Gabby Thomas

Alfred, the University of Texas senior, who dominated the NCAA Indoor season and was named USTFCCA Indoor Athlete of the Year, has taken her outstanding form outdoors, running 10.95 to win the blue-ribbon dash over Texas teammate Kevona Davis who edged Ashanti Moore by 0.004 to take second. Both women were credited with 11.14.

American Gabby Thomas, the Tokyo Olympics 200m bronze medallist demonstrated her strength in the 400m which she won in a personal best 49.68.

Lynna Irby-Jackson finished second in 50.40 while first-year pro Charokee Young was third in 50.64.

Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles silver medallist Shiann Salmon was fifth in 51.99.

Texas senior Johnathan Jones was third in the 400m clocking 46.50 while finishing behind Texas State’s Dominic Yancy who ran 46.39 and winner Brian Herron of Texas, who crossed the line in 46.14.

Wasome, meanwhile, was winning the triple jump with a jump of 16.80m.

Jeremiah Davies of Florida State University’s 16.01m gave him second while Jemuel Allen of the University of Texas at San Antonio jumped 15.50m for third.

It is well known that Thomas has Jamaican roots, something she is proud of and she enjoys the love and support of the island’s rabid track fans. On Thursday, she chose to set the record straight about how she feels about her Jamaican heritage.

Asked about her Jamaican connection, the Olympic bronze medallist responded, “So, my grandfather is actually Jamaican, he lives there, he is from there. My dad didn’t grow up there but he is Jamaican and he always likes to bring the culture home with me and made sure I was proud to be Jamaican.

“And I do really love the fan base in Jamaica, they have really been so amazing and supportive and I do make sure everyone knows that I am Jamaican because I do believe that is where I get my fast roots from. I am not going to sugar coat it because that’s what it is. And we grew up loving track and my family has always been a big track family so I if could just run, run well and make my grandmother and my dad proud, then I would have done my job.

Thomas, who holds the world-leading time of 21.60, will face a tough field that includes NCAA champion Julien Alfred of St Lucia as well as the talented Britons, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita and the dangerous Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas, who has run a lifetime best of 22.15 so far this season

The 2019 200m champion missed out on the podium on Friday night in Budapest after coming seventh as Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson stormed to a title defence.

Jackson ran the second best time in history to win in 21.41 seconds ahead of the USA’s Gabby Thomas and Sha’Carri Richardson, before Noah Lyles defended his 200m title.

Asher-Smith, who was also beaten by fifth-placed British team-mate Daryll Neita, admitted she suffered an issue in the 100m semi-final on Sunday but still feels it gives her belief ahead of next year’s Paris Olympics.

She said: “I was going great and then I just couldn’t feel anything below my waist.

“That’s why I was able to go and run the (100m) final because I wasn’t in pain but neurally I didn’t have any control. I was still dealing with that.

“It was about still coming back and just making everything work. I’m grateful to have got through it all in one piece after just not being able to feel from here (waist) downwards during that 100m.

“It was such a shame because I really was on the way to something quite good.

“But I think it gave me quite a bit of self-confidence, how I was running going into it and how I felt and despite the fact that I got halfway through the 100m (and then could not feel her legs).

“I’m taking a lot from that and pushing into Paris that I can be very much on top of the podium.”

Neita set a personal best of 22.21s in the semi-final and then broke it again to clock 22.16s in her first global 200m final.

She said: “I performed well. My last final was Tokyo (Olympics, 100m) when I came last. I came fifth in a very fast final, I know I can perform. I’ve got time to get better. I ran a PB and yesterday so I am raising my game.”

Lyles completed his double in Hungary to prove he is ready to claim Usain Bolt’s sprint king crown going into the Olympics.

The American defended his 200m title in 19.52 seconds ahead of team-mate Erriyon Knighton and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana as Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes finished fourth in 20.02s.

It came after Lyles won the 100m in Budapest on Sunday to become the first man to win both sprints at the worlds since Bolt in 2015.

“It is a great feeling to know I did something not a lot of people have done,” he said. “I came out and showed it. I am double champion. Usain Bolt has done it and him saying to me that he sees what I am doing and he respects it, it is amazing.”

Hughes refused to be downbeat after his fourth place, having won 100m bronze on Sunday.

He said: “No, there’s nothing to be disappointed about. I gave it my best and got fourth. That’s nothing to be disappointed about. Obviously I wanted to be on the podium but I’m still happy.

“You saw how close I was. Listen, with a better lane, I would have been on the podium, honestly.”

He will join the 4x100m relay team for Saturday’s final after they qualified third in their heat in 38.01s.

Preparation was interrupted after Reece Prescod withdrew from the squad on the eve of the Championships and Eugene Amo-Dadzie needed to pull them back from fourth to third on the final leg.

He said: “It’s always nice to run men down, put guys on notice. I’m confident, I’m going to back myself and I trust these guys to get he baton in my hand. It was fun. It was a surreal boyhood dream.”

The women’s team of Asha Philip, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and  Annie Tagoe qualified for the final fifth fastest in 42.33s but Neita and Asher-Smith are due to run on Saturday night to boost their medal hopes.

In his home stadium, Hudson-Smith, whose mother hails from Hanover in Jamaica, covered the field in the first 300m before showcasing his endurance and strength in the last 100m on his way to a new personal best, national record and world leading 43.74, his first time under 44 seconds.

American Vernon Norwood ran a personal best 44.10 in second while Trinidadian Jereem Richards scaled to new heights in the event with a personal best of his own, 44.18, in third.

Signaling the speed on display in the race, Britain’s Charlie Dobson ran a personal best 44.23 in fourth while Olympic and World champion Kirani James’ season’s best 44.38 was only good enough for fifth.

The women’s 200m saw St. Lucian Commonwealth Games 100m silver medallist Julien Alfred produce a personal best and national record 21.86 for second.

American Olympic bronze medallist Gabby Thomas won in a meet record 21.82 while British 2019 World Champion Dina Asher-Smith was third in a season’s best 22.07.

The women’s 800m saw multiple time World Championship and Olympic finalist Natoya Goule-Toppin run a season’s best 1:56.83 for fourth.

Great Britain swept the top three spots led by World Championship silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson’s personal best, national record and world leading 1:54.61. Jemma Reekie was second in a personal best 1:55.61 while Georgia Bell also ran a personal best 1:56.28 in third.

Jackson, also a global medalist in the 400m at the 2015 and 2019 World Championships and the 2016 Olympics, ran 22.07 to finish second behind American Olympic medalist Gabby Thomas who ran a meet record 21.98 for victory. British 2019 World Champion Dina Asher-Smith was third in 22.37.

“I’m definitely happy,” said Jackson after the race.

“I just ran 22.07 so I’m super excited, healthy and looking forward to the rest of the season,” she added.

It was a windy day at the track, but Jackson says it didn’t affect her race plan.

“My focus was to run the curve as hard as I could and I did that and I’m just happy. The wind never affected me,” she said.

Jackson’s next appearance will come in the Women’s 100m at the Muller Birmingham Diamond League on May 21^st.

“Next week I have the Birmingham Diamond League so I’m just taking it one race at a time,” she said.

The fastest of the three, Shericka Jackson, threw down the gauntlet to the 100m champion, the USA’s Shacarri Richardson, with a confident run to win her semi-final heat. Jackson ‘jogged’ to a time of 22.00 to leave the American 100m champion behind in 22.20. Marie Jose Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast who was third in 22.26 is also qualifier in a non-automatic spot.

However, the fastest overall heading into the final is the USA’s Gabby Thomas, who won the opening semi-final heat in 21.96. Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith also made it through to the final when she finished second in 22.28. However, it was the end of the campaign for Jamaica’s Natalliah Whyte who was third in 22.52.

Alfred of St Lucia had to briefly turn on the jets after Great Britain’s Daryll Neita who got out well in lane eight. However, the NCAA champion surged ahead down the home straight to win the heat in 22.17 with Neita close behind in 22.21. Strachan was third in 22.30 to take her place in the final.

Both Kayla White of the USA and Kevona Davis were fourth and fifth, respectively, in 22.34 and miss out on the final.

Jackson now has the second and third fastest times ever in the event.

In Jackson’s wake was American Gabby Thomas who clocked 21.81 for the silver medal. Sha'Carri Richardson, the 100m champion, picked up her second medal of the championships running a personal best 21.92 for bronze.

Julien Alfred of St Lucia, fifth in the 100m final, finished fourth in 22.05 while Daryll Neita of Great Britain ran a personal best 22.16 for fifth place.

Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas finished sixth in 22.29 with Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain close behind in 22.34.

Marie Jose Ta Lou was eighth in 22.64.

Jackson was winning Jamaica's third gold medal in Budapest and ninth medal overall.

The 28-year-old Jamaican, who ran a world-leading 21.45 to win her first individual World Championship gold medal in July, will take on the USA trio of Jenna Prandini, Gabby Thomas and Tamara Clarke, European champion Mujinga Kambundji as well as Tynia Gaither of the Bahamas with a Diamond League trophy at stake.

Supremely confident, Jackson, sporting new hair while seated next to a braided Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, hinted to members of the media on the eve of the Diamond League finale that the 34-year-old world record of American Florence Griffith-Joyner could be under threat if things go according to plan.

While she didn’t specify what time she was aiming at, Jackson said she set that new goal on returning home to Jamaica after becoming the second-fastest woman all time over the distance following her successful campaign in Eugene, Oregon.

“Before I started the season I wrote that exact time (21.45) on a piece of paper that I left on my trophy stand. I never took a picture with my phone because I wanted that every time I stepped into my house I wanted or go to training, I had that target.

“When I wrote that I went back to training every day and I worked even harder. Some days you might have a bad day but don’t let a bad day get you down.”

The first sign she had that the work she was putting in was paying off was when she ran a then world-leading 21.55 to win at the Jamaica National Championships in June. It was then that she knew that the time she wanted to achieve was within reach.

“Right after the trials, I said ‘okay, it’s coming and I wanted it so bad. Right after trials I went back to training and I achieved that and I am so happy,” she said.

“I went back home though and I wrote a different goal. I wrote another time there because I definitely want to go faster and I think I am capable of doing that. If it’s not done tomorrow then I  will come back next season and work even harder.”

Jackson, who also ran a 100m personal best of 10.71 this season, is also on track to win two trophies on Thursday.

She lines up in the 100m finale against friend and compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Diamond League points leader Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast, who has run 10.72 this season, a new lifetime best and African record.

Meanwhile, in heat two, Jamaica's Niesha Burgher finished seventh in 22.64 seconds and received a penalty for a first-lane infringement. Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands finished eighth heat one, clocking 22.70 seconds. In heat three, Jamaica's Lanae-Tava Thomas finished seventh in 22.77 seconds.

Despite their incredible efforts, Burgher, Hodge, and Thomas did not make it to the finals ranking 12th,17th,18th respectively.

The women's 200m final is scheduled for August 6, with Julien Alfred representing the Caribbean and looking to add another Olympic medal to her haul. Fans and supporters eagerly await what promises to be an exciting race.

The 23-year-old recovered from a less than ideal start with a strong finish to cross the line second in 22.08.

Gold went to American Gabby Thomas who ran 21.82 while another American, Brittany Brown, took bronze in 22.20.

Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita ran 22.22 and 22.23, respectively for fourth and fifth while Nigeria’s Favour Ofili ran 22.24 in sixth.

American McKenzie Long (22.42) and Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai (22.70) rounded out the top eight.