Elaine Thompson-Herah was the only Caribbean athlete to win on the final day of the Diamond League season in Zurich on Thursday but a few others came very close.
The Olympic 100 and 200m champion set a new meet record of 10.65 to win the 100m going away from Dina Asher-Smith who returned to form with a season-best run of 10.87 for second place. Third went to Ajla Del Ponte who ran a personal best 10.93. Daryll Neita also ran a personal best of 10.93 but was given fourth.
Since she won the gold medal in the 100m in Tokyo in a time of 10.61, Thompson-Herah has run times of 10.54, 10.64, 10.72 and 10.65 and became the first woman to run four wind-legal times under 10.70s.
During the meet where there were several close races, Kirani James narrowly missed out on winning the 400m in a stirring battle down the home stretch with Michael Cherry, whose legs gave out at the line but still managed to clock 44.41, just edging James as the two of them crashed to the track after crossing the line.
Deon Lendore of Trinidad and Tobago made it a Caribbean 2-3 as he clocked 44.81.
Another close finish unfolded in the 110m hurdles that ended with the USA’s Devon Allen being declared the champion even though he and Ronald Levy crossed the line together in 13.06. The time was 0.01 outside Levy’s lifetime best.
Olympic champion Hansle Parchment clipped a couple of hurdles, lost his rhythm and finished third in 13.17.
The 200m dashes were no different as Shericka Jackson ran a personal best 21.81 but just failed to hold off the fast-finishing Christine Mboma, who set a new WorldU20 record of 21.78, which was also an area record, for the victory.
Asher-Smith was unable to stay with them down the stretch and faded to third in 22.19.
Kenny Bednarek held off Andre Degrasse to win the men’s race in 19.70. His winning time was 0.02 seconds ahead of the Canadian who clocked 19.72.
Fred Kerley who won the 100m ahead of Degrasse, finished third in 19.83.
Megan Tapper has been on a tear since she became the first Caribbean woman to win a bronze medal in the 100m hurdles at the Olympics. She was third in Zurich in 12.55, just outside her lifetime best of 12.53 set during the first round of the event at the Tokyo Olympics last month.
It took a personal best and area record of 12.42 from Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan and a personal best and national record of 12.51 of the Netherlands’ Nadine Visser to beat her.
Quanera Hayes won the Women’s 400m in 49.88 over Dominica’s Marileidy Paulino, the Olympic silver medalist, who ran Hayes close to clock 49.96 for second place. Sada Williams of Barbados was third in 50.24, just edging Stephenie-Ann McPherson (50.25).
Candace McLeod was fifth in 50.96.
Karsten Warholm continued his imperious form in the 400m hurdles winning in 47.35 ahead of Alison Dos Santos (47.81) and Kyron McMaster (48.24).
Olympic bronze medalist Femke Bol took the women’s race in a meet record of 52.80. The USA’s Shamier Little ran 53.35 and Anna Ryzhykova, 53.70, for second and third, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the field, Fedrick Dacres finished third in the discus with his best mark of 65.33m.
It was no surprise that Sweden’s Daniel Stahl won the event with 66.49m. Kristjan Ceh of Sloevnia threw 65.39m for second.
The winner of the Women’s triple was also not surprising as Olympic champion and world record holder Yulimar Rojas soared out to a meet record 15.48m to take the win. Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts jumped 14.64 for the runner-up spot with her compatriot Kimberly Williams third with 14.41m.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Double gold: Jamaica sweeps sprint relay finals at World Under-20 Championships
Saturday’s final day of the 2024 World Athletics Under-20 Championships was a productive one for Jamaica in the 4x100m relay as both the female and male quartets claimed gold medals.
The women combined to run a season’s best 43.39 to win gold ahead of Switzerland (44.06) and Canada (44.60).
200m bronze medallist Shanoya Douglas ran the first leg before handing off to Alliah Baker. Baker ran a solid leg before handing off to Briana Campbell who then gave the baton to individual 100m champion Alana Reid who then brought it home.
The men’s race was as exciting as they come with Deandre Daley producing a brilliant anchor leg to secure gold for Jamaica in 39.18 ahead of Great Britain (39.20) and Thailand (39.39).
Jamaica were on the back foot early after the opening leg from Jace Witter before the second and third legs from Gary Card and Nyrone Wade, respectively, meant that Daley got the baton in fourth and in striking distance of the top three.
Similar to what he did at the 2023 Carifta Games in Nassau, Daley then produced an excellent anchor leg comeback to secure the gold for Jamaica.
Elsewhere, Jamaica’s Shaiquan Dunn threw 59.79m for seventh in the final of the men’s discus. The USA’s Bryce Ruland took gold with a personal best 62.59m ahead of The Netherlands’ Jarno Van Daalen (62.22m) and Finland’s Mico Lampinen (62.20).
The USVI’s Michelle Smith narrowly missed out on a medal in the women’s 400m hurdles final, finishing fourth in 57.21. France’s Meta Tumba took gold in a national under-20 record 55.59. Poland’s Wiktoria Gadajska ran a national under-20 record 56.87 in second while South Africa’s Hannah Van Niekerk was third in a personal best 56.98.
Alfred, Richardson to renew rivalry from Paris at Zurich Diamond League on Sept 5
St Lucia’s 100m Olympic champion Julien Alfred and American silver medallists Sha’Carri Richards are set to renew their rivalry at next week’s Zurich Diamond League, which will mark their first meeting since the Paris Olympic Games.
The September 5 meet to be held at the Weltklasse will be an opportunity for Alfred to solidify her class and status against some of the best in the world, while for Richardson, it will be a shot at redemption where possibly lowering the St Lucian’s colours is concerned.
That cool and wet August 3 night at the Stade de France will be fresh in the minds of both athletes, as Alfred became her country's first Olympic champion when she exploded from the blocks and maintained her speed and composure to hold off a charging Richardson, who had to overcome a slow reaction out of the blocks to make up ground.
Alfred, 23, later added more accolades and history to her name with a silver medal win in the 200m, becoming her island’s Saint Lucia's first-ever double Olympic medallist.
For Richardson, 24, making up ground after a slow start—which is somewhat of a bad habit, as she stumbled at US Olympic Trials and came back to win—underscored her blistering turn of foot.
Though her quality was always on display, many didn’t view her as a title contender until she swept past both Jamaican stalwarts Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson to win last year's World Championships title.
In this rematch between Alfred and Richardson, Great Britain’s European champion Dina Asher-Smith will also be added to the mix to get her shot at both, as she surprisingly missed out on the Paris Olympic final after she placed fifth in her semi-final.
It is indeed set to be an intriguing showdown between four of the world’s best female sprinters, as Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji, who placed sixth in Paris, will also be aiming to make an impression on home soil.
BVI's Adaejah Hodge, Ja's Shanoya Douglas cop gold, bronze in women's 200m at World U-20 Champs
Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) delivered a stunning performance to cop gold in the women’s 200m final at the World Under-20 Championships, while Jamaica’s Shanoya Douglas claimed bronze in Lima, Peru, on Friday.
Hodge, 18, who claimed silver in the same event at the 2022 Championships, upgraded her medal to gold as she topped the field in 22.74s, marking a significant milestone in her budding career.
The Olympian’s victory was the highlight of a successful night for the Caribbean, as 16-year-old Douglas also secured a spot on the podium, finishing third in 23.10s in a thrilling race that once again showcased the region's sprinting prowess. The Caribbean duo was separated by Australia’s Torrie Lewis, who clocked a personal best of 22.88s for second.
From the gun, Hodge, who was determined to improve on her previous silver medal finish, established herself as a solid contender for the top spot. With powerful strides and impeccable form, she maintained her composure around the curve and later exploded in the straight to leave rivals in her wake.
Hodge’s win and Douglas’ bronze brought the curtains down on what was the most successful for the Caribbean since the start of the five-day Championships, as Kerrica Hill earlier copped Jamaica’s second gold medal when she clocked 12.99s to top the women’s 100m hurdles. She won ahead of Croatia’s Mia Wild (13.15s) and Delta Amidzovski (13.24s) of Australia.
Jamaica now has two gold medals and one bronze, while Hodge claimed her country's first medal.
Carlos Brown Jr (21.51s) of the Bahamas finished eighth in the men's 200m final.
Prior to that, Jamaica’s Richard Hall and Cuba’s Yander Herrera missed out on the podium in the men’s final, as both clocked in at 13.46s for fifth and sixth. The event was won by American Ja’Kobe Tharp in a new World Under-20 leading time of 13.05s.
His compatriot Andre Korbmacher (13.14s) was second, with China’s Yuanjiang Chen third in 13.21s, a national Under-20 record.
Meanwhile, Michelle Smith of US Virgin Islands once again established herself as the gold medal favourite, as she was the fastest through to Saturday’s final. Smith clocked a brisk 56.39s to win semi-final two, while Haiti’s Gloria Guerrier (1:00.20) finished eighth and failed to progress.
Jamaica’s Kelly Ann Carr suffered a similar fate in semi-final three as she placed eighth in 1:00.33.
Only one Caribbean athlete will be present in the men’s final and that is Jamaica’s Daniel Wright, who topped semi-final three in 51.11s, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Cheyne West (53.09s) placed seventh in the same race and missed out.
Another Jamaican Trevoy Smith (54.24s), also finished down the track in a brisk semi-final one, which saw the top two qualifiers crossing the line together in a World Under-20 leading time of 49.36s.
The 400m hurdles finals are scheduled for 4:35pm Jamaica time on Saturday.
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