Janieve Russell, Natoya Goule-Toppin and Shericka Jackson made the podium in their respective events at the London Diamond League meeting on Sunday.

In what was the last Diamond League meet before the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest next month, Femke Bol produced the performance of the day with a record-break run in the 400m hurdles and Noah Lyles emerged victorious from stern battle with Letsile Tebogo in the 200m.

Russell continued her solid form this season after coming in second in the 400m hurdles at the London Diamond League on Sunday. However, her performance was overshadowed by the massive lifetime best performance of Bol of the Netherlands.

Russell, who won at the Jamaican trials earlier this month, clocked in a smart time of 53.75 but she was more than two seconds behind Bol, who joined the pantheon of two women who have run the event in under 52 seconds.

The European champion smashed her previous best of 52.03 when she stormed across the finish line in a world-leading 51.45. Only world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Dalilah Mohammed have run faster.

The world-leading time was also an Area Record, Diamond League record and National Record.

Shamier Little of the United States was third in 53.76 with Rushell Clayton fourth in a blanket finish where 0.02s separated second, third and fourth.

Goule-Toppin has been consistently fast over 800m this season and she showed that again Sunday with a new season’s best time of 1:57.61 for a second place finish in the 800m. She managed to hold off Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi for set a new national record of 1:57.62 in finishing in third place.

Jemma Reekie of Great Britain won the keenly contested event in a new meet record of 1:57.30, a season’s best for the 25-year-old Briton.

An obviously fatigued Shericka Jackson, running her third race in a week, finished third in the 100m dash in which Marie Josee Ta Lou stormed to a new meet record of 10.75. Dina Asher-Smith took the runner-up spot in 10.85 with Jackson laboring through the line in 10.94 for third.

The men’s 200m was electrifying with Lyles just managing to hold of Letsile Tebogo to win in a new meet record and world-leading time of 19.47. Tebogo ran a brand new personal best of 19.50 for second place. It was a new lifetime best and African Area record for the youngster. In third was Zharnel Hughes who ran a new British record of 19.73.

Holloway, the two-time defending world champion, sped to a 13.01 clocking to win the 110m hurdles. Japan’s Shunsuke Izumiya was close behind in 13.06 while Jamal Britt of the USA crossing in 13.25 to edge out Olympic champion Hansle Parchment (13.26) for third place.

World-record holder Wayde van Niekerk won a close battle in the 400m over Bryce Deadmon and Vernon Norwood. The South African clocked 44.36 to edge Deadmon who came in second in 44.40 with Norwood not far behind in 44.46 for third place.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Megan Tapper and Rajindra Campbell all secured victories at Saturday’s Meeting de Madrid, part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver Series.

Fraser-Pryce, aiming for her sixth World 100m title in Budapest next month, followed up a 10.82 clocking in her season opener in Lucerne on Thursday with a meet record 10.83 effort to win.

Spain’s Jael Bestue was second in 11.10 while Shashalee Forbes, who will also be on Jamaica’s 100m team in Budapest, was third in 11.11.

Olympic bronze medallist and reigning national champion, Megan Tapper, ran 12.69 to win the A Final of the women’s 100m hurdles ahead of the USA’s Tonea Marshall (12.74) and Liberia’s Ebony Marshall (12.81).

The A Final of the men’s 110m hurdles saw Tyler Mason and Orlando Bennett finish fourth and fifth with times of 13.41 and 13.43, respectively. The race was won by Switzerland’s Jason Joseph in a personal best 13.10 ahead of France’s Wilhelm Belocian (13.20) and Spain’s Enrique Llopis (13.35).

Fresh off a 9.99 effort to win in Lucerne on Thursday, Julian Forte produced a season’s best 20.35 for second in the 200m. The race was won by South Africa’s Luxolo Adams in 20.22 while France’s Ryan Zeze was third in 20.52.

In the field, Rajindra Campbell set a new personal best, meet record and national record to win the shot put.

The 27-year-old, who entered the competition with a personal best of 21.31m done in May this year, became the first Jamaican to break the 22m barrier with a throw of 22.22m to win and break the previous national record of 21.96m set by O’Dayne Richards in 2017.

American Roger Steen was second with 21.33m while Nigeria’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi threw 21.30m for third.

Campbell’s throw is also put him joint-third in the world this year alongside New Zealand’s Tom Walsh. Only Americans Joe Kovacs with 22.69m and Ryan Crouser with his World Record 23.56m have thrown further this year.

After he achieved his previous personal best at the USATF Throws Festival, Campbell told The Jamaica Observer that he was confident he’d achieve the automatic World Championship qualifying standard, 21.40m, at some point during the season.

He then produced throws of 20.23m at the Music City Track Festival and 21.14m at the Arkansas Grand Prix in June.

In July, the former Ferncourt and Kingston College man became a national champion for the first time with 21.04 before, just two days ago, he threw 20.21m in Lucern.

LSU freshman, Brianna Lyston, has been named as the Louisiana State Writers Association (LSWA) Women’s Freshman of the Year for 2023.

The 2022 World U20 200m gold medallist enjoyed an indifferent freshman campaign for the Tigers.

Her best results came as a member of LSU’s 4x100m relay team. She was a member of their victorious quartet at the SEC Outdoor Championships where they ran 42.92 in May. The Tigers were also on the podium in the 4x100m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. They ran a season’s best 42.52 for third.

Individually, the 19-year-old advanced to the semi-finals of the 200m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.

A month earlier, she ran a season’s best of 23.05 in the heats at the SEC Outdoor Championships. She also achieved wind-assisted times of 22.92 and 22.75 at the NCAA East Regional.

Jamaica’s Adrian Kerr continued an excellent first season amongst the senior ranks with a massive personal best to win U23 100m gold on day one the NACAC Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica on Friday.

The 19-year-old recovered from a horrible start to step past the rest of the field and cross the line in an impressive 10.08. His countryman, Travis Williams, ran a personal best of his own with 10.12 for second while Puerto Rico’s Diego Gonzalez ran 10.22 for bronze.

This marks a massive improvement for Kerr who entered the Championships with a personal best of 10.22 done in April this year.

The U18 Boys section was won by Antigua & Barbuda’s Kasiya Daley in 10.56. Jamaica’s Gary Card was credited with the same time in second while Antigua & Barbuda got their second medal in the event through Dwayne Fleming (10.69).

The Women’s U23 section was won by the USA’s Mia Brahe-Pederson in a meet record 11.08. Trinidad & Tobago’s Leah Bertrand was second in 11.27 while BVI’s Beyonce Defreitas was third in 11.41.

Jamaica’s Theianna-Lee Terrelonge took gold in the U18 Girls section with a time of 11.41. Puerto Rico’s Frances Vazquez ran 11.50 for silver while Antigua & Barbuda’s La’Nica Locker was third in 11.54.

Shericka Jackson humbled a crack field to win the 200m in Monaco on Thursday where triple jump phenom Jaydon Hibbert defeated some of the world’s best jumpers in his first ever Diamond League meeting.

Going up against USA champion Gabby Thomas, the world leader at 21.60 and the talented professional newcomer Julien Alfred as well former European champion Dina Asher Smith, Jackson found herself challenged coming into the home straight but called her on superior strength and speed to win in 21.86.

Alfred, in only her second meet as a professional, ran a smart 22.08 for second place. Asher-Smith was third in a season-best 22.23.

With a month to go before the World Championships in Budapest, the world champion was pleased with the performance.

“It was great for me today. Last time, I was second here, so to come here and take the win, it is really really good. I had three competitions in a week so it is a bit hard for me. One more coming up, it will be London,” said Jackson, who was not entirely happy with the first part of her race.

“I do not think that the curve was as good as I wanted but I managed to go until the finish so it was good. I have one more coming up so I am glad I finished this one healthy. I keep training and keep competing.

“I had a hard training session yesterday and still I was able to run 21 so that is good. I want to make sure I am on the top of my shape in Budapest. “

Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas, who ran a lifetime best of 22.15 at the Diamond League Meeting in Rabat in May, clocked in at 22.40 to finish fourth. Thomas, who was among the leaders early and was expected to be in the mix down the home stretch but faded badly to finish in seventh in 22.67.

Hibbert, meanwhile, suffered his first loss in the triple jump this season despite producing a fantastic effort of 17.66M that was four centimetres short of Hugues Fabrice Zango’s winning effort of 17.70m. The man from Burkino Faso snatched the win on the very last jump of the competition.

 Yasser Mohammed Triki of Algeria, who held the lead briefly after a season-best third-round jump of 17.32m, had to settle for third place.

Ackeem Blake was third in the 100m running 10.00 behind Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who took the win in 9.92 over Letsile Tebogo, who clocked in at 9.93.

Yohan Blake was fourth in 10.01 with Kishane Thompson fifth in 10.04.

The meet will be remembered by another breathtaking performance from Faith Kipyegon, who smashed the world record for the one mile run. The Kenyan clocked 4:07.64 breaking the previous record of 4:12.33 set by Sifan Hassan in 2019.

Nia Ali took a close win over compatriot Kendra Harrison in the 100m hurdles. The mother of three clocked in a personal-best, world-leading and meet record time of 12.30, just 0.01 ahead Harrison, the former world record holder.

Another American Alaysha Johnson was third in 12.39.

The men’s 400m hurdles was a firecracker of a race billed as a clash between world-record holder Karsten Warholm and the reigning world champion Alison dos Santos, who was running his first hurdles race after rehabilitating from knee surgery.

And for the first 300m it was a battle before Warholm pulled away from the struggling Brazilian to win in a Diamond League and world-leading 46.51, a meet record. Dos Santos ran 47.66 with American CJ Allen close behind in 47.84.

St Lucia sprint queen Julien Alfred has signed with Puma, the global sports apparel company announced on Friday.

The 22-year-old Alfred, the NCAA 100m champion, has experienced a meteoric rise through the rankings over the past 18 months, having gone undefeated at 100 metres in the 2022 NCAA season, and picking up a silver medal in the same event at the Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022.

Her fine form has continued into 2023, with Alfred becoming the first woman in NCAA history to break the seven second barrier at 60 metres, and in doing so securing her spot as the all-time second fastest indoor sprinter at both 60 and 200 metres.

The seven-time NCAA Champion capped a remarkable first half to the year by taking gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador earlier this month.

“Julien is an incredible athlete, one we believe will continue to make history on the track,” said Pascal Rolling, Head of Sports Marketing at PUMA. “She is the true embodiment of forever faster and our ambition to be the fastest brand on the planet – we’re thrilled to have her join the PUMA family.”

“PUMA has such legendary status in athletics, so the decision to join their family was an easy one,” said Julien Alfred. “I feel that together we can achieve great things on and off the track.”

Now ranked in the top four at both 100 and 200 metres, Alfred will wear PUMA’s evoSPEED TOKYO NITRO track and field spikes, which offer the ultimate combination of power and propulsion thanks to PUMA’s NITRO Elite foam technology in the forefoot and a full-length Pebax plate

Alfred won her professional debut at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia on Sunday, clocking in at 9.89 to defeat the previously undefeated American Sha'Carri Richardson who ran 9.97.

American sprinter Gabby Thomas paid homage to her Jamaican roots on Thursday ahead of Friday’s Diamond League meeting in Monaco where she will take on a crack field over 200m that includes reigning world 200m champion Shericka Jackson.

It is well known that Thomas has Jamaican roots, something she is proud of and she enjoys the love and support of the island’s rabid track fans. On Thursday, she chose to set the record straight about how she feels about her Jamaican heritage.

Asked about her Jamaican connection, the Olympic bronze medallist responded, “So, my grandfather is actually Jamaican, he lives there, he is from there. My dad didn’t grow up there but he is Jamaican and he always likes to bring the culture home with me and made sure I was proud to be Jamaican.

“And I do really love the fan base in Jamaica, they have really been so amazing and supportive and I do make sure everyone knows that I am Jamaican because I do believe that is where I get my fast roots from. I am not going to sugar coat it because that’s what it is. And we grew up loving track and my family has always been a big track family so I if could just run, run well and make my grandmother and my dad proud, then I would have done my job.

Thomas, who holds the world-leading time of 21.60, will face a tough field that includes NCAA champion Julien Alfred of St Lucia as well as the talented Britons, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita and the dangerous Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas, who has run a lifetime best of 22.15 so far this season

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.

Sasha Lee Forbes’ purple patch was extended on Wednesday when she won the 100m dash at the P-T-S Meeting in Slovakia.

Running in lane six, the 27-year-old Jamaican, who ran a personal best 10.96 to finish in second place at the recent Jamaica National Athletics Championships in Kingston, outclassed the field, winning in 11.10. Hungary’s Boglarka Takacs was almost a full 0.1 seconds behind, clocking in at 11.19 to take second place. Finishing third was the Slovak Republic’s Viktoria Forster, who established a new national record of 11.26.

Forbes was not the only Jamaican on the podium as Javon Francis finished third in the 400m. The World Championship relay silver medalist clocked a creditable 45.87 behind Frenchman Gilles Birron who ran 45.49 for victory.

Runner-up Patrik Sorm of the Czech Republic ran a season’s best 45.75.

Meanwhile, Adelle Tracey continues to show progress this season with a new season-best time of 2:00.40 to finish third in the 800m race that was won by Anita Horvat in 1:59.91.

Ethiopia’s Hirut Meshesha took second place, running a time of 2:00.24.

Jamaican triple jump world leader, Jaydon Hibbert, and long jump world leader, Ackelia Smith, expressed excitement ahead of their Diamond League debuts in Monaco on Friday.

Hibbert will compete in triple jump while Smith will take part in the long jump.

“I’m really happy to be here in Monaco,” Hibbert said Thursday’s pre-meet press conference.

“I’m just super excited to see what the competition is like at this level and just to get my groove on and enjoy myself here,” he added.

Smith also offered similar sentiments before saying she was surprised to be invited to the press conference.

“It’s definitely an honor. As you can tell, my hands are a little shaky. It’s definitely been a great first experience,” she said.

“When I was on the plane, my coach said ‘you have a press conference’ and I thought he was talking to Julien (Alfred) because I did not expect to be here,” Smith added.

Both Hibbert and Smith are both in the midst of breakthrough seasons.

Hibbert, the reigning World U20 champion, in his freshman season at the University of Arkansas, won the SEC Indoor and Outdoor titles before winning both NCAA titles as well.

In the process, he broke both the NCAA collegiate Indoor and Outdoor records. He produced 17.54m, a world U20 record which was recently ratified, to win the NCAA Indoor title.

A couple months later, the 18-year-old jumped a massive 17.87m, the furthest jump in the world this year, to win the SEC Outdoor title. He also jumped 17.56m to take the NCAA Outdoor crown.

Earlier in July, Hibbert successfully defended his title at the JAAA/Puma National Senior Championships with 17.68m.

“With all these accomplishments, I’m really grateful. Especially as a teenager, not even yet in my prime. I just want to give God thanks and say I’m really excited to continue,” Hibbert said

On Friday, Hibbert will be lining up against the likes of Americans Will Claye and Christian Taylor as well as Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango, whose season’s best of 17.81m puts him second in the world this season behind Hibbert.

“It should be a great competition tomorrow. Everybody’s a star out there. I truly look up to everybody, especially when I was younger. My coach would always tell me to look at these guys and try to replicate what they do,” Hibbert said.

He mentioned Cuban-born Portuguese Olympic and World Champion, Pedro Pichardo, when asked which triple jumper inspires him.

“I like how humble he is and how technical he is in the phases,” Hibbert said.

Smith, a sophomore at the University of Texas has also enjoyed a career-best season.

The 21-year-old jumped a world-leading 7.08m to win the long jump title at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in May and followed that up with a 6.88m effort to claim her maiden NCAA Outdoor title.

She finished third at the recently concluded Jamaican Championships with a best jump of 6.66m.

Smith has also excelled in the triple jump this year. She jumped a personal best 14.54m to claim silver at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She was also runner-up at the Jamaican Championships with a 14.26m effort.

On Friday, she will be competing in a loaded field including the likes of Yulimar Rojas, Tara Davis-Woodhall and Ivana Vuleta, just to name a few.

Rojas is the current World and Olympic Champion and World Record holder in the triple jump. Davis-Woodhall is coming off a win at the US Championships and is currently second in the world behind Smith with 7.07m while Vuleta is a five-time Diamond League final winner, two-time World Indoor Champion and an Olympic bronze medallist.

Nafi Thiam’s world indoor pentathlon record of 5055 from the European Indoor Championships and Jaydon Hibbert’s outright world U20 triple jump record from the NCAA Indoor Championships have been ratified.

Thiam produced one of the standout moments of the European Indoor Championships on 3 March to win her third European indoor title, putting together her best ever indoor series.

She opened by equalling her 8.23 PB in the 60m hurdles and followed it with a 1.92m clearance in the high jump, after which she moved into the lead. An outright shot put PB of 15.54m gave her a comfortable margin at the top of the leaderboard and she followed that with a 6.59m leap in the long jump, putting her on course to break the world record.

Poland’s Adrianna Sulek had also been having the competition of her life and was close to world record pace too heading into the 800m. Sulek dominated that race, crossing the line in 2:07.17, but Thiam also ran well, clocking an indoor PB of 2:13.60 to give her an overall winning tally of 5055. Sulek finished second with 5014.

Thiam’s score added 42 points to the previous world record of 5013, set by Ukraine’s Nataliya Dobrynska on 9 March 2012 at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.

Sulek crossed the line before Thiam and so technically scored 5014 – higher than the pre-event world record – six seconds before Thiam finished the competition with 5055. But it is the position of World Athletics that only Thiam’s mark will be ratified.

Eight days after Thiam’s record-breaking feat, Jamaican triple jumper Jaydon Hibbert made history at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque on 11 March.

The world U20 champion bounded out to a winning leap of 17.54m in the first round of the men’s triple jump. Not only did he break the collegiate record that had stood since 1986, he also broke the world U20 indoor record of 17.20m – previously set by France’s Melvin Raffin in Belgrade on 3 March 2017 – and the outright world U20 record of 17.50m set by East Germany’s Volker Mai in Erfurt on 23 June 1985.

Two months after winning the NCAA indoor title, Hibbert sailed out to an outdoor PB of 17.87m at the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge. The mark has been submitted for ratification; if approved, that will stand as the outdoor world U20 record, while his 17.54m leap will remain at the world U20 indoor record.

World 100m hurdles champion Tobi Amusan is in danger of missing out on the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest next month after being charged by World Athletics’ Athletics Integrity Unit with missing three anti-doping tests within a 12-month period. She has vowed to fight to clear her name in time to try and defend the title she won in Oregon a year ago.

The Nigerian champion, who is coached by Jamaican Olympian Lacena Golding-Clarke, has revealed that the AIU has slapped her with a charge that could see her suspended from the sport for up to two years.

"Today the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has charged me with an alleged rule violation for having 3 missed tests in 12 months,” she said. “I intend to fight this charge and will have my case decided by a tribunal of three arbitrators before the start of next month’s World Championships.”

Amusan holds the world record for the event and has been rounding into form after early season struggles with injury. On Tuesday, she followed her win in 12.34 at Sunday’s Diamond League meeting in Silesia with a 12.35 winning performance in Szekesfehervar, holding off 2019 world champion Nia Ali, who clocked 12.41 and Alaysha Johnson was third in 12.50.

She insists that she is innocent of the charges that the AIU has laid against her and expressed confidence that she will be cleared in short order.

“I am a CLEAN athlete, and I am regularly (maybe more than usual) tested by the AIU,” she wrote on Instagram. “I was tested within days of my third “missed test”. I have faith that this will be resolved in my favour and that I will be competing at the World Championships in August.”

The much-anticipated unveiling of a sculpture honouring track and field legend Usain Bolt, was done with the pomp and pageantry that met the expectations of all in attendance at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, Florida, including the man of the moment himself.

Amidst cheers and excitement at the moment of the unveiling, Bolt, was visibly proud and humbled to see the excellent work done by Basil Watson, who created the masterpiece that will remain a source of pride in the city for years to come.

In fact, the retired sprint legend, also received a proclamation that declared Friday, July 14, 2023, Usain Bolt Day in Miramar, and to top it off, he was presented with the keys to the City by Mayor Wayne Messam.

All this brought the famous idiom, “to the victor belong the spoils”, into sharp focus, as Bolt is indeed reaping the benefits of his success.

The iconic athlete is the only man to win the 100 and 200m at three consecutive Olympic Games (2008, 2012 and 2016) and he also set world records of 9.58 and 19.19 in the 100 and 200m, respectively at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany. Both records still stand today, 14 years later.

Bolt also won 11 gold medals, 13 overall at the World Championships between 2007 and 2017 when he retired from the sport after winning bronze in the 100m in London.

For sure, Bolt left a few encouraging words for aspiring athletes in particular, during a brief press conference to accommodate members of the media at the ceremony.

“You must believe in yourself and believe it is possible. Even when you don’t feel like getting up, you need to show up and work hard at your craft and in the end, it will pay off,” Bolt said.

Bolt’s sculpture, which is the first installation of the City’s Art-in-Public-Places initiative, was the brainchild of Vice-Mayor Alexandra Davis, who was delighted that her vision had come to fruition.

“This statue of Usain Bolt will not only serve as a source of inspiration for our residents, but I believe it will also attract visitors from far and wide,” Davis said.

“As people come to witness the magnificence of this statue, they will discover the charm and vibrancy of our city, leading to increased tourism and economic opportunities for local businesses. The statue will become a point of pride for our community, a landmark that showcases our commitment to excellence, athleticism, and the celebration of human achievement,” she added.

Jamaica’s minister of sport, Olivia “Babsy” Grange and members of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), were also in attendance at the unveiling ceremony that started with a banquet on Friday.

There was also a fundraising banquet and silent auction where Bolt memorabilia from his winning races were sold to the highest bidders, with proceeds benefiting the Usain Bolt Foundation and Do the Right Thing of Miramar, Inc.

On Saturday, hundreds of well-wishers turned out to see Bolt, who held a mini clinic with budding track stars, including aspiring Special Olympians, as he imparted knowledge about their start and form.

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was also present and lent her voice to the proceedings.

The Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Hungary on Tuesday proved to be an excellent day for Caribbean athletes.

The star of the day, however, was reigning Olympic 400m champion, Steven Gardiner.

The Bahamian, unbeaten since 2017, produced a world-leading 43.74, the second-fastest time of his career, to win ahead of Jamaica’s Rusheen McDonald and American Vernon Norwood.

McDonald ran a massive season’s best 44.03 in second while Norwood’s time in third was 44.63.

In the women’s equivalent, Commonwealth champion Sada Williams ran a season’s best-equaling 50.34 to take the win ahead of Romania’s Andrea Miklos (50.80) and Austria’s Susanne Gogl-Walli (50.87). Charokee Young was sixth in 51.35.

Moving to the 100m where NCAA champion Julien Alfred, on her professional debut, got her usual good start and held her nerve to maintain her unbeaten record this season with a 10.89 effort. The former Texas star handed Sha’Carri Richardson (10.97) her first loss of the season while Tamari Davis was third with 11.02.

It was a Jamaican sweep in the men’s equivalent, with Yohan Blake producing his second consecutive good performance since a disappointing Jamaican Championships last week.

The 2011 World Champion ran 10.04 to win ahead of Ackeem Blake (10.09) while Rohan Watson, Jamaica’s national champion, was third in 10.10.

Defending World Champion and fastest woman alive in the 200m, Shericka Jackson, bounced back from a 100m defeat at the Silesia Diamond League on Sunday to run 22.03 to take the 200m ahead of Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke (22.36) and Bahamian Anthonique Strachan (22.45).

The men’s equivalent produced an upset as the Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando ran 19.99 to take the event ahead of American teenage sensation, Erriyon Knighton (20.05) and Jamaican national champion, Andrew Hudson, who ran 20.36 in third. Julian Forte was fourth in 20.41.

Reigning Olympic 110m hurdles champion, Hansle Parchment, was narrowly beaten by American Daniel Roberts in the men’s sprint hurdles.

Roberts’ winning time was 13.12, just .02 seconds faster than Parchment in second and Tyler Mason in third.

Andrenette Knight led a Jamaican 1-2-3-4 sweep in the women’s 400m hurdles.

Knight, who lost to Janieve Russell at the Jamaican National Championships last week, turned the tables this time around with a near flawless race to win in a new personal best 53.26.

Russell ran a season’s best 53.72 in second while Rushell Clayton, who will also be on Jamaica’s team in Budapest, ran a season’s best 53.79 for third. Shiann Salmon ensured that Jamaicans occupied the first four places with 55.04 in fourth.

In the field, 2019 World Champion and Jamaica’s national record holder, Tajay Gayle, finished second in the long jump.

Gayle’s best distance, 8.24m, had him in the lead until the final round when Greek Olympic Champion, Miltiadis Tentoglu, produced a winning jump of 8.29m. The USA’s Jarrion Lawson was third with 7.97m.

Jamaican Romaine Beckford, a double 2023 NCAA champion in the high jump with South Florida, has signed with Arkansas and will be part of the Razorback squad for the 2023-24 season.

Beckford recently won the high jump title at the 2023 Jamaica Championships with a mark of 7-3.75 (2.23). He will represent Jamaica at the NACAC U23 Championships this week in Costa Rica and currently is in position to qualify for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

A double 2023 NCAA champion in the high jump with marks of 7-5.25 (2.27) outdoors and 7-4.25 (2.24) indoors, Beckford set South Florida school records with his outdoor career best at the NCAA Championships as well as his indoor best of 7-5 (2.26) to win the 2023 American Athletic Conference meet.

In the 2023 American Athletic Conference outdoor meet, Beckford won the high jump (7-1.5 | 2.17) as well as the javelin with a career best throw of 194-10 (59.38). The 2023 outdoor season included a victory at Penn Relays (7-1.75 | 2.18) as well as finishing runner-up at Mt. SAC Relays (7-2.5 | 2.20) and winning the Florida Relays (7-4.25 | 2.24).

Beckford finished as runner-up in the 2022 Penn Relays high jump with a 7-3.75 (2.23) clearance prior to claiming the AAC Outdoor title (7-1.75 | 2.18). He won the 2022 AAC Indoor high jump with a 7-2.5 (2.20) clearance. Beckford represented Jamaica in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, placing eighth.

In junior college at South Plains, Beckford won the 2021 NJCAA Outdoor high jump while also competing in discus and javelin. At NJCAA Indoor, Beckford won the high jump and finished 10th in heptathlon (4,182 points). At the 2020 NJCAA Indoor, he finished second in the high jump.