Elaine Thompson-Herah was the only Caribbean athlete to win on the final day of the Diamond League season in Zurich on Thursday but a few others came very close.
The Olympic 100 and 200m champion set a new meet record of 10.65 to win the 100m going away from Dina Asher-Smith who returned to form with a season-best run of 10.87 for second place. Third went to Ajla Del Ponte who ran a personal best 10.93. Daryll Neita also ran a personal best of 10.93 but was given fourth.
Since she won the gold medal in the 100m in Tokyo in a time of 10.61, Thompson-Herah has run times of 10.54, 10.64, 10.72 and 10.65 and became the first woman to run four wind-legal times under 10.70s.
During the meet where there were several close races, Kirani James narrowly missed out on winning the 400m in a stirring battle down the home stretch with Michael Cherry, whose legs gave out at the line but still managed to clock 44.41, just edging James as the two of them crashed to the track after crossing the line.
Deon Lendore of Trinidad and Tobago made it a Caribbean 2-3 as he clocked 44.81.
Another close finish unfolded in the 110m hurdles that ended with the USA’s Devon Allen being declared the champion even though he and Ronald Levy crossed the line together in 13.06. The time was 0.01 outside Levy’s lifetime best.
Olympic champion Hansle Parchment clipped a couple of hurdles, lost his rhythm and finished third in 13.17.
The 200m dashes were no different as Shericka Jackson ran a personal best 21.81 but just failed to hold off the fast-finishing Christine Mboma, who set a new WorldU20 record of 21.78, which was also an area record, for the victory.
Asher-Smith was unable to stay with them down the stretch and faded to third in 22.19.
Kenny Bednarek held off Andre Degrasse to win the men’s race in 19.70. His winning time was 0.02 seconds ahead of the Canadian who clocked 19.72.
Fred Kerley who won the 100m ahead of Degrasse, finished third in 19.83.
Megan Tapper has been on a tear since she became the first Caribbean woman to win a bronze medal in the 100m hurdles at the Olympics. She was third in Zurich in 12.55, just outside her lifetime best of 12.53 set during the first round of the event at the Tokyo Olympics last month.
It took a personal best and area record of 12.42 from Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan and a personal best and national record of 12.51 of the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser to beat her.
Quanera Hayes won the Women’s 400m in 49.88 over Dominica’s Marileidy Paulino, the Olympic silver medalist, who ran Hayes close to clock 49.96 for second place. Sada Williams of Barbados was third in 50.24, just edging Stephenie-Ann McPherson (50.25).
Candace McLeod was fifth in 50.96.
Karsten Warholm continued his imperious form in the 400m hurdles winning in 47.35 ahead of Alison Dos Santos (47.81) and Kyron McMaster (48.24).
Olympic bronze medalist Femke Bol took the women’s race in a meet record of 52.80. The USA’s Shamier Little ran 53.35 and Anna Ryzhykova, 53.70, for second and third, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the field, Fedrick Dacres finished third in the discus with his best mark of 65.33m.
It was no surprise that Sweden’s Daniel Stahl won the event with 66.49m. Kristjan Ceh of Sloevnia threw 65.39m for second.
The winner of the Women’s triple was also not surprising as Olympic champion and world record holder Yulimar Rojas soared out to a meet record 15.48m to take the win. Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts jumped 14.64 for the runner-up spot with her compatriot Kimberly Williams third with 14.41m.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Matthew Boling thrilled by Jamaica Athletics Invitational experience: "Everyone cheered and it got me hyped..."
Rising American sprinter Matthew Boling expressed his excitement and enthusiasm after competing in the Jamaica Athletics Invitational on Saturday, where he ran a season's best time of 44.98 in the 400m.
Boling, who finished second behind Great Britain's Matthew Hudson Smith, spoke to Sportsmax.TV about his first-time experience in Jamaica and the atmosphere that fueled his performance.
"Yea, I loved the crowd. I like my little intro, everyone cheered and it got me hyped," Boling shared. "I was in the zone and I had to beat my chest a little bit."
Despite his impressive run, Boling indicated that he plans to rest before the upcoming USA trials, hinting at a potential return to Jamaica in the future. "I’d love to come back," he mentioned, reflecting on the lively reception he received from the Jamaican fans.
Regarding his overall season and the challenge of competing in both the 200m and 400m events, Boling expressed satisfaction with his progress, hinting that he could deliver something special at the USA Olympic trials in late June. "I think it’s been going great; the 400m and the 200m seems to be the way I’m heading this year," Boling stated. "I’ve run 10.06, 20.03 and 44.98 so far so I think I’m getting in good shape and getting ready to bust something big out at trials."
Acknowledging the difficulty of taking on the 200m/400m challenge, Boling maintained a positive outlook. "It’s pretty tough but I’m young I’ll recover quick," he remarked with a big smile, demonstrating his determination and optimism for the upcoming competitions.
Christian Coleman eyes USA's potential to break Jamaica's 4x100m relay world record: "It's really not that difficult..."
Christian Coleman, the American sprinter and member of the USA's 4x100m relay team, is confident in the team's ability to challenge and potentially break Jamaica's long-standing 4x100m relay world record of 36.84 seconds, set at the 2012 London Olympics by Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, and Usain Bolt.
Speaking after a press conference in Jamaica last week Thursday before he participated in the Jamaica Athletics Invitational on Saturday, Coleman emphasized the USA's recent relay performance of 37.40 at recent World Relays in the Bahamas, despite key athletes like himself, Fred Kerley, and Erriyon Knighton missing from the team.
A member of the USA team that ran 37.10 at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Coleman suggested that his country’s top sprinters executing the essential elements of relay running like smoother baton exchanges, could lead to significant improvements.
"I think it's really not that difficult. It's not that hard. We make it a lot harder than it needs to be," Coleman explained. "If we just space those zones out, everybody focuses on their job, I think we have all the speed and talent to tackle that world record."
Coleman's confidence in the team's abilities underscores their ambitions for the upcoming track and field season, especially at the Olympic Games in Paris where the USA will start as hot favourites to win the gold medal.
While breaking records isn't the primary focus, Coleman believes that with proper execution and teamwork, they can challenge historic achievements like Jamaica's 4x100m world record.
With that in mind, what leg does Coleman believe is the best fit for him?
"We talk about it all the time because I feel like I can do first leg just because I know what I'm gonna do. I feel like when I do my thing, it takes a lot of the pressure off the rest of the team because I'm gonna get us out and I know when the stick is moving through that zone and second leg is going down the back-stretch and we already in the lead, everybody else can just kind of relax and just bring it home.
“But I feel if we just going in terms of trying to just run our absolute best time, I don't know if it might be suitable for me to run first leg, ‘because I feel like I'm full well capable of running any leg. I trust myself more than anybody when it comes to working the zone and getting it through. So I don't know, second, third, fourth, whatever they need me at, obviously I'm gonna do it.”
On Saturday, Coleman was fifth in the 200m in 20.46. Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes claimed victory with a sizzling run of 19.96. The USA’s Fred Kerley was second in 20.17 with Frenchman Pablo Mateo not far behind in 20.20 for third.
'Sloley' but surely: massive new personal best a triumph on Krystal’s journey of tears
In every aspect of life, moments of triumph are often accompanied by tears of joy, and for Jamaican sprinter Krystal Sloley, achieving a massive personal best of 11.09 seconds was no exception. Immediately after she crossed the finish line in second position in the women’s 100m at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational, Sloley’s emotions overflowed, tears streaming down her face as she celebrated a milestone in her athletic journey.
Many might not understand why her accomplishment is such a big deal, but for Sloley, the road to get there has been marked by challenges, setbacks, and even self-doubt. But through it all, she remained steadfast in her pursuit of excellence.
In fact, it was only a week ago that Sloley lowered her personal best from 11.27s to 11.25s, which she took apart with the breathtaking performance behind Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, who opened her season with an impressive 10.91s clocking at the National Stadium, on Saturday.
“It hasn't been easy. It has been an uphill battle with my mental life and self-belief, even in warm up, I was just talking to myself, coaching myself, because my weakest point was my start and I knew that once I got that, the rest is history. I was not expecting such a fast time, maybe 11.1, but I am happy at the outcome,” Sloley said, her voice trembling with emotion.
“It was such a pleasure to feed off of the energy of Marie and the other runners. I knew it was a high-quality field, because I was originally supposed to run in the B final, and while warming up, I realized I was in the A final against the top ladies. I really wish I had more time to prepare myself mentally before I came out here physically, but it worked out for the best,” she added.
Sloley, who found her passion for track and field at Ardenne Preparatory, and later honed her craft at Campion College, recalled how her journey to the triumphant moment was filled with highs and lows, from gruelling training sessions to heartbreaking defeats. But with each setback, particularly now at the senior level at the University of Technology – where she is studying Architecture –she emerged stronger and more determined than ever, fuelled by a burning desire to prove herself on the world stage.
“It was definitely hard. I would be lying if I said it was easy in terms of how I endured the training sessions, because it's not just doing training sessions with MVP (Track Club), it's the fact that I have to strike a definitive balance between not just MVP’s gruelling training, but also architecture, and to me, I feel like that's two degrees,” Sloley said with a chuckle.
She continued: “Coming from such a rigorous academic program such as Campion and also doing track and field there, I found it manageable, and I feel like I excelled pretty well through the seven years doing both academic and track and field. But I knew that entering a new level of not just training, it's professional training, and not just regular school, it's university…It's my degree, I knew it would be a next step, but I never knew that the thread of that step would have been so steep.
“So, it was definitely hard. I remember countless times crying on the dorm floor, wondering how I'm going to manage to strike the balance at this level. Even before I started university, it was questionable whether or not I was going to actually stop track and field to pursue the degree and then continue after, but I must say, God carried me through and here I am now.”
As she reflected on her journey, the 22-year-old third-year student’s thoughts turned to her mother, whose unwavering support has been the driving force behind her pursuit of glory.
"My mother is my rock, my biggest inspiration. It’s like when the momentum on the swing drops, she's been that push that you need on your back to continue swinging. She has encouraged me through it all, even those questionable doubts that I had about whether to stop track and field or pursue school,” Sloley told SportsMax.TV.
“She's been my prayer warrior, so she has been behind me, beside me, pulling me, she's been that driving force for me, my biggest motivation. She never lived the life that she gave me, so that also motivates me to reward her for what she has done for me because I'm so grateful and thankful for her,” she shared.
Besides her new personal best clocking, Sloley described making Jamaica’s team to the 2019 NACAC Championships as her biggest accomplishment, and with the memory of that outing in Mexico still very much fresh on her mind, she now has her sights set on repeating the feat sooner rather than later.
Simply put, she is targeting qualification to this summer’s Paris Olympic Games, and she is more motivated than ever to make that dream a reality. Though it won’t be easy, Sloley is prepared to put in the work and stands ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead, confident in her ability to overcome adversity and achieve her goals.
“I am definitely looking to build on it (new personal best), so from here it will be more self-talk, more positive energy, more training, listening to my coach and more self-belief,” Sloley declared, her voice filled with conviction.
The women’s sprint events at the National Trials, scheduled for June, will by no means be a walk in the park, as it is expected to feature Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson among others, but Sloley knows taking a lane in the 100m or 200m finals would represent her first steps on the road to Paris, and win or lose, she will compete with a heart full of gratitude and a spirit that refuses to be broken.
“Of course, my first goal would be to make the Olympic team, obviously. I feel like that's on everybody's radar and it's also on my radar to take an individual spot in any of my respective events, whether it be the 100m or 200m. So that, along with finishing school are my main focus right now,” she noted.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
