Jasmine Camacho-Quinn stormed to a 100m hurdles win in 12.32 (1.7m/s) to move to equal seventh on the world all-time list at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday.
Prior to her season opener one week before where she ran a windy 12.47, Camacho-Quinn's last hurdles race had been in 2019 and the Rio 2016 Olympian had started questioning whether her future lay in competing over the barriers.
But her perseverance is paying off and in Gainesville the two-time NCAA champion took 0.08 off her own Puerto Rican record, which had been set in 2018, to make a statement in Olympic year.
Behind her, British sisters Tiffany Porter and Cindy Sember both clocked 12.62, with Brittany Anderson finishing fourth in 12.91.
In the men's 110m hurdles, USA's world 60m hurdles record-holder Grant Holloway – who clocked a wind-assisted 13.04 (2.2m/s) a week earlier – ran a world-leading 13.07 (1.3m/s) for a dominant win. Trey Cunningham was second in a PB of 13.28.
World 400m champion Steven Gardiner went quickest over one lap, clocking 44.71 in his first 400m race since his world title win in Doha in 2019, as Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith was second in 45.53. Fastest in the women’s events was Jessica Beard with a time of 51.00.
Javianne Oliver won the women’s 100m from Olympic long jump champion Tianna Bartoletta – 11.12 to 11.16 (2.2m/s).
The men’s 100m saw the quickest time come in the university race as Jo'Vaughn Martin improved his PB from 10.40 to 9.94 (1.6m/s) to equal the world lead. Justin Gatlin went quickest in the 'Olympic Development' races with 9.98 (1.4m/s) ahead of Andre De Grasse with 9.99, Kenny Bednarek with 10.03 and Noah Lyles with 10.08.
Just one week after clocking 10.72 for 100m, Sha'Carri Richardson continued her fine form to run 22.11 (1.0m/s) in her 200m season debut on the first day of Tom Jones Memorial Invitational action on Friday (16).
It is the 21-year-old’s second quickest ever time for the distance behind her PB of 22.00 set in Florida last August and saw the world U20 record-holder win the heat by almost half a second ahead of Lynna Irby with 22.57.
World and Olympic medallist Blessing Okagbare was third in 22.66.
The time clocked by Richardson – who moved to sixth on the world all-time list with her 100m run the week before – is the second-fastest in the world at this early point of the season behind Shaunae Miller-Uibo’s 22.03 from earlier this month.
World 400m bronze medallist Fred Kerley went quickest in the men’s 200m heats, equalling his PB with 20.24 (0.9m/s) ahead of Jereem Richards with 20.30. Erriyon Knighton won another heat in 20.39 (0.5m/s).
World 400m hurdles silver medallist Sydney McLaughlin improved her 100m hurdles PB to 12.92 (0.2m/s) at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, on Friday (16).
With that result, the 21-year-old becomes the first woman to break 13.00 for the 100m hurdles, 23.00 for 200m and 53.00 for the 400m hurdles.
She was back in action just 40 minutes later and ran 51.16 in the 400m heats.
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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