SANDSTORM SHANIEKA!
EUGENE, Oregon — Shanieka Ricketts repeated her silver medal from Doha 2019 as she took second place in the women’s triple jump with a season’s best 14.89m (1.7m/s) on Monday’s fourth day of the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
It was sweet redemption for the many-time national champion after placing fourth at the Tokyo Olympics last year and took Jamaica’s medal tally to four, one gold, two silver and a bronze.
Venezuela’s double world record holder Yulimar Rojas won the gold medal with a world leading 15.47m (1.9m.s), while the USA’s Tori Franklin took the bronze with a season’s best 14.72m (1.8m/s).
Ricketts led the competition after the first round but was passed by Rojas in the second round and had a 14,80m jump on her final jump.
Kimberly Williams was seventh with 14.29m (0.1m/s) while Ackelia Smith who made it past the fist round in her first senior championships, struggled and finished 12th with 13.90m (1.7m/s), after she had jumped 13.01m (1.6m/s) in the first round then ran though the second jump, fouling it.
Meanwhile, fresh from their sweep of the 100 medals a day earlier, all three women advanced to today’s semi-finals of the 200m, world leader Shericka Jackson won her first round heat, while while Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were second, all booking automatic spots.
Jackson barely broke a sweat as she ran a wind-aided 20.33 seconds (2.5m/s). Thompson-Herah ran 20.41 seconds (-0.2m/) behind Beatrice Masilingi of Namibia who ran a season best 22.27 seconds and Fraser-Pryce clocked 22.26 (1.1m/s), during the race as Niger’s Aminnatou Seyni set a national record 21.98 seconds.
Rasheed Dwyer, who equalled his season best 20.29 seconds (-0.3m/s) and Yohan Blake 20.34 seconds (0.4m/s), advanced to today’s semi-finals of the men’s 200m.
Dwyer grabbed his hamstrings after crossing the line behind American Noah Lyles and later told journalists he felt cramps twice during the race. “My coach told me to run the corner hard and I could have run faster but felt the cramps,” he said.
Blake was third in his heat and advanced on time, but said he knew what he had to “clean up” for the next round.
Ackeem Bloomfield was fifth with a wind-aided 20.56 seconds (2.1m/s) and failed to make progress.
Samantha Hall failed to get past the first round of the women’s discus throw after throwing 56.99m in group B.