The recently concluded 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene saw the Caribbean region grab the opportunity to represent themselves well on a global stage with both hands.
The region took home 17 medals in total including five golds, nine silvers and three bronzes with Jamaica leading the Caribbean medal count with 10 ahead of Grenada and the Dominican Republic who got two each while the Bahamas, Barbados and Puerto Rico all took home one apiece.
There were a number of standout performances throughout the 10 days starting with Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson.
Fraser-Pryce produced a championship record 10.67 to defend her 100m title and win her fifth in total. Fraser-Pryce also won her second 200m medal in her World Championships career, a silver in a season’s best 22.81.
Jackson ran a personal best 10.73 for silver in the 100m behind Fraser-Pryce and followed that up with one of the performances of the championships in the 200m. She produced a time of 21.45 to win her first global title and become the fastest woman alive over the distance.
Double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah came third in the 100m in 10.81 to complete Jamaica's second consecutive 100m clean sweep at a major championship.
Fraser-Pryce, Jackson and Thompson-Herah then teamed up with Kemba Nelson to win silver in the 4x100m in 41.18 behind the USA (41.14).
We now move to the 400m where the Caribbean women swept the medals. Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo became the first female to complete the world event cycle (gold medals at the World Youth Championships, World Junior Championships, World Indoor Championships, World Championships and Olympics) by finally winning her maiden world title with a world-leading 49.11.
The Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino, the world leader coming into the Championships, followed up her silver medal in Tokyo last year with 49.60 to claim silver once more.
Barbados’ Sada Williams produced a brilliant personal best and national record 49.75 to take home bronze, becoming the first Barbadian woman to win a World Championship medal.
In the men’s equivalent, Grenadian superstar Kirani James ran 44.48 for silver behind American Michael Norman (44.30). This was James’ third World Championships medal and first since 2015 when he won bronze.
Paulino was also part of the brilliant quartet that took the Dominican Republic to gold in the Mixed Relay. Paulino combined with Fiordaliza Cofil, Lidio Andres Feliz and Alexander Ogando to run 3:09.82 for gold.
Staying on the track, Jamaica’s Britany Anderson followed up on the promise she’s shown all season to secure a silver medal in the 100m hurdles.
Anderson ran a new national record 12.31 in the semi-finals before running a wind-aided 12.23 to secure the silver medal behind Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan who clocked an astounding 12.06 for victory after running a legal world record 12.12 earlier in the semis.
Puerto Rican Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ran the same time as Anderson to take home bronze.
Jamaica picked up silver medals in both the men's and women's 4x400m relays. The men comprising of Ackeem Bloomfield, Nathon Allen, Jevaughn Powell and Christopher Taylor registered 2:58.58 to finish behind the USA (2:56.17) while the women with Candice McLeod, Janieve Russell, Stephenie Ann McPherson and Charokee Young produced 3:20.74 to finish behind the Americans (3:17.79).
In the field, Grenada’s Anderson Peters became only the second man to defend his javelin world title.
The 2022 world leader produced a best throw of 90.54m to successfully defend his title from Doha three years ago, replicating a feat only matched by Czech world record holder Jan Zelezny who won consecutive world titles in 1993 and 1995 before returning to top spot in 2001.
Peters produced an amazing series, registering 90.21m, 90.46m, 87.21m, 88.11m, 85.83m and 90.54m in his six rounds.
Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts produced a season’s best 14.89m to take silver in the women’s triple jump behind Venezuelan world record holder and Olympic champion Yulimar Rojas (15.47m).
Ricketts produced jumps of 14.89m, 14.86m, 14.37m, 14.40m, 14.62m and 14.80m for one of her best series of her career.
The region will be hoping for an even better showing at the 2023 World Championships scheduled for August 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary.
Bahamian quarter-mile star Shaunae Miller-Uibo added the 400m world title to her impressive collection after dominating the event at the IAAF World Championships on Friday.
The reigning Olympic champion had failed to capture the world title on two prior occasions, at the 2015 and 2019 editions, where she was made to settle for silver. In Eugene, Oregon, the athlete, who claimed she would retire from the event after this season, seized the moment.
Miller-Uibo took charge of the race early on, before pulling well clear of the field down the stretch to stop the clock at a world-leading 49.11. The event ended with a Caribbean sweep of the medal places as the Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino ran 49.60 for second and Barbados’ Sada Williams took a surprise third place in a new national record of 49.75. Jamaicans Stephenie-Ann McPherson and Candice Mcleod missed out on the podium spots after finishing 5th and 7th.
In the men’s equivalent, Grenadian Kirani James was forced to settle for second spot behind American Michael Norman who took the event in 44.29. James was second in 44.48 with Matthew Hudson-Smith third in 44.66.
Two other Caribbean athletes in the event Christopher Taylor of Jamaica and Barbados’ Jonathan Jones were 7th and 8th respectively.
Tokyo Olympics 400m finalists Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Marileidy Paulino, Candice McLeod and Stephenie-Ann McPherson all advanced to Friday’s 400m finals at the conclusion of the semi-final round of competition at the 2022 World Championships of Athletics at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Wednesday night.
Jamaica’s Stephenie-Ann McPherson led the cadre of Caribbean women advancing to the semi-finals of the Women’s 400m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday.
Shericka Jackson sizzling performance on Sunday’s final day of Jamaica’s National Senior Championships made her the third fastest woman over 200m in history. Only Florence Girrifth-Joyner (21.34) and Elaine Thompson-Herah (21.53) have run faster than the 27-year-old Olympic bronze medallist.
The lifetime best 200m time also moved her above Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas as the best active combination sprinter in history by virtue of her times of 10.76 in the 100m, 21.55 and 49.47 in the 400m.
Only East Germany’s Marita Koch (10.83/21.71/47.60), Griffith-Joyner (10.49/21.34/50.89) and Marion Jones (10.65/21.62/49.59) are ranked higher than the affable Jamaica sprinter, who revealed that the jaw-dropping run on Sunday that left Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah (22.05) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (22.140 trailing in her wake, was the result of a lot of hard work.
“I have been working really hard on running the curve. I wanted to do that and I know that once I ran that curve and execute properly, just to relax down the home stretch, I knew I would have run fast but this fast I never expected it but I am grateful,” she said afterwards.
The bad news for the rest of the world is that Jackson believes she has even more speed in those powerful legs of hers, the speed that the world is likely to see at the World Athletics Championships that begin in Eugene, Oregon on July 15.
“The curve is one of the things I want to master. I think I did pretty good tonight. So many mistakes made so I know definitely coach will correct them,” she said.
“I never wanted to put any pressure on myself. People out there will put pressure but listening to my coach, execute properly, I know I can go faster.”
Bahamian track star Shaunae Miller-Uibo was left feeling confident, with the upcoming Oregon World Championships on the horizon, after a dominant win at the Paris Diamond League on Saturday.
After putting her opponents under pressure from the starter’s gun, Miller-Uibo eventually coasted home to stop the clock in 50.10. Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek was second in 50.24 and her compatriot Anna Kiełbasińska third in a personal best 50.28.
The race was only the Bahamian's third of the season, in the event, but she believes the performance sets her up in good stead, with her country's National Trials set for next week.
“I had a great race tonight. Really great. I did a strong start, I pushed a lot on the first 300m. Then, I managed to stay in the lead. I still had some gas in the tank to finish strong. The track is fast,” Miller-Uibo said following the event.
“I'm quite happy about the model of 400m I want to execute this season. Now, I'm gonna travel back home, no more meetings on my schedule because we have the trials for World Championships next week. At this stage, I'm quite confident about my chances to succeed at Eugene. I'm healthy, everything is doing great at training. I'm exactly in the shape I wanted to be at this time of the season,” she added.
Despite being the reigning Olympic champion Miller-Uibo has never won the World Championship, with two silver medals in 2015 and 2019 standing out as her best finishes.
Defending 100m World Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continued her spectacular start to the 2022 season with a dominant win at Saturday’s Paris Diamond League.
Fraser-Pryce ran her second sub 10.7 clocking this season, equalling her own world-leading 10.67 for victory ahead of Great Britain’s Daryll Neita (10.99) and Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou (11.01).
The eight-time Olympic and nine-time World Championship medallist previously ran 10.67 at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya on May 7.
Bahamian Olympic 400m Champions Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo both also showed good form to secure 400m victories.
Gardiner, who is also the defending World Champion, produced a typically easy display of running to win in a season’s best 44.21, ahead of the Dominican Republic’s Lidio Andres Feliz (44.92) and South Africa’s Zakhiti Nene (44.99).
Miller-Uibo, on the other hand, went out extremely hard in the first three quarters of her race before shutting down with about 50 metres to go, to win in 50.10 ahead of Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek (50.24) and Anna Kielbasinska (50.28).
Bahamian Devynne Charlton ran a season’s best 12.63 to finish second in the 100m hurdles behind Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan who did a personal best and African record 12.41 for victory. Great Britain’s Cindy Sember ran 12.73 for third.
Cuba’s Jordan Diaz Fortun (17.66m) and Andy Diaz (17.65) were the top two finishers in the triple jump ahead of Olympic Champion Pedro Pichardo of Portugal (17.49m).
Reigning Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo has revealed that she expects to step away from the event by the next Olympic Games.
The Bahamian sprinter has claimed the title at the last two Olympics and could have been the first woman to win the event at three consecutive events.
Miller-Uibo, who has the 7th fastest time over the event all-time, and 3rd fastest in the last 25 years, has now revealed that she does not expect to face the starter in Paris.
“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be doing the 400m that year [2024],” Miller-Uibo said on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s Diamond League meet in Rome.
“I’m planning on wrapping it up. I’ve accomplished so much in the event, for me, it’s just about getting the world title now.”
Despite dominating at the Olympics, the athlete has never won the World Championship title with her best results coming in 2015 and 2019 when she was second behind Allyson Felix and Salwa Eid Naser respectively. In the future, the sprinter plans to focus her effort on the 200m.
On Thursday, Miller-Uibo will face a quality 200m field, which includes reigning 200m Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, reigning World champion Dina Asher-Smith and Felix.
Tokyo Olympic 200m finalists Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce go head to head in the 200m at the Diamond League Meeting in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday in what promises to be an epic clash that will also feature World Indoor 60m champion Mujinga Kambudji.
Grenada’s Anderson Peters set a new area record in the javelin with the second of his two first-ever throws over 90m, Shanieka Ricketts won the triple jump but there was a shock defeat for Shaunae Miller-Uibo in the 400m as the 2022 Diamond League season began in Doha on Friday.
Peters, the reigning world champion, broke his own national record on his opening throw of 88.96m but lost the lead when Jakub Vadlejch hurled the javelin out to a new world lead of 89.87m in the fourth round.
Spurred by the challenge, Peters uncorked his first ever 90m throw in the penultimate round, hitting a new personal best of 90.19m only to see Vadlejch surpass him once more with a personal best of 90.88m.
Undaunted the Grenadian, who once wanted to be a sprinter, flung his best-ever throw, 93.07m to put victory beyond Vadlejch’s reach. It was a new national record and personal best for Peters, and the fifth-best throw in history.
Meanwhile, Ricketts, the 2019 World Championships silver medalist produced a winning mark of 14.82m in challenging conditions caused by blustery winds as high as 6.5m/s that aided her winning jump.
Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuck took second place with her best effort of 14.73, her fourth jump of the competition that was helped by a gale force wind of 6.3m/s.
Dominica’s Theo LaFond took the final podium spot with her fourth-round jump of 14.43m assisted by a 3.6m/s wind.
Miller-Uibo last lost a 400m on this track back in 2019 when Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Nasser stunned the world with a 48.14 run at the World Championships. This time it was the Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist who stormed home in a season-best 51.20.
Stephenie-Ann McPherson trailed the imperious but clearly winded Bahamian up until the last few metres before overtaking her to clock a season-best 51.69. Miller-Uibo trudged across the line in 51.84 for third.
Barbados’ record holder Sada Williams (52.09) and Tokyo Olympic finalist Candice McLeod (52.37) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Shericka Jackson, who won the 100m at the National Stadium in Kingston last weekend, lost her first race of the outdoor season clocking 22.07 in the 200m after getting caught late by the USA’s Gabby Thomas, who ran a season-best 21.98 that equalled the meet record set by Allyson Felix back in 2015.
Dina Asher-Smith, the reigning world champion, clocked a smart 22.37 in her 200m opener, which was good enough for third place.
There was a blanket finish in the 100m hurdles that Kendra Harrison won in 12.43 but can count herself lucky to win. Brittany Anderson led off the last hurdle but appeared to stumble and faded to third in 12.44, the same time awarded to Nigeria Tobi Amusan who was awarded second place.
Bahamas’ Devyne Charlton was some distance back running 12.61 for fourth place while Megan Tapper hit the first hurdle and finished eighth in 12.92.
The 400m hurdles offered a glimpse of what to expect in the event this year as Alison Dos Santos, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist out-paced silver medallist Rai Benjamin down the home stretch to win in a world-leading 47.24, which was also a new meet record.
Benjamin was timed in 47.49.
The rest of the field was far behind but Thomas Barr of Ireland was the next best running 49.67 for third while Kyron McMaster finished fourth in 49.93.
Jaheel Hyde was fifth in 50.23.
Reigning Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo will go head-to-head with Jamaicans Stefanie Ann-Mcpherson and Candice McLeod when the 2022 Diamond League season runs off with the Doha meet, in Qatar, on Friday.
The Bahamian will head into the event as favourite, on the back of a strong indoor season where she added the Indoor title to her medal collection, in Belgrade. The Doha meeting will feature the first match-up between the trio since the Olympics, where Miller-Uibo took gold and Mcpherson and McLeod finished just outside the medals.
In the half-lap event, Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson will battle reigning 200m champion Diner Asher-Smith of Great Britain, who will be opening her season in the event. The field is also set to feature a rejuvenated Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas and Olympic finalist Gabby Thomas of the US.
There will also be a strong Caribbean presence in the women’s 100m hurdles with the Jamaican duo of Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper facing off with compatriot Britany Anderson. The Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton will also be part of that field.
Bahamian quarter milers Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steve Gardner have reportedly been confirmed for next month’s Paris Diamond League meeting.
The meet will be the seventh in the series, which runs off with the Doha Diamond League meet on May 13. An appearance at the Paris meeting, scheduled for June 18, could mark a long-awaited return to the city for the reigning 400m Olympic Champions.
Miller-Uibo, who has won the 200m event at the 2017, 2018, and 2019 editions and the 400m, at the 2017 event, has not appeared at the Paris meet since 2011. Gardiner has yet to win the title and last made an appearance in Monaco in 2019.
The duo has been in splendid form early this season with Miller-Uibo claiming the 400m title at the World Indoor Championship and Gardiner registering a number of impressive times indoors before opening the outdoor season with world-leading 44.22 seconds at the LSU Alumni Gold meet.
Jamaica’s Charokee Young continued her fine form to start this season by winning the Women’s college 400m in a personal best and world leading 49.87 at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday.
Young, competing for Texas A&M, finished comfortably ahead of teammate Tierra Robinson-Jones (50.89) and Florida’s Talitha Diggs (51.93).
Bahamian two-time Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo opened her 2022 outdoor season with a win in the Olympic development 400m.
Miller-Uibo, who added to her trophy case with gold in the 400m at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March, decimated the field to win in 49.91 ahead of Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams (51.17) and the USA’s Lina Nielsen (51.54).
Puerto Rico’s Olympic 100m hurdles champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn was also in scintillating form, running a world leading 12.39 to win the 100m hurdles ahead of the USA’s Nia Ali (12.59) and Kaylor Harris (13.16).
Bahamian Alonzo Russell ran 45.65 for second in the Men’s 400m behind Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith (44.82). Wales’s Joe Brier was third in 45.74.
Bahamian superstar, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, added to her massive trophy case by winning gold in the Women’s 400m at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade on Saturday.
Adding to a bronze medal in the 400m from the 2014 World Indoor Championships in Sopot, Miller-Uibo got a good lead on the field at the start and used her strength to carry her home in a time of 50.31. Dutch 400m Hurdles Olympic bronze medallist Femke Bol was second in 50.57, while Jamaica’s Stephenie Ann-McPherson was third in a national indoor record 50.79.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards ensured the Caribbean swept the 400m events with a brilliant championship record 45.00 to win gold ahead of the USA’s Trevor Bassitt (45.05) and Sweden’s Carl Bengstrom (45.33).
The 2017 World Championships 200m bronze medallist now has two World Indoor Championships medals after his bronze from the 4x400m in the 2012 edition in Istanbul.
Briana Williams, Michelle Lee-Ahye and Shericka Jackson all advanced to the final of the Women’s 60m at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade on Friday.
Williams followed up her personal best 7.06 in the heats with a time of 7.07 to win the third semi-final ahead of Lee-Ahye who ran 7.12 for second place and an automatic berth in the final.
Jackson came third in the first semi-final and qualified as one of the fastest losers with a personal best of 7.08. The final is scheduled for later on Friday.
Stephenie Ann-McPherson won semi-final one of the Women’s 400m in 51.26 ahead of Femke Bol (51.28). Aliyah Abrams of Guyana finished third in 51.57 to also advance to the final. Shaunae Miller-Uibo looked in ominous form, easily winning semi-final two in a comfortable season’s best 51.38.
Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago put himself in position for a medal when he won his semi-final heat in 46.15.
It was bad news for Christopher Taylor who appeared to suffer an injury and did not finish his semi-final heat.
The Women’s and Men's 400m finals are scheduled for Saturday.
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