BY RAYMOND GRAHAM, Freelance Writer

STAR Sports continues its countdown to the June 27-29 National Championships with a look at the women's 400 metres.

ONE of the most competitive events at the 2008 National Championships will be the women's 400 metres. The winner should come from either Kaliese Spencer, Novlene Williams or Shericka Williams, while spots for the relay team are up for grabs as the likes of Davita Prendergast, Sonita Sutherland, Rosemarie Whyte, Clora Williams, Shereefa Lloyd and Anastasia Le-Roy are hoping to upset the top three.

Top-ranked Shericka Williams, with her 50.34 seconds done in Eugene, Oregon, earlier this month, is not far ahead of the field. World Championships bronze medallist Novlene Williams (50.38), Kaliese Spencer (50.55) and Shereefa Lloyd (50.93) have all gone below 51 seconds this year and are bent on improving their times going into the Olympic Games.

Best form

After an excellent season in 2005 where she was the national champion, Shericka Williams seemed to have regained her best form and in her two outings, so far, she ran under 51 seconds and her last run, when she easily defeated the national champion, Novlene Williams, shows that she is ready.

Coming off the last curve in sixth place she showed great acceleration in the final 100m and only lost out to America's Mary Wineberg by two hundredths of a second for the silver. She was also gaining on winner Sanya Richards. If she improves on the early part of her race, she could turn this event into a no-contest.

Undoubtedly, Novlene Williams has been the country's best 400m runner since the retirement of Lorraine Fenton. She ran well in Osaka last year, when she came very close to the gold medal as she led for 395 metres, before being edged out by two Britons for the top two spots.

Fatigue

She will be seeking her third straight national title following victories in 2006 and 2007. Novlene has been very active on the track all season and in her last race she showed some fatigue, finishing fourth. The small break before the championships will be good for her. The most experienced athlete among the group, Novlene, will not go down that easily and could make it three consecutive years at the top.

In an interview with this reporter at the Penn Relays in April, coach of MVP Track Club, Stephen Francis, stated that Spencer is the most talented athlete he has ever conditioned and added that his charges, Spencer and Shericka Williams will be one-two at the championships, while acknowledging his respect for Novlene.

Francis does not make idle predictions and he could be right. He must have seen something special in Spencer to change her event from the intermediate hurdles, where she has had some success for the past two years. She was world junior champion in 2006 and runner-up last year at the senior trials.

Spencer made her debut in her new event with a bang in April when she posted an impressive 50.55 seconds in California, then the best time for the event in the world.

She has only competed in one other 400m race, which she ran much slower than her debut run. It was reported that at the time she was suffering a slight injury which contributed to a slower time. Spencer is seen as a favourite by some but winning will not be an easy task as she will face a very excellent field.

After posting a personal best (50.93) in California last month, world 4x400m silver medallist Shereefa Lloyd, the number four on the local list, will be seeking to improve on her third place finish last year.

In California she ran a blinder going out hard before fading towards the end. With some improvement on her endurance, she could create a major upset as she has the ability to go much faster.

Former NCAA outdoor champion, Clora Williams, the sister of Novlene, disappointed at the National Championships last year when she failed to make the team. Now out of college, she has been very busy on the circuit gaining valuable experience. She has a season best of 51.65, set in Puerto Rico last month.

One of the most talented 400m runners out of high school, Sonita Sutherland, could make a breakthrough this year. Sutherland, who two years ago clocked 51.13, was the talk of the town and seemed destined for the top. However, since leaving high school her form has dropped and last year she had a best time of 51.74. She was expected to make the team to Osaka but at the National Championships she walked across the finish line and failed to be among the top six.

She recorded a season best 51.32 at the UTech Invitational meet in March and if she turns up in her best form at the championships she can book her ticket to Beijing.

Another athlete who should do well is Davita Prendergast. She was a member of the record-breaking 4x400m team last year after finishing fourth at the National Championships. Although her season best is just 51.88 she can rise to the occasion.

The GC Foster pair of Rosemarie Whyte and Le-Roy will want to make a big statement as they try to squeeze in the top six. The very talented Whyte has improved tremendously and her 51.71 clocking in Kansas two months ago was no fluke. She could create some problems for her more senior rivals.

Too tough

Le-Roy, who ran in the preliminary round of the 4x400 metres relay in Osaka, has the knack of making teams when the odds are against her. However, this time around, she could find the going too tough as she has not competed in many 400 metres races this year.

Shericka Williams with her good form this season is given the slight edge with Novlene Williams, Spencer and Lloyd set to fight out the two other individual spots. My prediction: 1. Shericka Williams 2. Novlene Williams 3. Kaliese Spencer 4. Shereefa Lloyd 5. Davita Prendergast 6. Sonita Sutherland.