…but several Jamaicans invited to Paris Diamond League after good performances at Trials
Good performances at last weekend’s JAAA National Senior Trials have seen a number of Jamaicans being invited to compete in this Saturday’s IAAF Diamond League meeting in Paris, France.
Commonwealth Games triple jump champion Kimberly Williams, long jumper Damar Forbes and sprit hurdler Hansle Parchment are among approximately 10 Jamaican athletes who will participate in the one-day event.
In post-event interviews none of the athletes had mentioned the Paris meet and Williams was in doubt as to where she would be competing next given she was out of competition for a while.
Meanwhile a mouth-watering clash between newly crowned national men’s 100m champion Asafa Powell and world record holder Usain Bolt was cancelled after the latter withdrew from both the Paris meet and the Lausanne meet three days later due to injury.
A release from Bolt’s camp yesterday said the athlete was in Germany seeking treatment, after he “has been feeling discomfort in his left leg since his last competition which has restricted his training. He visited Doctor (Hans) Müller-Wohlfahrt in Munich who confirmed that he has a blocked sacroiliac joint which is restricting his movement and putting pressure on his knee and ankle. Usain will spend the next couple of days in Munich getting treatment after which he will resume full training in his quest to defend his titles at the IAAF World T&F Championships in Beijing at the end of August.”
Bolt had said on social media, “I’m disappointed not to be able to compete in Paris and Lausanne. I love running at these meetings but at the moment I am unable to compete at 100%. I look forward to getting back into full training as soon as possible.”
Powell, who equalled his season’s best 9.84 seconds at the JAAA Trials last week, and Nesta Carter, who missed out on a place in the men’s 100m at the IAAF World Championships in August after placing fourth at the National Senior Trials, is also in the 100m as well as Americans Ryan Bailey and Mike Rodgers.
World leader Jason Morgan, who was second at the men’s discus throw at the Trials, will compete in his second Diamond League meeting this season, while Forbes, who won his fourth national senior title, has also been included.
Former World Junior Championships winner Janieve Russell, who won her first national senior 400m hurdles title, will join Diamond League leader Kaliese Spencer in the intermediate hurdles race.
Javon Francis, who won his first national senior title as well will make his Diamond League debut when he joins Rusheen McDonald in the quarter mile as they go up against world leader Kirani James of Grenada.
Commonwealth Games champion Kimberly Williams has been included in the women’s triple jump event where she goes up against Colombian superstar Caterine Ibarguen, while Natasha Morrison, who was second in the women’s 100m at the Trials Friday night, joins World and Olympic champions and world leader Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the short sprint.
Olympic Games bronze medallist Hansle Parchment, coming off his season’s best 13.08 seconds in the men’s 110m hurdles on Saturday, faces a tough field that includes David Oliver, Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and world record holder Aries Merritt.