Personal best 15.01m for Shanieka Ricketts at Brussels Diamond League
KINGSTON, Jamaica— Many-time national champion Shanieka Ricketts produced a brilliant personal best 15.01m (0.3m/s) to win the women’s triple jump at Friday’s Van Damme Memorial Diamond League meet at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.
Ricketts, who was fourth at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary last month after back-to-back silver medals, produced her best ever jump in the third round after she had taken over the lead with 14.70m (-0.2m/s).
The Commonwealth Games champion beat her previous best of 14.98m set on Doha, Qatar in 2021.
Kimberly Williams was fifth with 13.96m (0.4m/s).
Rusheen McDonald was also a winner, as he took the men’s 400m with 44.84 seconds, coming from the back in the final 50 metres to beat Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic who ran a season’s best 44.93 seconds while Norway’s Havard Bentdal Ingvaldsen was third with 45.07 seconds.
Tissanna Hickling was fourth in the women’s long jump, a non-Diamond event, with a best of 6.19m (-0.1m/s), getting only three legal marks.
World Champion and world leader Ivana Vuleta of Serbia won with 6.74m (0.3m/s), beating Fleur Jong of the Netherlands who had a personal best 6.74m (0.2m/s), on the count back, while Belgium’s Noor Vidts was third with 6.38m (-0.3m/s).
-Paul A Reid