Grenada’s Anderson Peters set a new area record in the javelin with the second of his two first-ever throws over 90m, Shanieka Ricketts won the triple jump but there was a shock defeat for Shaunae Miller-Uibo in the 400m as the 2022 Diamond League season began in Doha on Friday.
Peters, the reigning world champion, broke his own national record on his opening throw of 88.96m but lost the lead when Jakub Vadlejch hurled the javelin out to a new world lead of 89.87m in the fourth round.
Spurred by the challenge, Peters uncorked his first ever 90m throw in the penultimate round, hitting a new personal best of 90.19m only to see Vadlejch surpass him once more with a personal best of 90.88m.
Undaunted the Grenadian, who once wanted to be a sprinter, flung his best-ever throw, 93.07m to put victory beyond Vadlejch’s reach. It was a new national record and personal best for Peters, and the fifth-best throw in history.
Meanwhile, Ricketts, the 2019 World Championships silver medalist produced a winning mark of 14.82m in challenging conditions caused by blustery winds as high as 6.5m/s that aided her winning jump.
Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuck took second place with her best effort of 14.73, her fourth jump of the competition that was helped by a gale force wind of 6.3m/s.
Dominica’s Theo LaFond took the final podium spot with her fourth-round jump of 14.43m assisted by a 3.6m/s wind.
Miller-Uibo last lost a 400m on this track back in 2019 when Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Nasser stunned the world with a 48.14 run at the World Championships. This time it was the Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist who stormed home in a season-best 51.20.
Stephenie-Ann McPherson trailed the imperious but clearly winded Bahamian up until the last few metres before overtaking her to clock a season-best 51.69. Miller-Uibo trudged across the line in 51.84 for third.
Barbados’ record holder Sada Williams (52.09) and Tokyo Olympic finalist Candice McLeod (52.37) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Shericka Jackson, who won the 100m at the National Stadium in Kingston last weekend, lost her first race of the outdoor season clocking 22.07 in the 200m after getting caught late by the USA’s Gabby Thomas, who ran a season-best 21.98 that equalled the meet record set by Allyson Felix back in 2015.
Dina Asher-Smith, the reigning world champion, clocked a smart 22.37 in her 200m opener, which was good enough for third place.
There was a blanket finish in the 100m hurdles that Kendra Harrison won in 12.43 but can count herself lucky to win. Brittany Anderson led off the last hurdle but appeared to stumble and faded to third in 12.44, the same time awarded to Nigeria Tobi Amusan who was awarded second place.
Bahamas’ Devyne Charlton was some distance back running 12.61 for fourth place while Megan Tapper hit the first hurdle and finished eighth in 12.92.
The 400m hurdles offered a glimpse of what to expect in the event this year as Alison Dos Santos, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist out-paced silver medallist Rai Benjamin down the home stretch to win in a world-leading 47.24, which was also a new meet record.
Benjamin was timed in 47.49.
The rest of the field was far behind but Thomas Barr of Ireland was the next best running 49.67 for third while Kyron McMaster finished fourth in 49.93.
Jaheel Hyde was fifth in 50.23.
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JC and Cayman sprinter Jaiden Reid commits to LSU
Caymanian sprinter Jaiden Reid has decided to compete for the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers next season, the school announced on social media on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old had an excellent 2023 season competing for Jamaica College and the Cayman Islands.
He ran a personal best and Caymanian junior record 10.24 in the Class 1 Boys 100m semis at the ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships in March. He then took bronze in the final with 10.26. A week later, Reid also reached the Under-20 Boys 100m final at the 50th Carifta Games in Nassau, running 10.63 for sixth.
Reid has a 200m personal best of 20.91 done at the Corporate Area Development Meet at the national Stadium in Kingston last year. He competed in the event at the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia that same year, running 21.53 for sixth in his heat.
He was also a member of the Jamaica College quartet that produced 40.97 to win the Championship of America 4x100m at the Penn Relays this year.
Arkansas' McLeod, Pinnock go 1-2 in NCAA Div. 1 long jump final, Kentucky's Turner wins bronze
Carey McLeod was crowned 2023 long jump champion as the 2023 NCAA Division 1 National Outdoor Track and Field Championships got underway in Austin, Texas on Wednesday.
McLeod led a University of Arkansas 1-2 finish as Wayne Pinnock won the silver medal while Jordan Turner of the University of Kentucky made it a Jamaican 1-2-3 when he won bronze.
From a totally Jamaican perspective it was a Kingston College 1-2 with Calabar High third.
McLeod, the 2023 NCAA Indoor champion achieved the winning mark of 8.26m in the opening round equalling the facility record set by Steffin McCarter of Texas in 2021. Pinnock, the 2022 champion, followed leapt out to 8.15m for silver with Turner only two centimetres behind with 8.13m.
McLeod is the sixth Razorback to win a NCAA Outdoor long jump while Pinnock won the program’s sixth silver medal.
Meanwhile, Arkansas’ Phillip Lemonious was the fastest through to the finals of the 110m hurdles with a personal best 13.28. Fellow Jamaican Giano Roberts, representing Clemson University was also among the automatic qualifiers when he finished second in semi-final three with a personal best of 13.35.
Rasheem Brown of the Cayman Islands, a senior at the University of Tennessee also ran a personal best of 13.53 to advance to the finals that will be run on Friday.
It wasn’t all good news for Caribbean athletes however as Clemson’s Tarees Rhoden did not finish his 800m semi-final after leading at the end of the opening lap while Navasky Anderson struggled to a third place finish in his semi-final heat but his time of 1:48.79 was not fast enough to see him advance to the Friday final.
Rhoden will have a shot at a 4x400m relay medal after helping Clemson to a time of 2:59.78 that saw the advance to the final.
Barbados’ Rasheeme Griffith, a junior at Tennessee, ran 49.00, the third-fastest time going into the final of the 400m hurdles. He finished third in the last of three and fastest of the semi-final. Alabama Chris Robinson won the heat in 48.79 with Baylor University’s Nathaniel Ezekiel finishing second in 48.95.
Jamaica’s national 400m champion JeVaughn Powell is through to the final of the 400m with a time of 45.02. The University of Florida junior’s time was the seventh fastest to qualify.
Justin Robinson of Arizona State ran a time of 44.54 to lead all qualifiers into the final set for Friday.
Following Racers Grand Prix victory, 400m hurdler Shian Salmon plots for a personal best and a ticket to Budapest
Shian Salmon’s win at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston was another step towards achieving a personal best this season and with it, a place on Jamaica’s team to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest this summer.
Following her victory, the 24-year-old Salmon, revealed that while she was not pleased with the winning time of 55.10, was elated at the fact that this was her third win from five races so far this season.
“My season is going awesome. The conditions weren’t what I expected but who cares about times when you’re winning,” said Salmon, who went into Saturday’s race off a 54.42 third-place finish at the Diamond League in Rabat, Morocco on May 28.
“I came out here to win and did just that so I am happy with my performance.”
The time might not have been important on Saturday, but it will be as the season unfolds for Hydel High alum who ran a personal best of 53.82 on that same track during Jamaica’s National Championships in 2022.
“If I am being really honest, I am just trying to get back to my personal best and go beyond that; anything I get I will be grateful,” said the 2018 World U20 400m hurdles silver medallist, who believes a new personal best will assure her a ticket to the World Championships in Budapest in August.
“There are three spots available at trials and I am aiming to get one of them. Whatever time gets me into the top three I will be happy with that.”
Having beaten all the contenders for those three available spots, Salmon revealed, has boosted her confidence that she will be able to do so once again once the championships begin in July.
“But of course (I am confident). I don’t want people to be beating me left and right so whenever I get the chance to beat them, I beat them.”
For her next race, most likely in Europe, Salmon hopes to take a crack at her personal best that will further empower her to return to Jamaica knowing that only good things can come from it.
“Hopefully, the conditions will be right and I can get close to my personal best but I am just aiming to perfect my execution and I will be okay.”
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