KINGSTON, Jamaica — Megan Simmonds won her first Diamond League race on Thursday after she ran a season’s best 12.50 seconds (0.8m/s) to win the 100m hurdles at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Rome, the fourth stop on the circuit.

Simmonds, who got off to a fast start, held off a quality field to win ahead of former world record holder Kendra Harrison of the USA who ran 12.54 seconds and Nadine Visser of the Netherlands was third with 12.58 seconds.

Danielle Williams was fifth with a season’s best 12.69 seconds.

Six other Jamaican athletes earned podium places with Orlando Bennett and Jordan Scott were second in the 110m hurdles and men’s triple jump respective; Jaydon Hibbert was third in the men’s triple jump, Nickisha Pryce in the women’s 400m, Rushell Clayton in the women’s 400m hurdles and Romaine Beckford in the men’s high jump.

Bennett, the Jamaican national champion, ran 13.31 seconds (0.5m/s) to finish behind American Trey Cunningham who ran a personal best, world leading and meeting record 12.98 seconds.

Spain’s Enrique Llopis was third with 13.32 seconds.

Scott, the world leader, had to work hard in the men’s triple jump, getting his best mark 17.33m (-0.2m/s) in the final round, ahead of Hibbert’s season’s best 17.02m (-0.8m/s).

Italy’s Andy Diaz Hernandez won his third straight Rome Diamond League title with a season’s best 17.59m (-0.1m/s).

Pryce finished strong to snatch third place in the women’s 400m, getting a season’s best 49.80 seconds as Norway’s Henriette Jaeger won with 49.60 seconds and Lurdes Gloria Manuel of Czechia ran a personal best 49.77 seconds for second.

Clayton lowered her season’s best to finish third in the women’s 400m hurdles, clocking 53.14 seconds, under the 53.75 seconds she ran in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday.

Emma Zapletalova of Slovakia recorded back-to-back wins, lowering her national record to 52.58 seconds, also the world lead as American Anna Cockrell was second with 52.77 seconds.

Beckford cleared 2.23m to take third in the men’s high jump, same height as Mexico’s Erik Portillo who was second and Italy’s Matteo Sioli won with 2.28m.

World indoor medalist Raymond Richards cleared 2.20m for seventh place.

Tajay Gayle placed fourth in the men’s long jump with 8.04m (-0.3m/s) and Wayne Pinnock was seventh with 7.75m (-0.3m/s) with Rajindra Campbell finishing fifth in the men’s shot put with a best of 21.39m.

Ackeem Blake ran 10.06 seconds (0.4m/s) for seventh in the men’s 100m that was won by American Noah Lyles in 9.88 seconds, beating Emmanuel Eseme who set a Cameroon national record 9.94 seconds and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo was third in a season’s best 9.95 seconds.

— Paul A Reid