Two-time European champion and 2020 Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs headlines a glittering 100m line-up at the Raiffeisen Austrian Open Eisenstadt, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, on Wednesday (1) evening.
The Raiffeisen Austrian Open Eisenstadt will be streamed live on the European Athletics YouTube channel from 6.45pm CEST without any restrictions and will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary.
Who's competing?
Jacobs is one of three Olympic champions, as well as one of three sprinters with sub-10 second season’s bests, who have been announced. The Italian will face a line-up including 2016 Olympic 400m champion and world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk from South Africa and Brendon Rodney, who was part of Canada’s gold medal-winning team in the 4x100m at the 2024 Olympics.
But based on recent form, Jacobs’ biggest rivals are likely to be Germany’s Owen Ansah and Romell Glave from Great Britain, both of whom have clocked 9.98 this year and are ranked equal second behind Jacobs who leads the 2026 European 100m list with 9.96.
A winning time under the 10 second-barrier seems highly likely if the conditions allow although the meeting record of 9.82 set by Jamaica’s Bryan Levell last year will almost certainly remain intact.
A strong European line-up has also been assembled for the men’s 200m including European silver medallist Filippo Tortu from Italy who will make his season’s debut. He will face sub-20 second performer Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake from Great Britain and German record-holder Joshua Hartmann.
In the women’s 100m, there will be a reasonable chance of an Austrian victory with Christania Williams and national record-holder Isabel Posch among the entrants although the probable favourite is Germany’s Rebekka Haase who recently set a 100m PB of 11.04 on Austrian soil in St. Polten, beating Posch who set a national record of 11.10 in the same race.
With European champion Victoria Hudson absent, the focus of attention from an Austrian standpoint will be on European U23 110m hurdles champion Enzo Diessl and European silver medallist Lukas Weisshaidinger who have credible prospects of victories in the 110m hurdles and discus respectively.
Another highlight from an international perspective will be the 100m hurdles featuring Jamaicans Britany Anderson and Megan Simmonds who possess lifetime bests of 12.31 and 12.34 respectively.
Ukrainian veteran Lyudmyla Olyanovska will also target the world best in the seldom-contested one mile race walk. The world best has stood at 6:16.72 to Sada Eidikyte since 1990.