From Left: Rasheed Broadbell, Tina Clayton and Nickisha Pryce.
Day one at the 2024 Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Friday saw a number of Caribbean athletes producing excellent performances.
Perhaps the best performance on the day came from 2022 Commonwealth 110m hurdles champion Rasheed Broadbell.
The 23-year-old produced a personal best 7.56 to take the men’s 60m hurdles ahead of countryman Tyler Mason who ran a personal best 7.65 in second. LSU Sophomore Matthew Sophia was third in 7.67, also a personal best.
The women’s 60m Open saw a Caribbean top three as Tina Clayton won ahead of twin sister Tia with Bahamian Anthonique Strachan finishing third. Tina’s winning time was a season’s best 7.25 while Tia’s time in second was 7.28 and Strachan’s in third was 7.30.
The men’s equivalent saw reigning Jamaican National 100m champion Rohan Watson run 6.76 to finish as runner up behind American Lawrence Johnson who ran 6.70. Another American, Tony Brown, ran a personal best 6.78 in third while Jamaica’s Michael Campbell ran 6.80 in fourth.
The College men’s 60m saw Bahamian Florida Sophomore Wanya McCoy produce a personal best 6.65 to finish second behind LSU Sophomore Myles Thomas (6.62). Thomas’s teammate, Godson Oghenebrume, also ran 6.65 in third.
The women’s College 400m saw Jamaican National champion Nickisha Pryce produce a personal best 51.04 to take the win. Her time also puts her #3 on the all-time Jamaican indoor list.
The Arkansas Junior finished ahead of her schoolmate Kaylyn Brown who ran a personal best 51.49 for second while Rosey Effiong completed the Arkansas 1-2-3 with 51.65 in third.
The women’s Open 400m saw Lanae-Tava Thomas and Stacey Ann Williams run 51.88 and 52.33 for second and third, respectively. American Alexis Holmes won in a meet record 50.80. Another Jamaican, Andrenette Knight, ran 52.68 in fourth.
In the field, 2019 World champion and national record holder, Tajay Gayle, opened his season with 8.15m to finish second in the men’s long jump. Gayle, who also took bronze at the World Championships in Budapest last year, also produced a 7.99m effort in his series on Friday.
The event was won by Florida Senior Malcolm Clemons with 8.17m while Bahamian Laquan Nairn produced 7.93m for third.
Clarke pleased with first Diamond League win; hoping for personal best at Diamond League final in Brussels
Jamaican World under-20 400m record holder Roshawn Clarke is pleased after securing his first win on the Diamond League circuit in Zurich on Thursday.
The former Camperdown High star produced a fast 47.49 to take the win ahead of Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba (47.58) and Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (48.02).
Thursday was Clarke’s fourth Diamond League appearance. He made his debut on the circuit at last year’s edition of the Zurich Diamond League on August 31, 2023.
“It means a lot because I came out here trying to get myself into the Diamond League final so I was trying to rack up as much points as possible and I came out with the win,” he said in a post-race interview with Citius Mag.
“I’m very pleased with my first Diamond League win and it came in Zurich. What better place?”
The 20-year-old was a finalist at the Olympic Games in Paris but unfortunately failed to finish after clipping the eighth then smashing into the ninth hurdle while in a battle with Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos for the bronze medal.
Clarke spoke about using that disappointment as motivation to finish out the season on a strong note.
“Strong-minded. I had disappointment in Paris and that has kept me pushing to make myself even better,” he said.
“I want to come back stronger. I did not finish in the final at the Olympics so I use that as motivation to keep my season going,” he added.
Speaking of finishing out the season strong, Clarke’s winning time on Thursday is the second fastest time of his young career, bettered only by his national record and world junior record 47.34 which he ran in the semi-finals at the World Championships in Budapest last year.
Running a time that fast at this stage of the season on the back of that disappointment in Paris is a sign of Clarke’s mental fortitude that should see him being a medal threat in the event for a long time.
Clarke’s mind will now shift to the Diamond League final in Brussels from September 13 to 14.
“My goal is to go out there, run my race, run as best as possible and try to come out with a personal best in my last race for the season,” he said.
Grenada's Anderson Peters feels he's returning to top form ahead of Diamond League final
Grenadian javelin thrower and two-time world champion Anderson Peters believes he is regaining his best form just in time for the Diamond League finals in Brussels. Peters, who claimed bronze at the Paris Olympics in August, secured victory at Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Zurich with a throw of 85.72m.
Though not a season's best—his top mark this year being 90.61m—Peters is encouraged by his progress, especially after recovering from illness. "It still feels like I am coming back," Peters admitted. "After Lausanne, I was sick with the flu, so my body is still recovering. I have not been training, just relaxed and tried to recover. So it still feels like my body is on the way to top competition form."
Despite the setback, Peters remains focused on finishing the season strong, with the Diamond League final in Brussels as his next target. "I was looking forward to competing here and seeing what my body can produce. I've got just one more competition for this year and I am done. Definitely, it is Brussels. It’s going to be my third time in the Diamond League final, and it will be my shot at the win."
Looking ahead to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Peters is confident in his ability to peak at the right time. The World Championships will take place later in the season, but Peters is unfazed, having previously won his world title in Doha in October. "That is something we know how to do, and it is just a matter of doing it again," he remarked.
Peters also reflected on the unpredictable nature of javelin throwing, a quality he relishes. "The beauty of the javelin throw is that it is an unexpected event. One day you throw 90m, and another day you throw 80. It’s a little bit unpredictable, but that’s why most javelin throwers like it. You never know when you’ll get a good throw or when the world record could be broken," Peters said, referencing Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who set an Olympic record of 92m in Paris.
"I like competing, and that keeps me going. That’s what I live for," Peters added. He also shared that he had already returned to Grenada briefly after the Paris Olympics to celebrate his success. "After Paris, I managed to go home for three days, so I’ve already had the celebrations, and it was good."
As Peters gears up for his final competition of the season in Brussels, the Grenadian star is eager to continue pushing his limits as he seeks another Diamond League crown.
Clarke, Salmon, Pinnock and Peters secure wins at Zurich Diamond League
Olympic finalists Roshawn Clarke and Shiann Salmon both produced their best performances of the season in winning efforts at the Zurich Diamond League on Friday.
Clarke, who was a DNF in the Olympic final in Paris last month, ran a season’s best 47.49 to win in a stacked men’s 400m hurdles ahead of Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba (47.58) and Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (48.02).
Salmon, sixth place in the final in Paris, dipped below 53 seconds for the first time in her career with an excellent personal best 52.97 to win ahead of Olympic silver medallist Anna Cockrell (53.17) and Shamier Little (54.07).
Also, among the winners on Friday was Olympic silver medallist Wayne Pinnock who produced a best jump of 8.17m to take top spot over rival and Olympic and World champion Miltiadis Tentoglu (8.02m) and Simon Ehammer (7.98m).
Two-time World Champion and Olympic bronze medallist Anderson Peters threw 85.72m to take the win in the men’s javelin ahead of Germany’s Julian Weber (85.33m) and Japan’s Roderick Genki Dean (82.69m).
In a much-anticipated Olympic final rematch in the women’s 100m, American Sha’Carri Richardson (10.84) this time secured victory over St. Lucian Olympic champion Julien Alfred (10.88) and British 2019 World 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith (10.89).
Puerto Rican Olympic bronze medallist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ran 12.36 to win the women's 100m hurdles ahead of Cyrena Samba-Mayela (12.40) and Olympic champion Masai Russell (12.47).
2021 Olympic champion Hansle Parchment ran a season’s best 13.18 for fourth in the men’s 110m hurdles won by Olympic champion Grant Holloway in 12.99. Sasha Zhoya took second in a personal best 13.10 while Freddie Crittenden ran 13.15 in third.
Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic ran a respectable 19.87 for fifth in the men’s 200m. Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo took the win in a fast 19.55, just ahead of American Kenny Bednarek (19.57). Erriyon Knighton ran 19.79 in third while Fred Kerley ran 19.81 in fourth.
The next stop on the Diamond League circuit will be the Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 13 and 14.
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