Olympic Champion Marcell Jacobs To Grace the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi

• Olympic champion Jacobs confirms he will be in Nairobi to participate in the Kip Keino classic this weekend
• He will square it off with home hero Ferdinand Omanyala and Olympic silver medalist Fred Kerley
• Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will also be in the country to face off with the controversial Sha'Carri Richardson

Olympic 100 metres champion Marcell Jacobs has confirmed that he will participate at the Kip Keino Classic this weekend. Jacobs made the announcement on his Twitter page on Sunday, setting the stage for an epic showdown.

The Italian joins an already star-studded field that has Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala and American Fred Kerley. The Kip Keino Classic will take place on Saturday at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

The race, which is part of the continental Gold Tour Series, has already attracted a host of other top names in different categories. Jamaican superstar Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will headline the event in the 100m women's races.

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Fraser-Pryce is a multiple World and Olympic champion. She will square it off with another heavyweight American champion Sha’Carri Richardson. Richardson will be hoping to put her Tokyo 2020 Olympics troubles behind her and win in Nairobi.

The American had booked her ticket for the elite games but was banned by her country’s Anti-doping agency after it was discovered she was using weed during the trials.

This will be the second time that Kenya is hosting the games. Over 265 athletes competed last year with American Justin Gatlin in action for the 100-metre races. This year, the organisers are angling for a bigger event in the one-day meet.

Omanyala vs Jacobs

Home hero Ferdinand Omanyala will be looking to continue with his superb season when he squares it off with Jacobs and Kerley. Jacobs ran a time of 9.80 seconds in Tokyo to succeed Usain Bolt as the Olympic champion.

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Kerley finished second behind Jacobs in the Olympic games. He was also part of the team that clinched gold in the 4 by 400 metres relay at the World Championships in Doha three years ago.

CTGN reports that other stars expected in the country include Kenneth Bednarek who’s the reigning Olympic 200 metres silver medalist and his female counterpart Christine Mboma and Polish hammer throw champion Wojciech Nowicki.

Africa's biggest marathon

This weekend will also see Kenya host the Nairobi City Marathon. Sports Brief had earlier reported that the Marathon will be the biggest ever held on African soil due to its prize kitty. Athletes will compete in different categories such as the 5km, 10km, half marathon and marathon races.