Ricketts, Blake, Williams winners in Leverkusen
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Shanieka Ricketts, Yohan Blake, and Briana Williams were Jamaican winners at Saturday’s TrueAthletes Classics at Stadion Manfort in Leverkusen, Germany, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze event.
Ricketts dominated the women’s triple jump in which compatriot Kimberly Williams was third and Blake equalled his season’s best 10.01 seconds (0.2m/s) to win the men’s 100m, while Williams held on to win the women’s 100m.
Ricketts, who retained her national title just under a month ago, dominated the women’s triple jump, winning with 14.52m (-0.4m/s), almost a metre better than Germany’s Maria Purtsa’s 13.69m (-0.1m/s), with Jamaican Kimberly Williams placing third with 13.58m (-0.5m/s).
She would have won with any of her four legal jumps as she had opened her competition with 14.40m and also had jumps of 13.94m and 13.81m.
Williams had just three legal marks and was in seventh place before getting her best mark of the day in the fifth round.
Blake was running 10.01 seconds for the third time this season after the race was held up because of two recalls, but once the race got underway, the 33-year-old Blake caught and passed the fast-starting Jeremiah Azu of Great Britain to win his second race in his last three outings.
Azu, who ran under a caution after he failed to settle into his blocks properly, clocked 10.07 seconds, while Nigeria’s Seye Ogunlewe Nigeria was third in 10.17 seconds.
In the first round, Blake had run 10.07 seconds (-0.6m/s) to win his heat.
Williams, who clocked 11.46 seconds (-0.5m/s) in the first round, won the women’s 100m final, just getting to the finish line ahead of the fast-finishing Bree Masters of Australia to win in 11.38 seconds (-0.3m/s).
The 2018 World Under-20 Championships sprint double champion got off to a fast start and led by over a metre before Masters closed the gap in the second half with both athletes hitting the finish line almost simultaneously.
Masters was timed in 11.39 seconds and Germany’s Lisa Marie Kwayie was third in 11.53 seconds.