DEFIANT!
VETERAN Yohan Blake and up-and-coming Shericka Jackson were Friday night crowned national 100m champions to cap off a feast of speed on the second day of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association’s National Championships at the National Stadium.
In one of the best showings at a National Championships in years, the top three men ran under 10 seconds and the women were all under 11 seconds as the Jamaicans signalled they are ready for the international championships to come later this year.
It took a while for the women’s race to commence as there were a number of faulty starts, but it was worth the wait as Jackson powered her way to a 10.77 seconds (0.9m/s) finish. Kemba Nelson of the University of Oregon was second in a personal best 10.89 seconds, while Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah was third in 10.89 seconds after she got left in the blocks.
“I had to focus a bit and run a massive season best, so I can’t complain. I think coach will be happy with the time, but I have things still to work on, I still need an individual gold medal to my name,” Jackson said in a post-race interview.
There was an anti-climax as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who ran 10.70 seconds in the first round on Thursday, did not finish her semi-final heat, jogging the first 20 metres before stopping.
There was no indication of injury, and given she has the wild card in the 100m at the World Championships as the defending champion, she was not required to run the event at the trials. But, she is expected to show up for the 200m which starts today.
Yohan Blake ran 9.85 seconds (0.0m/s), his fastest in 10 years, to beat the young, up-and-coming duo of Oblique Seville (9.88) and Ackeem Blake in a personal best 9.93 seconds, in the men’s final.
The 32-year-old Blake, who won the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in 2011, got off to a fast start and used all his experience to get to the line first as the 21-year-old Seville, who ran 9.86 earlier in the year, and Ackeem Blake, 20, both booked their tickets to the World Championships.
The time was an improvement on Yohan Blake’s previous season-best 9.93 seconds run on Thursday.
Yohan Blake honoured his ailing father after the sensation effort.
“[I] Dedicate this win to my father who had a stroke this week. It has been hard for us as a family,” he said.
“[I have] been working hard all season, never doubting — you have to believe in our self. We just kept working on my last part of the race,” he added.
Jaheel Hyde and Janieve Russell retained their 400m hurdles titles, both in season-best times.
Hyde, the Olympic Games semi-finalist, got another good start and held off World Championships finalist Kemar Mowatt to win in 48.51 seconds.
Mowatt clocked 48.53 seconds while Shawn Rowe was third in 49.66 seconds.
Russell won a dramatic women’s 400m hurdles in a season’s best 53.63 seconds, ahead of Shiann Salmon who lowered her personal best for the second-straight day. She timed 53.82 seconds while Doha World Championships bronze medallist Rushell Clayton was third in 54.20 seconds, her fastest this year.
Kimisha Chambers and Andrenette Knight got off to fast starts and the latter, who ran 53.39 seconds two weeks ago, moved well ahead but hit the eighth hurdle and fell to the track.
Russell thereafter took over the race and powered her way home to secure her place on the team list.
Salmon had run 54.10 seconds in the first round, which was then a personal best.