The 25-year-old quarter-miler clocked 45.37 to win the 400m beating 2008 400m gold medalist LaShawn Merritt, who ran 45.45 for second place. Alonzo Russell of the Bahamas was third in 46.23.
Cedenio famously ran a personal best 44.01 to finish fourth at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil, and as a result, holds the record for the fastest time ever run for fourth-place.
It was the first time in Olympic history that the top three places came in under 44 seconds.
South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk won in a world record 43.03 while Grenada’s Kirani James was second in 43.76. Merritt ran 43.85 for third.
Back in Clermont, Walters ran 13.53 to win the 110m hurdles over Johnathon Santiago Pagan, who ran 14.16. Israel Nelson was third in 14.33.
There was good news for Jamaica’s Jonielle Smith, who opened her season with a sixth-place finish in the 200m. Smith, a relay gold medalist at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, clocked 24.29 in the race won by the USA’s Candace Hill in 22.99.
Khamica Bingham was second in 23.57 while Candyce MgGrone finished third having run 23.67.
Kortnei Johnson won the 100m in 11.17 over Tiana Bartoletta (11.18) and Bingham (11.42).
Trinidad and Tobago sprinters Kelly-Ann Baptiste ran 11.51 for sixth and Khalifa St. Fort clocked 11.58 for seventh.
Like most of us, there are many things she would love to get a second crack at, but the one that seems to have been stuck in her craw is the finals of the Women’s 100m at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in 2011.
The two-time Olympic 200m champion had been having a great year in 2011. She ran a personal best 10.76 in Ostrava on May 31 and went into the World Championships in fine form.
“I think I was on pace to win,” VCB recalled during a recent YouTube interview with marketing consultant Tanya Lee.
Campbell Brown eased through the first round in 11.18, a time that was third fastest of the Jamaicans. Kerron Stewart, the 2009 silver medallist, and defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce both clocked 11.12 and eased into the semi-finals.
In the semis, VCB clocked 11.06 to qualify for the finals. It was the fourth-fastest time behind the 11.02 from the USA’s Carmelita Jeter, 11.03 from Fraser-Pryce and 11.05 from Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago.
However, the draw was unkind to the 2007 100m champion and she ended up in lane 8.
From there, things did not go according to plan.
“I messed up so badly at the start,” VCB explained.
“I do not like to make excuses but when I think about that race, I did not hear the gun clearly. The starting system behind us was a weird one. They had speakers behind us but there was no speaker behind me so think I heard the echo of the gun so I started slow.”
Left in the blocks Campbell-Brown, fuelled by her indomitable spirit, raced through the field, getting by Stewart, then Fraser-Pryce and just squeezed past Baptiste. However, she ran out of real estate crossing the line second in 10.97s. Jeter won the gold in 10.90s with Baptiste taking the bronze in 10.98.
“I made up a lot of ground. I almost caught Carmelita but I was too late; so if I could redo that race I would and hope to react a little better, challenge Carmelita better and maybe the result would have been different.”
