Marlou van Rhijn and Stef Reid also among athletes announced for the street athletics event on May 26
One of the biggest rivalries in para-athletics will be renewed when Jonnie Peacock and Richard Browne line up in the 100m at this month’s Arcadis Great CityGames Manchester.
Two-time Paralympic champion Peacock will take on three-time world gold medallist Browne in the T44 100m race on a specially-constructed track in the city centre of Manchester, which will be shown live on BBC Two on Friday May 26.
The pair have enjoyed a fierce rivalry over the last five years and are expected to lock horns again in this summer’s World Para Athletics Championships in London.
They will relish the opportunity to face off this month, with German sprinter Felix Streng and South African Arnu Fourie completing a top-class quartet of athletes in the sport’s blue riband event.
Browne missed the 2016 season after being involved in a car crash, but the American is targeting 2017 with the World Para Athletics Championships on the horizon.
Peacock successfully defended his Paralympic title in Rio last summer and the 23-year-old is a big fan of street-level athletics events such as the Arcadis Great CityGames Manchester.
“The CityGames are great fun. The first time I was invited to one was 2013, just after London. They’re so different from everything else,” he said.
“There’s always four lanes so it’s competitive and there’s always a couple of really strong guys there. Being so close to the crowd warming up on a stage arena is cool. It’s different and the public always seem to eat it up, which is awesome.”
Marlou van Rhijn will compete in the women’s T44 100m, where the Dutch three-time Paralympic gold medallist will take on Britain’s Sophie Kamlish, Stef Reid and Laura Sugar.
The sprint track, a 250m length of specially constructed running surface, will be moved for 2017, at a new location further down Deansgate, alongside Great Northern Warehouse.
The Arcadis Great CityGames Manchester is completely free to spectate. Taking athletics out of the stadium and on to the streets it will give thousands of spectators the opportunity to experience the sport from a unique perspective, while showcasing the best of Manchester on a live 90-minute programme on BBC Two and BBC Two HD from 6pm.
