sprinters in her heat to reach the finals.

Coached by Roshaan Griffin, Knott has been trying out new technology and making the necessary adjustments since her first days of training in Southern Nagasaki in Japan.

Knott got a feel of how it’s like to wear carbon fibre-plated kicks, while working out exclusively at the Transcosmos track and field stadium in Isahaya City

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