RAYMOND GRAHAM, STAR Writer

WORLD Indoor 60 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of the MVP Track and Field Club will open her season today at the Queen's/Grace Jackson Meet at the National Stadium, where she will defend her 60m title.

Fraser-Pryce, who won the 60m title at the World Indoor Championships last year in Sopot, Poland, will have team-mate Carrie Russell as her main rival in today's event, which will get under way at 4 p.m.

The athlete will be hoping to better her winning time of 7.11 seconds done last year.

Russell and GC Foster College's Audra Segree will be hoping to surprise the defending champion.

Nesta Carter, also of MVP, will be in action today as he will defend his 60m men's title.

improving

Carter, who finished seventh in the event in Poland last year, won a year ago at this meet in 6.52 seconds and will be challenged by the improving Julian Forte, who also works out at the University of Technology-based MVP.

There will also be competition for senior athletes in the 200m, 400m, and 800m.

In the 800m, former national 400m champion Jermaine Gonzales of Cameron Blazers Track Club, after a long break from the track due to injury, will make his appearance in the two-lap event.

The meet will begin at 8:30 a.m with action in the 400m for Class Three Boys. Other events include the 400m for Class Three females; 200m in all classes; sprint relays, which will be on for the first time this year; 800m open male; Girls' 70m hurdles; Class One Boys' 110m hurdles; triple jump; long jump; high jump; javelin; and shot put.

Top high school male teams Calabar, Kingston College, Jamaica College, and St Jago High will be in action.

One event set to attract a lot of attention will be the Class One Boys' 400m, where the likes of St Jago High duo Nathon Allen and Martin Manley, along with Jamaica College's Devaughn Baker and Kingston College's Twayne Crooks will be hoping to send strong statements.

The meet will end with the running of the Girls' and Boys' 4x400m relay.