Shericka Jackson's 21.45 at the World Championships in July makes her the fastest woman alive over 200m.
Ahead of her much-anticipated clash with five-time 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Monaco on Wednesday, 200m world champion Shericka Jackson has revealed that she has not yet achieved her goal in the 100m.
Jackson, who won her first global title in Eugene, Oregon in July, also won a silver medal in the 100m in a lifetime best of 10.73 as the runner-up to Fraser Pryce in the blue-riband sprint at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon in July.
But in a pre-meet press conference on Monday, the increasingly confident Jackson believes faster 100m times are coming.
“I don’t think I have reached my full potential as yet. It’s taking some time, the World Championships was actually good I ran a personal best,” said Jackson.
“I am looking to run faster 100s. I think I have mastered the 200m a little so I am excited to put together a proper 100 and see how fast I can go.”
Jackson also revealed that she enjoys competing against her friend Fraser-Pryce, explaining that matching strides with the five-time world 100m champion who has run 10.66 this season brings the best out of her.
“It’s just been probably two years since I have been competing with her competitively and I enjoy every moment of it. She brings out the best in me in the 100 and I like that, I like competition and she always brings her ‘A’ game so I am looking for super exciting times…”
Fraser-Pryce has run under 10.70 five times this season, more than any woman in history.
Meanwhile, Jackson believes she can go even faster than the 21.45 she ran in Oregon and will focus on achieving that particular goal when she begins preparation for the 2022/2023 season in a few weeks’ time.
“Coach and I had discussed right after I ran 21.5 (at the National Stadium in Kingston in late June) that if I continue to think about the time I will end up disappointing myself if I don’t meet those expectations; yes, I do have a time in mind, which funny enough, the 21.45 was my goal for this season. I have achieved that and when I went back home I set a new goal,” she said.
“I set a new goal because I want to run faster, I believe I can run faster than 21.4 so coach and I discussed and we are preparing to run faster, so if it doesn’t happen this season, we will go back to the drawing board and prepare.
“So yes, I have a 100m time that I have not achieved as yet so I have a couple (more) hundreds this season so I am just going fix what needs to be fixed and hope I meet my goals for the 100.”
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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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