Elaine Thompson, Blake win
Olympic champion Elaine Thompson went some ways to make up for a disappointing World Championships in London last month after she retained her IAAF Diamond League 100m title, winning the final event at the Van Damme Memorial in Brussels, Belgium, as the 14-meet Diamond League season, that started in early May in Doha, Qatar, came to an end yesterday.
Thompson, who was a disappointing fifth in the 100m finals in London, came from behind to win the 100m yesterday in 10.92 seconds (0.4m/s) edging Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou- 10.93 seconds, to take home her second straight Diamond trophy and the US$50,000 prize money that goes with it.
It was a clean sweep of the 100m titles for Jamaicans, as former World champions Yohan Blake won the men’s race in a swift 10.03 seconds, in a race that saw three Jamaican men line up at the start.
Fourteen Jamaican athletes took part in the meeting that started on Thursday and yesterday’s portion was run in cool conditions with rains just hours before the start causing a further drop in the temperatures.
Thompson, who also has the world leading time of 10.71 seconds set earlier this year in Kingston, got off to a good start but it was the American Tianna Bartoletta and Ta Lou, who had the best starts.
The Jamaican, however, caught them late in the race and swept past by virtue of her 200m strength.
Nigerian Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor was third in 11.07 seconds, while two other Jamaicans Jura Levy was seventh in 11.17 seconds and Christania Williams eighth in 11.35, respectively.
Blake, the Jamaican sprint double champion, continued his impressive late season form winning the men’s 100m in 10.02 seconds (0.2m/s), controlling the race from the start and winning comfortably.
Blake, who was fourth in the 100m at the World Championships in London last month, won ahead of American Mike Rodgers in 10.09 seconds, while Jamaicans Julian Forte was third in 10.12 seconds and Asafa Powell fourth in 10.18 seconds.
World Championships finalist Fedrick Dacres was second in the men’s discus throw with a best mark of 66.31m behind the 68.16m thrown by Lithuania’s Andrius Gudzius with Poland’s Piotr Malachowski in third place with 65.73m.
Ronald Levy, who had raced once since he was injured in the first round in the World Championships and who was a no-show in Zurich last week, finished fifth in the 110m hurdles in 13.41 seconds (0.5m/s).
Russian Segey Shubenkov, running as a neutral athlete, a special dispensation from the IAAF, won in 13.14 seconds ahead of Spain’s Cuban-born Orlando Ortega- 13.17 seconds and world record holder Aries Merritt was third in 13.20 seconds.
Shericka Jackson was the best placed of the three Jamaicans in the women’s 400m finishing fifth in 51.16 seconds, well behind the Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo who ran a world leading 49.46 seconds pulling the 19 year-old Salwa Eid Nasser of Bahrain to her fifth consecutive national record in as many races, 49.88 seconds.
Novlene Williams-Mills, who was running her final Diamond league race was sixth in 51.27 seconds and Moscow 2013 World Championships bronze medallist Stephenie-Ann McPherson was seventh in 51.72 seconds.
Olympic finalist Janieve Russell led early but faded to seventh place in the 400m hurdles, clocking a modest 55.60 seconds, as World Champion Dalilah Muhammad of the USA won 53.91 seconds, holding off Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic who ran a season’s best 53.93 seconds. American Ashley Spencer was third in 54.92 seconds.
Rasheed Dwyer finished at the back of the field in the men’s 200m in 20.67 seconds (0.9m/s) as the half-lap race was won by the 20-year-old American Noah Lyles in 20.00 seconds as the top three had to be decided by photo finish.
Ameer Webb, the winner of the American trials was second in a season’s best 20.01 seconds and World Champion Ramil Gulitev of Turkey was third in 20.02 seconds, both their season’s best.
A day earlier, O’Dayne Richards finished seventh in the shot put with a best of 21.07m as the American Darrell Hill shocked the strong field with a big personal best and meeting Record 22.44m, well over his previous best of 21.91m.