AMERICA sprinter Tyson Gay rolled back the clock with a vintage performance in the men’s 100m and Jamaica’s newest track darling Stephanie McPherson announced herself to the world with yet another World Leading mark of 50.45 seconds in the 400m on a night of glittering performances on Saturday’s 10th Jamaica International Invitational at the National Stadium.

Six World Leading performances were achieved and one meet record broken despite the absence of major stars such as double World Record holder Usain Bolt and World Championships 100m gold medallist Yohan Blake.

Heavy rains that pelted most of the island between Friday night and Saturday afternoon and which left several inches of water on areas of the stadium, hours before the scheduled start of the meet helped to keep away hundreds, leaving a half-filled grandstand and the meet felt flat at times.

The performances, however, told a different story as Veronica Campbell Brown and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also scored significant wins.

In addition to Gay and McPherson, a pumped-up Nickel Ashmeade with maybe a chip on his shoulder, had a World Leading 20.00 seconds in the men’s 200m; Americans Dawn Harper in the women’s 100m hurdles and Antwon Hicks in the men’s’ 110m hurdles and shot putter Ryan Whiting also produced season’s best that led the world so far.

Despite a less than spectacular start, Gay who was running his first 100m in Jamaica, chased and caught a fast-starting Nesta Carter to win in 9.86 seconds as the Jamaican Olympic relay gold medallist was second in 10.03 seconds and American Darvis Patton third in 10.07 seconds.

While saying he was “satisfied” with his performance, Gay who had said earlier he was in shape to run 9.80 seconds, said he had hoped to run faster.

“I am feeling good and hope to run much faster later and hopefully to (run a personal best),” said Gay, who was fourth at the Olympics last year and won a silver medal in the relays before undergoing a medical operation on his hips that kept him out of training until late last year.

Campbell Brown, a former teammate of Gay’s at the University of Arkansas, also had to come from behind in her 100m race. She was off to an even worst start and was in fifth place mid-way the race that was led at the time by Trinidad’s Kelly-Ann Baptiste and World University games 100m champion Carrie Russell.

Campbell Brown, who was running her first 100m race of the season, however dug deep and caught Baptiste at about the 90-metre mark, then blew past her to win in 11.01 seconds — second best in the world. Baptiste finished second in 11.06 and Russell was a good third in 11.08 seconds with Olympic finalists Muriel Ahoure (11.11) and Allyson Felix (11.13) behind her.

McPherson, the former Mannings High School star, showed no fear of the occasion as she took charge early in the race and looked to be on a sub-50.00 seconds pace, leading the strong field by about 10 metres coming off the last turn before slowing down to win in 50.45 seconds, her third World Leading mark of the season and third time lowering her personal best.

McPherson, who had run 51.64 seconds three years ago before switching to the 400m hurdles and who have run 50.78 seconds earlier, made up the stagger on Great Britain’s Olympic silver medallist Christine Ohuruogu early then went after defending champion and Olympic finalist Novlene Williams Mills. “No, I was not afraid, my coach Stephen Francis told me to just relax and everything would be all right,” she noted. McPherson added she was setting her sights on a 50.20 seconds or lower mark later this year and a place on the team to the World Championships in Moscow.

Ohuruogu was second in 50.58 seconds and Williams Mills third in 51.05 seconds, second and third best, respectively, in the world.

Ashmeade had one bad race last year but it came at the worst time, in the National Senior Trials where he was fourth then had to watch as Bolt, Blake and Warren Weir swept the medals in London.

On Saturday night he ran 20.00 seconds looking controlled coming off the bend and even when Weir edged in front, held his form to run away from the field as Weir was second in a season-best and second best in the world 20.14 seconds. American Wallace Spearmon was third in 20.32 seconds.

Fraser-Pryce, the Olympic silver medallist, was an easy winner in the women’s 200m in 22.38 seconds, second in the world behind Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare, leading a Jamaican clean sweep of the top five places with Kerron Stewart second in 22.71 and Sherone Simpson third in 22.83.

The Americans Harper and Hicks won the sprint hurdles races, which lived up to expectations for great competition.

Harper just beat compatriot Queen Harrison by two-hundredths of a second in one of the closest finishes of the night 12.62 seconds to 12.64 with Canada’s Jessica Zelinka third in 13.06 seconds.

Hicks upset a good field to win in 13.25 seconds, just edging defending champion Hansle Parchment (13.26 seconds), a season’s best, while Andrew Riley who is coming off a big win over World Record holder Aries Merritt at the Drake Relays last weekend, hit the final hurdle while leading and ended up third in a season’s best 13.28 seconds.

Despite saying he did not warm up well as he was “not really feeling well”, Whiting smashed the meet record 21.50m set in 2001 by fellow American Christian Cantwell with a World Leading 21.74m.

Cantwell was second with 20.29m with Jamaica Raymond Brown third with 19.87m.

Other impressive results came from 19-year-old Dominican 400m star Luguelín Santos, who came off the pace to chase and beat American Tony McQuay to the line in the quarter mile, winning in 45.06 seconds to 45.15 seconds with an impressive personal best 45.57 seconds from young Jamaican Javere Bell who edged American Calvin Smith for third.

American T’erra Brown had a season’s 54.83 seconds to win the 400m hurdles, the third best in the world so far and her third best ever.

Jamaica’s Ristananna Tracey was second in a season’s best 55.66 seconds, sixth best in the world so far and just shy of the 55.64 seconds she ran last year when she just missed a place in the team to the Olympics in London, while American Tiffany Williams was third in 56.03 seconds.