Calvert lowers personal best again
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Schillione Calvert lowered her personal best time in the 100m for the second straight weekend when she beat a quality field to win the event in 11.05 seconds at the prestigious Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in Hengeloon, Holland yesterday.
The IAAF World Youth Championships 100m bronze medallist in 2005, who is part of the Racers TC set up, had run 11.13 seconds at the JAAA All Comers Meet held at the National Stadium the previous weekend.
Running into a 1.7 m/s wind yesterday, Calvert beat the veteran Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of The Bahamas (11.12 seconds) with Gabon’s Ruddy Zang Milama third in 11.23 seconds.
Her time makes her the second fastest Jamaican over the distance so far this year with only Veronica Campbell Brown’s 10.92 seconds ahead of her and seventh best in the world.
Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart have both run 11.07 seconds at the Jamaica National Jamaica International Invitational held at the National Stadium on May 7.
Dwight Thomas was also in great form at the Dutch meet as he ran a season-best and brilliant 13.18 seconds in the 110m hurdles, his second best ever and just .02 off his national record set in 2009.
Thomas was second to world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba, who matched the world-leading time of 13.07 seconds set by China’s Liu Xiang in Shanghai earlier this month.
Mario Forsythe was fourth in the men’s 100m final in 10.14 seconds after running a season-best 10.11 earlier in the heats.
St Kitts and Nevis’ veteran Kim Collins won the event in a seaosn-best 10.05 seconds ahead of the Netherlands’ Churandy Martina (10.10 seconds) and Trinidad’s Richard Thompson’s (10.13), also season best times.
A day earlier at an IAAF World Challenge Meet held in Dakar, Senegal, Patricia Hall won the women’s 400m in a season-best 52.01 seconds after pulling out of the 100m earlier.
The American Keshia Baker was second in 52.39 seconds followed by France’s Muriel Hurtis-Houairi in 52.61m.
National record holder and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Dorian Scott was third in the shot put with a best mark of 19.12m, beaten by Cuba’s Carlos Velis’s season-best 20.18m and Taipei’s Ming-Huang Chang (19.72m).
