By Amy Tennery
PARIS (Reuters) - Jamaica and the United States will renew their sprint rivalry at the Stade de France, as old grudges bubble to the surface across the Paris Olympics athletics programme which kicks off this week.
The track and field events at the Tokyo Olympics may be better remembered for good sportsmanship than bitter feuds, as the world came together in the face of a global pandemic to carry out the COVID-delayed Games.
Not so in Paris where the masks, and the gloves, are off.
U.S. world champions Noah Lyles and Sha'Carri Richardson are set to collide with a host of talented newcomers and established stars from longstanding rival Jamaica in the 100 metres.
"Rivalries have to be nurtured correctly – if they happen too often, then people get bored. If they happen too few, then again people get disappointed," said Lyles.
"It's something that has to be intentional, for sure. But at the same time, both parties have to agree with it."
Jamaica's men were absent from the Tokyo final but are fully expected to make a big impact this time around.
Rising star Oblique Seville handed Lyles his only 100 metres defeat of the season in Kingston last month, while Kishane Thompson captured the pre-Olympic spotlight with a 9.77 seconds world lead at the Jamaican national championships.
The rivalry resumes on the women's side too after the U.S. struggled to make an impact in Tokyo without Richardson, who was denied a place at the Games due to a positive cannabis test.
America's brightest hope of ending a 28-year gold medal drought in the women's event, she will compete alongside Jamaica's 2008 and 2012 Olympics 100 metres gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and five-time medallist Shericka Jackson.
"If the Americans are in the field, I'm sure that the Jamaicans are like, 'Oh my gosh, I've got to bring my A-game'," Gail Devers, the last U.S. woman to win the 100 metres after she took gold in Atlanta, told Reuters.
"And (it's) the same way with the U.S."
'THE NEXT GUY'
In the men's 1,500 metres, defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen resumes his feud with Britain's Josh Kerr, who denied him the world championship crown last year.
The two have traded barbs since Budapest, with the Norwegian calling Kerr "just the next guy" and saying he expects his trip to Paris will be a breeze.
Kerr got the better of Ingebrigtsen in their last meeting over the mile at the Prefontaine Classic in May, and it will be game on Paris.
"The headlines will be me versus him but I will be racing those other guys on the line too. I'm the best in the world," Kerr said in remarks reported by the Daily Record.
"I'm looking to go to war."
The old foes in the 400 hurdles - Norwegian world record holder Karsten Warholm, American Rai Benjamin and Brazilian Alison dos Santos - will get a rematch after finishing first, second and third on the podium in Tokyo.
The trio's rivalry intensified after Tokyo, as Dos Santos claimed gold at the world championships in Eugene in 2022 and Warholm won in Budapest last year.
American Benjamin has vowed to make an impact in Paris.
"Paris is going to be madness. I have to win there. I believe I can do it," he told reporters after beating his two adversaries at the Monaco Diamond League earlier this month.
The Olympic athletics programme kicks off on Aug. 1.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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