MONTEGO BAY, St James — Emerging track and field star Stephanie McPherson ran a new personal best 49.92 seconds to place second in the women’s 400m at yesterday’s IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco.

It was the best by a Jamaican woman so far, and it made her the third fastest woman in the world over the one lap race so far.

With exactly three weeks to go before the start of the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia, McPherson elevated herself into medal conversation with a superb run, setting a fourth personal best of the season, but beaten only by Botswana’s Amantle Montsho’s national record, world leading and Diamond League record 49.33 seconds.

Diamond League leader Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was beaten into third place in the 200m by yet another national record by an African runner, Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast, while the Jamaican 100m men were kept off the podium.

In the 400m Novlene Williams-Mills failed to complete the race.

Another Jamaican Rosemarie Whyte was fourth in a season’s best 50.86 seconds, behind American Francena McCorory, who was third, while Shericka Williams was seventh in 51.95 seconds.

Montsho, who has four of the six fastest times of the season so far, leads the world as she seeks to defend her title, while two Russians, Antonina Krivoshapka is the second fastest with 49.57 seconds, and Kseniya Ryzhova has run 49.80 seconds.

Meanwhile, Fraser-Pryce, who was beaten in the event at the Birmingham Grand Prix on June 30, ran a sluggish corner and despite coming back into contention in the home stretch, could not catch the Ivorian, who ran a new personal best 22.24 seconds, running into a negative wind (-0.5m/s).

Ahoure’s time is the second fastest this year, behind the 22.13 seconds the Jamaican set while winning the JAAA National Senior Championships in June.

Tiffany Townsend of the USA ran a personal best 22.26 seconds for second, as Carmelita Jeter, who was expected to feature in the top three, did not run after competing in a relay earlier in the day.

Justin Gatlin, who has emerged as Usain Bolt’s main rival in the 100m at the World Championships with the withdrawal of defending champion Yohan Blake, and Tyson Gay due to a drug suspension, won the men’s 100m in 9.94 seconds (-0.4m/s), ahead of Dentarius Locke (9.96 seconds) and Jimmy Vicaut (9.99 seconds).

Kemar Bailey Cole was the best placed Jamaican in sixth place with 10.10 seconds ahead of Nickel Ashmeade (10.13 seconds), as St Kitts’ Kim Collins ran 10.08 seconds for fifth.

Trinidad and Tobago’s former World Junior champion Jehue Gordon won the 400m hurdles race in 48.00 seconds, just outside his season best, beating American Johnny Dutch (48.20 seconds) and Javier Culson of Puerto Rico (48.35 seconds).