2021 swan song
SHELLY-ANN Fraser-Pryce set a meeting record in the women’s 100m and her compatriot Natoya Goule won the women’s 800m at yesterday’s Gala dei Castelli Bellinzona, in Switzerland, a World Athletics continental tour silver series event.
Fraser-Pryce ended her season on a high as she ran 10.78 seconds (0.5m/s), outclassing the field with her fifth sub 10.80 seconds run in her last six races as she was followed across the finish line by two Swiss athletes, Olympic finalists Mujinga Kambundji (10.99 seconds) and Ajla Del Ponte (11.11 seconds), with another Jamaican, Natasha Morrison fourth in 11.17 seconds.
Goule, who was third in the Diamond League final, won her race in 1:58.20 minutes, beating American Chanelle Price (1:59.75) while Sweden’s Lovisha Lindh was third with 1:59.94 minutes.
Olympic finalist Christopher Taylor was third in the men’s 400m in 45.70 seconds as Jochem Dobber of the Netherlands created an upset when he won in 45.28 seconds, just edging American Vernon Norwood (45.31 seconds).
Nigel Ellis was fourth in the men’s 100m, running 10.22 seconds (-0.1m/s) as Canadian Andre De Grasse snatched the victory in 10.06 seconds, beating Diamond League champion Fred Kerley (10.11 seconds) and the veteran Justin Gatlin was third in 10.13 seconds.
Jaheel Hyde and Leah Nugent were both fifth in their respective 400m hurdles races, with Hyde running 49.73 seconds — his slowest time in months — as Brazil’s Alison dos Santos won in 48.15 seconds.
Estonia’s Rasmus Magi was second with 48.53 seconds and Germany’s Emil Agyekum took third with 49.15 seconds.
Nugent ran 56.28 seconds in her race that was won by Olympic medallist Femke Bol of the Netherlands in a meeting record 54.01 seconds. Lea Sprunger of Switzerland was second with 54.53 seconds and Viktoriya Tkachuk of Ukraine was third in 54.75 seconds.
Quater-miler Candice McLeod stepped down to the 200m where she finished fifth in 24.18 seconds (0.6m/s) as Kambundji won in 22.36 seconds, just off her national record 22.26 seconds. Anna Kielbasinska of Poland was second in 22.92 seconds and Lieke Klaver of Holland was third in 23.16 seconds.
Damion Thomas finished at the back of the 110m hurdles field after hitting a hurdle, as Swiss national record holder Jason Joseph won with 13.24 seconds (1.1m/s) ahead of Brazil’s Rafael Pereira (13.42 seconds) and American Michael Dickson (13.52 seconds).
