Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts won a silver medal in the Women’s triple jump at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene on Monday.
Ricketts produced a season’s best 14.89m to finish second behind Venezuelan world record holder Yulimar Rojas who produced a world leading 15.47 to win her third world title. Tori Franklin of the USA jumped 14.72m for bronze.
Ricketts, who had a slow start to the season because a knee injury that hampered her preparation, managed to get it together in time to produce her best performance when it mattered most.
She produced jumps of 14.89m, 14.86m, 14.37m, 14.40m, 14.62m and 14.80m for one of her best series of her career.
On the track, Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards advanced to the semi-finals of the 200m after running 20.35 to win heat 2. Richards won bronze at the 2017 London World Championships and won 400m gold at the World Indoor Championships earlier this season.
Mixed Relay gold medallist for the Dominican Republic Alexander Ogando was one of the most impressive qualifiers to the semis, easing down to a national record-equalling 20.01 to win heat 4.
100m semi-finalist and 2011 world champion Yohan Blake ran 20.35 to finish fourth in heat 5 and advance as one of the non-automatic qualifiers.
Finally, Rasheed Dwyer ran a season’s best 20.29 to finish second in the seventh and final heat to progress to the next round.
For the women, the usual suspects all booked their spots in the semi-finals.
Shericka Jackson, who became the third fastest woman in history with a personal best 21.55 to win at the Jamaican Championships in June, was impressive to easily win heat 1 in 22.33.
Heat 2 saw 100m bronze medallist and double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah cruise to 22.41 to finish second behind Namibia’s Beatrice Maslingi (22.27). Antigua’s Joella Lloyd ran 22.99 to finish fourth and advance as a fastest loser.
100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was also in cruise control in heat 3 running 22.26 for second behind Niger’s Aminatou Seyni who ran a national record 21.98.
Bahamian Tynia Gaither rebounded from the disappointment of being disqualified from her 100m semi-final on Sunday to finish third in heat 4 in 22.61 to advance.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Ricketts opens season with 14.50m to win triple jump at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts provided her home fans with a solid performance to win the women’s triple jump at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
The two-time World Championships silver medallist produced a best jump of 14.50m on her first attempt that proved to be enough to win in the end.
American Jasmine Moore had a best jump of 14.28m for second while Dominican World Indoor Champion Thea Lafond jumped 14.22m in the sixth and final round to clinch third.
“I feel exceptional. I usually get started with my season much earlier but this year we decided to get a few things corrected before coming into competition,” Ricketts said following the competition.
“Competing with world class athletes who have been doing well indoors as well really pushed me and gave me a good implication of where I’m at this season,” she added.
The 2022 Commonwealth Champion also spoke on competing in Jamaica.
“It’s always a pleasure to compete in Kingston. Usually, I try to do a meet here before going overseas to compete in the Diamond League. The crowd has warmed up to the jumps because of how well I’ve been doing overseas over the years. I’m always grateful for the support,” she said.
Great Britain’s Hughes, Asher-Smith get 200m victories at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith took victories in the men’s and women’s 200m events at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
Hughes, a bronze medallist in the 100m at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, produced a season’s best 19.96 to win ahead of American Fred Kerley (20.17) and France’s Pablo Mateo (20.20).
“I feel really good. I think this is my second 200m race of the season. When I opened up I wasn’t ready so tonight I was just testing out the waters. We’re starting to sharpen up but not as much because it’s a long season,” Hughes said after the race.
“To run 19.96 now, I’m very happy. I just need to stay healthy and continue to execute my races accordingly and everything will be okay,” he added.
2019 World Champion Asher-Smith narrowly won the women’s event in 22.51 ahead of the Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai (22.53) with Jamaica’s Lanae-Tava Thomas running 22.84 for third.
Asher-Smith says she was hoping for a quicker time and has some things to work on.
“I’m in really good shape so I was hoping to get a quicker time today. Clearly, I’ve got some stuff that I’ve got to work on so I’m going to go back to Austin and work on them but I’m happy to have won here in Jamaica,” she said.
USA’s Holmes, Great Britain’s Hudson-Smith win 400m races at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
American Alexis Holmes and great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith emerged as the winners of the women’s and men’s 400m races at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
Holmes, a member of the USA’s gold medal-winning mixed relay team at the World Championships in Budapest last year and the World Relays this year in Nassau, ran 50.31 to lead an American 1-2-3 with Brittany Brown running 51.21 in second and Naasha Robinson running 51.81 in third.
“I had a lot of fun. The energy was great,” Holmes said after the race.
“I was expecting a smooth race and just trying to get the win. I just try to stay relaxed and poised because I know I have a strong finish,” she added.
The men’s race saw World Championship silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith produce 44.69 to take the win ahead of American Matthew Boling (44.98) and Jamaica’s Zandrion Barnes (45.41).
“I’m a lot more healthier this year. I’ve got the best team in the world. My coach Gary Evans is a man with a plan and this year it’s all about being healthy when it matters,” he said after the race.
“It was a good executed race. We just wanted to come home strong and be composed. I’ve got Oslo, Europeans, Monaco and London so I’ve got a lot more races and training,” he added.
The Brit also gave props to World Champion Antonio Watson who ran 45.61 for fifth.
“Listen, he’s the reigning World Champion so I’ve got to give him respect. He came out here in front of his people and raced. He delivered when it mattered,” he said.
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