WORLD Championships silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts scored an important win on Sunday after she took the women’s triple jump at the Müller Grand Prix in Gateshead, England, the opening leg of the 2021 Wanda Diamond League series.

Despite poor weather throughout the day which included constant rain and cool conditions, a number of Jamaicans had good showings including podium finishes for shot-putter Danniel Thomas-Dodd, quarter-miler Stephenie Ann McPherson, World Champion long jumper Tajay Gayle and intermediate hurdler Janieve Russell.

There were also creditable performances at Adidas’ Boost Boston Games in the United States, a meet run on the streets of the city, during which Natoya Goule and Shiann Salmon picked up wins as well.

The women’s 100m in Gateshead was the most eagerly anticipated match-up of the day in track and field and hometown favourite, World Championships 200m champion Dina Asher Smith bested the competition with a pedestrian 11.35 seconds (-3.1m/s) in cold, rainy conditions as American world leader Sha’Carrie Richards lost for the first time this season in 11.44 seconds and Ivorian Marie-Josee TaLou placed third in 11.48 seconds.

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was fourth in 11.51 seconds in her first 100m outing of the year, with Natasha Morrison placing seventh in 11.77 seconds.

In the preliminary rounds Fraser-Pryce had run 11.62 seconds (-4.2m/s), Morrison 11.88 seconds and Natalliah White, who did not make the final, ran 12.03 seconds (-4.4m/s).

At the Diamond League meeting organisers used the new rule in the field events which allows for the top three after five rounds to advance to the one round ‘final’ where only the marks from that round count towards podium positions.

Ricketts proved her class as after leading through the first five rounds, she produced a 14.40m (1.3m/s) effort in the final to take the victory and the Diamond League points while compatriot Kimberly Williams was fourth with 14.15m (1.8m/s).

Thomas-Dodd threw 18.46m for the runner-up spot in the women’s shot put, won by Auriol Dongmo of Portugal with 19.08m.

McPherson was also second in the women’s 400m with a time of 51.96 seconds, with her MVP Track and Field Club training partner Shericka Jackson sixth in 53.40 seconds as American Kendall Ellis won with 51.86 seconds.

Gayle finished third in the men’s long jump with 8.00m (2.00m/s) as Italian Fillippo Randazzo won with a wind-aided 8.1m (2.8m/s) and Portugal’s Eusebio Caceres was second with 8.04m (1.4m/s).

Russell took the bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles in 57.16 seconds as Denmark’s Sara Slott Petersen won with 56.32 seconds and Great Britain’s Jessica Turner was second with 56.56 seconds,

Megan Tapper was fifth in the 100m hurdles with 13.53 seconds (-3.9m/s) while Julian Forte was seventh in the men’s 200m in 21.47 seconds (-3.0m/s).

In Boston, 800m specialist Goule ran a world-leading one minute 24.00 seconds for the women’s 600m with Jazmine Fray placing fourth in 1:27 minutes.

Ashanti Moore was second in the women’s 100m B race in 11.18 seconds (0.4m/s) with American Kiara Parker winning with 11.07 seconds.

Nickel Ashmeade’s return to form continued as he placed third in the men’s 100m final in a season’s best 10.17 seconds (0.5m/s) after he had run 10.18 seconds earlier in the prelims.

Ryiem Forde ran a personal best 10.18 seconds (-0.3m/s) to place second in the Men’s Future Stars 100m race; Jelani Walker was third with 10.34 seconds and Michael Stephens fourth with 10.35 seconds.

Shiann Salmon won the rarely run 200m hurdles in 24.86 seconds (-0.1m/s), handing American Shamier Little her first loss of the year as she ran 24.91 seconds with Ronda Whyte third 25.71 seconds.

Yohan Blake was second in the men’s 150m in 14.94 seconds (0.1m/s) while Danielle Williams was fourth in the 100m hurdles in 12.92 seconds (-0.9m/s).