THE FASTEST MAN in Barbados – at least for today – will be crowned tonight at the end of the 100 metres.

The annual Pacers Invitational gets under way from 3 p.m. at the National Stadium, and will feature athletes from the schools and clubs, as well as those who represented Barbados with distinction at the CARIFTA Games in St Kitts last month.

There will be no race for the Under-20 boys', so Inter-School Champion Renaldo Bailey and Rachad Forde of Pacers and Shekeim Greaves of Wibisco Stars, will be thrown in with the men. Rising Stars' Elroy Agard dominated the short sprint on grass, but Jamal Simmons and Jamil Jones may also be tossed into the mix for a good, competitive event.

The women's race should also be a ding-dong affair with Sadé Greene of Quantum Leap and Tameka Rawlins of Track and Field Academy. Greene made a breakthrough at the CARIFTA Games with a personal best clocking of 11.76 seconds, but Rawlins has the better record in head-to-head matchups.

The 400 metres should also be very competitive.

The men's 3 000 metres should also be an exciting affair, with CARIFTA champion Matthew Wright coming up against 5 000 metres silver medallist Christian Rock and Jason Wilson, all of Elite Distance, as well as Jason Gilkes who has been making a name for himself in road races.

The hurdles should be exciting as usual, and will pit the Rising Stars duo of Kierre Beckles, the Under-20 CARIFTA champion, and Kenrisha Brathwaite, the Under-17 silver medallist over the 84-cm height.

The usual complement of field events will be on the programme, with the exception of the javelin and discus as the infield is out of bounds.

After the excitement and strong competition from last week's Relay Cup, it should be a good meet. The Pacers Invitational continues tomorrow at 2 p.m. (SAT)