Scintillating
Another brilliant world-leading run in the women’s 100m by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce led a trio of Jamaican wins at Wednesday’s Wanda Diamond League meeting at Herculis Monaco, stopping the clock at 10.62 seconds (0.4m/s).
The time is also a new meeting record.
Rushell Clayton ran a new lifetime best to upset the field in the women’s 400m hurdles and Natoya Goule ran her best time of the year so far to win the women’s 800m.
There were also a second place for triple jumper Shanieka Ricketts and 400m runner Candice McLeod, while Hansle Parchment was third in the 110m hurdles.
Fraser-Pryce extended her stranglehold on the women’s 100m with yet another sublime performance, eclipsing the previous world lead 10.66 seconds that she ran in Poland last weekend.
The time broke the 24-year-old meet record 10.72 seconds held by American Marion Jones as 200m World Champion Shericka Jackson lowered her personal best for the third time this year, running 10.71 seconds for second and Marie-Josee Ta Lou also ran a lifetime best 10.72 seconds for third.
Jackson’s time moved her to sixth best all times, replacing American Sha’Carrie Richardson who is now joint seventh with Ta Lou.
The 35-year-old Fraser-Pryce, who said she is not sure if she would be running at the next Diamond League meeting set for Lausanne, said after Wednesday’s run: “I had now three back to back races so I will take some time for recovery and see what I’m able to do with some rest before I come back.”
“I did what I needed to do and we had fun and let the clock do its talking” adding, “I cannot be disappointed with the season. To be able to run 10.6 consistently means a lot to me. It is remarkable. It is very hard to keep the speed on this high level. It is important for me to deliver fast times, because I’m looking forward for myself to have a great season,” Fraser-Pryce added.
The Jamaican, who has continued to defy time, said she was looking to run even faster.
“I’m in my late thirties and I think I feel like I have more to give. I look forward to do my personal best for the rest of the season and run fast.”
Clayton became the fifth best Jamaican of all times in the women’s 400m hurdles after she ran 53.33 seconds to win in the fifth best time so far this year, beating her previous best of 53.63 seconds set at the World Championships last month Commonwealth Games champion Jenieve Russell was second with a season’s best 53.52 seconds as Panama’s Gianna Woodruff was third with 54.13 seconds.
“I feel amazing, I feel good, I felt the right moment and I know I was executing a great race,” Clayton said after the race, but said it was tough, “The final 100 metres I felt that I had to fight myself through, I said to myself , ‘Rushell, you have make through the straight,’ and that’s how I made my win and personal best.”
Clayton, who had qualified for the finals at both the World Athletics Championships and the Commonwealth Games, however, said she is not satisfied, “There is always room to improve myself and looking forward to do my personal best for the rest of the season.”
After just missing a medal at the Commonwealth Games last weekend, Goule ran a season’s best 1:56.98 minutes to win the women’s 800m, fourth best time in the world so far, beating Americans Sage Hurta (1:57.85) and Olivia Baker (1:58.05), both lifetime best efforts.
“I feel extremely proud because I finally dropped the time under 1:57.00 seconds, I knew it was in me and my time was even a little bit faster because this is really the track where you can run fast. But I am just thankful for the win and the season best,” Goule said.
She said he plans yesterday was “I just wanted to make sure I run a smart race because it was getting fast. I am glad that I finished strong because sometimes when you run 56, you do not have the kick. But I still get it today.”
Ricketts, who is coming off a Commonwealth Games gold medal performance last weekend, was second in the women’s triple jump with a best of 14.91m (0.5m/s) as Yulimar Rojas, despite failing to register a legal jump in the first three rounds, won with 15.01m (0.m/s).
Ricketts got off to a fast start with her big jump coming in the first round and led the competition until the fifth round when Rojas got the winning jump.
Both Rojas and Ricketts fouled their final jump while American Tori Franklin got a personal best 14.86m (0.6m/s) to replicate the top three from the World Championships.
McLeod was second in the women’s 400m in a seasons best 49.87 seconds as World Champion Shaunae Miller Uibo of The Bahamas won with 49.28 seconds, Stephenie Ann McPherson was fourth in 50.52 seconds and Junelle Bromfield sixth in SB 50.93 seconds.
Parchment, who had withdrawn from the finals of both the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games, made a strong return, placing third in the 110m hurdles, coming from well behind to run a season’s best 13.08 seconds (0.6m/s).
American World Champion Grant Holloway won in a season’s best 12.99 seconds and his compatriot Trey Cunningham was second in 13.03 seconds.