OLYMPIC champion Hansle Parchment ended his preparation for the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) Trials on a high note after he ran a world-leading 13.09 seconds (0.2m/s) to win the 110m hurdles at the Birmingham Diamond League meeting, at the newly refurbished Alexander Stadium, on Saturday.

Parchment was the only Jamaican winner at the meet that was also a test for the track and field competition at the Commonwealth Games later this year, as sprinters Shericka Jackson and Yohan Blake were second in the women’s and men’s 100m, respectively, and Natoya Goule-Topping was third in the women’s 800m.

Despite cool and windy conditions, the 110m hurdles race lived up to expectations as Parchment chased and caught the fast-starting Omar McLeod, the 2016 Olympic champion, and ran away to post his seventh-best time ever.

After his Olympic Games “upset” win in Tokyo last year, Parchment knows he has the proverbial bullseye on his back.

“As Olympic champion I do not feel any pressure but I just tried to execute my own race [and] also to feel less tense and help others to relax. I am pleased with a world lead but it is very early in the season, so you can’t read too much into [that] at the moment.”

Having McLeod in the race, he said, was a good thing for him.

“It is awesome to have my compatriots here and we can talk to each other and have some fun. We are all teammates and we will be looking for a 1-2-3 at the World Championships,” said the St Thomas native.

Parchment, who had run 13.15 seconds at a meet in Puerto Rico two weeks ago, confirmed that this would be his final race before the JAAA Trials in late June, saying “Now I am concentrating on the trials so I will take a break to prepare.”

McLeod, who ran a season’s best 13.17 seconds, moving up to fourth in the world from his previous 13.22 seconds, said, “It was a season’s best so that is good, although it wasn’t the cleanest of races, to be honest.”

He clipped the third barrier before charging into the sixth and seventh but added, “I am very happy for us both [himself and Hansle Parchment] to get these results and push each other harder, keep building, and try and get faster with every race. It is a fast track for sure so I am already looking forward to coming back for a fast time at the Commonwealths,” he noted.

Unlike Parchment, McLeod says he still has more work to do before the JAAA Trials, “I am off to Oslo so [I] will look for a good time there. I must keep working hard.”

Jackson clocked 11.12 seconds (-0.1m/s), just beaten to the tape by Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith who ran 11.11 seconds in her opening 100m race of the season.

“It was actually a good race. I never get the start I wanted but it’s all work in progress and I’m definitely happy,” Jackson said after the race.

She continued: “This is not my type of weather but it’s my job when I’m competing, and I just came here focused on what I needed to do.”

Blake led the men’s race up to 90 metres, after two false starts, but was edged by Canada’s Aaron Brown who won with 10.13 seconds (-0.2m/s) to the Jamaican’s 10.18 seconds.

The 2011 World Champion admitted that he misjudged the race.

“I think I took it too easy at the end and didn’t see the guy in lane eight,” he said, “I was focused forward. It was challenging because it was cold. The two false starts were tough but I am used to dealing with these things.”

World number three Trayvon Bromell of the USA and Great Britain’s Jamaica-based Zharnel Hughes were both disqualified after separate false starts.

Blake reported that he was in good form and still had ambitions of running faster than he had before. “I am feeling good after coming back. I want to stay hard-to-beat and move from being second fastest in the world to be fastest. I have been here before and I am used to the pressure.”

Goule-Topping, who was running her first 800m outdoors this season, faded to third after she was well placed in second with under 100 metres to go, running 2:00.13 seconds. Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson won with 1:58.63 seconds and France’s Renelle Lamote was second with 1:59.53 seconds.

She said she was not bothered by her finish.

“I am okay with third although in the circumstances I tried hard and of course wanted better, but the wind was hard. I will carry on with the Diamond League circuit but the real focus is Eugene.”

The Olympic Games and Diamond League finalist also added, “Each year I work harder and harder and I am just hoping this is my time.”

Commonwealth Games champion Janieve Russell was seventh in the women’s 400m hurdles in 56.21 seconds, after being second with two hurdles to go.

American Dalilah Muhammad won the race in 54.54 seconds with two Ukrainians, Viktoriya Tkachuk-55.25 seconds and Ann Ryzhykova with a season’s best 55.37 seconds, taking second and third, respectively.