Jamaica’s Andrenette Knight and Shanieka Ricketts delivered standout performances to claim victories at the Rome Diamond League on Friday, reinforcing the island's continued presence on the global track and field stage.
Knight, competing in the women’s 400m hurdles, ran a season-best 53.67 seconds to edge Italy’s Ayomide Folorunso, who also recorded a season-best of 54.21. Rushell Clayton, another Jamaican contender, rounded out the podium with a third-place finish in 54.31, marking an all-season-best top three.
It was a milestone moment for Knight, who celebrated her first-ever Diamond League win.
“This season has been going well. I just kind of had that number in mind, for no reason. I came so confident to Rome. Like, each race that I have run it just has been improvement on improvement. So I am happy to come out here with like a season-best and to win. My first Diamond League win,” she said.
While pleased with the outcome, Knight acknowledged there’s still work to be done.
“Honestly, it was not a smooth race—there were some technical errors. So now, I need to go back to the practice and work on that. My stride pattern was kind of a little bit all over the place so I have to sit down and watch it, and decide what we need to do for the improvements. I know I am pretty strong, I have the speed so it is just a matter of tweaking a few things to bring the time down each time. I am taking it step by step and not putting any pressure on myself.”
In the women’s triple jump, World Championships silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts secured top honors with a leap of 14.64m (-0.7 m/s), also her best mark of the season. Cuba’s Leyanis Pérez Hernández was second with 14.46m (0.0), and Dominica’s Thea LaFond, continuing her fine form in 2025, claimed third place with a jump of 14.30m (-0.1).
“The competition felt really good. Achieving a season's best on the first attempt—I am grateful for that,” said Ricketts. “Leading from the beginning puts you in a relaxed mood. Unfortunately, I could not use that to jump further. Now I can build on this result.”
Cuba’s Liadagmis Povea (14.17m) and American Jasmine Moore (14.15m SB) rounded out the top five in the event.
Jamaica also earned a podium finish in the men’s shot put as Rajindra Campbell, the national record holder, threw 21.64m on his fifth attempt to finish third behind New Zealand’s Tom Walsh, who claimed victory with 21.89m, and Italy’s Zane Weir, who produced 21.67m for second.
In the men's long jump, Jamaica’s Carey McLeod finished fifth with a best effort of 8.01m (-0.4). The event was won by Australia’s Liam Adcock, who soared to a personal best 8.34m (-0.2), followed by Italy’s Mattia Furlani (8.13m) and Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou (8.10m).
Meanwhile, in the men’s 110m hurdles, Orlando Bennett of Jamaica recorded a season-best 13.29 seconds to place fourth in a highly competitive field. The race was won by Switzerland’s Jason Joseph and American Cordell Tinch, both timed at 13.14, with Dylan Beard of the U.S. taking third in 13.28.
With Knight and Ricketts leading the charge, and solid showings from Campbell, McLeod, Clayton, LaFond, and Bennett, the Caribbean contingent once again demonstrated its depth and talent at the highest level of the sport.