Five-time Olympic gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah is set to race indoors over 60m at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Saturday, February 19.

“I’m so excited to race in Birmingham to start my 2022 campaign,” said Thompson-Herah, whose personal best of 6.98 seconds, makes her joint-eighth all time in the event.

 “I have enjoyed competing in the UK over the years and there is always a special atmosphere at this venue. I ran my PB at this arena in 2017, so competing here means a lot to me. This year is a huge one. I have big goals for the World Athletics Championships later this summer, but first I’d like to give fans something to cheer about in Birmingham,” the reigning Jamaican sprint queen added.

In Birmingham, the triple gold medalist from last year’s Tokyo Olympics in Japan, will face Britain’s two-time Olympic bronze medallist Daryll Neita.

Neita, a finalist in the 100m in Tokyo, boasts a personal best of 7.21 over 60m and said she is looking forward to racing against the super-fast Jamaican over a shorter distance.

“The last time I raced Elaine indoors was in Birmingham in 2017 when she won, and I was fifth. Although she remains faster than me, I have to believe that the gap has closed since then and that with the backing of our brilliant British supporters, I can be more competitive this time around,” Neita said.

The Müller Indoor Grand Prix is the fifth World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting of 2022. There are seven gold-level meets across the series, starting with Karlsruhe on January 28 and culminating in Madrid on March 2.

Other athletes set to compete in Birmingham include Olympic pole vault champion Mondo Duplantis, world indoor 60m hurdles record-holder Grant Holloway, Olympic 1500m silver medalist Laura Muir and Olympic 800m silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson.