Fraser-Pryce opened her 100m season with a commanding win in 10.82s in Lucerne
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce got her 100m season to a blazing start with a dominating victory at the Top Athletics Lucerne meeting in Switzerland on Thursday.
Having missed out on her first 100m race in Botswana and Kenya earlier in the season, the five-time world champion, ran her first competitive races over 200m at the Jamaican national championships in early July.
However, with those races out of the way, the Pocket Rocket lined up for her first blue-ribbon dash of the season and she did not disappoint. After recovering from a poor start, Fraser-Pryce tore through the field to win a new meet record of 10.82.
She was well clear of New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs, who took the runner-up spot in 11.08 with the USA’s Kennedy Blackmon close behind in 11.11.
The Men’s A final was also a Jamaica affair with Julian Forte breaking 10 seconds for the first time this season while edging newly minted Jamaican champion Rohan Watson.
Forte took the lead early and held on to win in 9.99 over the fast-finishing Watson, who clocked in at 10.03 for second place. The USA’s Brandon Carnes was third in 10.06.
The 110m hurdles featured another thrilling battle between the Jamaican duo of Tyler Mason and Orlando Bennett. On the final day of the Jamaican national championships earlier this month, Bennett nipped Mason at the line to deny the former Jamaica College standout of a place on Jamaica’s team to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
On that Sunday, Bennett finished third in 13.19 to Mason who was fourth in 13.22. On Thursday, Mason turned the tables on his compatriot winning a hard-fought race in 13.19 with Bennett finishing second in 13.22.
Eric Edwards of the USA was a close third in 13.24.
Jamaican champion, Janieve Russell ran a new season’s best and meet record of 53.65 to record a comfortable victory in the 400m hurdles over Dalilah Mohammed of the USA who clocked in at 54.01 just ahead of Andrenette Knight, who finished in 54.13.
On Sunday, Rusheen McDonald ran the third-fastest time ever run by a Jamaican when he raced to a season-best 44.03 to finish behind Bahamian Steven Gardiner’s who ran a world-leading 43.74.
On Thursday, he proved it was no fluke as he stormed to a commanding victory in 44.80. He was metres clear of Botswana’s Collen Kebinatshipi who ran 45.15 for second place. Germany’s Manuel Sanders was third in 45.28.
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Excelsior leads Jamaican 1-2-3 in Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m at Penn Relays
Excelsior High emerged victorious in the Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m on the third and final day at the 128th Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Their quartet of Ryeem Walker, Damor Miller, Malike Nugent and Lennon Green combined to run 40.45 to secure the school’s first win in the event since 1967.
Kingston College (Daniel Clarke, Yourie Lawrence-Clarke, Nyrone Wade, Marcinho Rose) were second in 40.53 and Herbert Morrison (Ky-Mani Hemmings, Tavaine Stewart, Chance Segree, De Andre Daley) completed a Jamaican 1-2-3 with 40.56 in third.
Smith produces season’s best to win long jump at Texas Invitational
Texas junior Ackelia Smith produced an NCAA leading performance to take top spot on day one of the Texas Invitational at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on Friday.
The 22-year-old reigning NCAA champion produced a season’s best 7.10m, her first jump over 7m this season, to win ahead of Trinidadian Puma athlete Tyra Gittens (6.72m) and UTSA’s Ida Breigan (6.65m).
This is a welcome return to form for Smith who suffered a torn hamstring at the NCAA Indoor Championships in early March.
Smith was Jamaica’s national champion in the long jump in 2022 and was a finalist in both the long and triple jump at that year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Paulino extends 400m winning streak to seven in Shanghai
Dom Rep’s Marileidy Paulino followed up her triumph at the season’s Diamond League opener in Xiamen last week with another victory at the Shanghai Diamond League on Saturday.
The reigning World champion produced 50.89 to win ahead of American Talitha Diggs who ran 51.77 and Bajan two-time World Championship bronze medallist Sada Williams who ran 52.00 in third.
Paulino’s winning streak in the 400m has now stretched to seven races.
It was déjà vu in the women’s 100m hurdles as reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho Quinn just pipped World Indoor 60m hurdles champion and world record holder Devynne Charlton on the line, just as it played out in Xiamen last week.
Camacho-Quinn ran 12.63 compered to Charlton’s 12.64. Two-time World champion Danielle Williams was third in 12.74.
The men’s 110m hurdles saw American Daniel Roberts get his second win in a row to kick off the Diamond League season. His winning time was 13.12, comfortably ahead of Japan’s Shunsuke Izumiya (13.23) and Olympic champion Hansle Parchment’s season’s best 13.26.
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