Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell ran a personal best 13.08 to equal the Commonwealth games record, set by Colin Jackson in 1990, and win gold ahead of Barbados’ Shane Brathwaite (13.30) and England’s Andrew Pozzi (13.37). Olympic champion Hansle Parchment was scheduled to run out of lane three but didn’t turn up for the final.
In the 400m hurdles, Janieve Russell, Shiann Salmon and Rushell Clayton all advanced to the final.
Salmon and Russell ran times of 55.30 and 55.79, respectively, for first and second in semi-final one while Clayton took the second semi-final in 54.93.
Bahamian long jumper Laquan Nairn struck gold in the Men’s long jump with a distance of 8.08m, the same distance as Indian silver medallist Sreeshankar Sreeshankar while South Africa’s Jovan Van Vuuren finished third with 8.06m. Jamaica’s Shawn-D Thompson narrowly missed out on bronze after achieving 8.05m for fourth.
Jamaica's Traves Smikle threw 64.58m for bronze in the Men's discus throw behind Australia's Matthew Denny (67.26m) and England's Lawrence Okoye (64.99m).
McLeod clinched the men's long jump title with a leap of 8.38m but the highlight of the event was Shawn-D Thompson's dramatic qualification for the Paris Olympic Games. Thompson, who previously had a personal best of 8.13m from 2019 and a season’s best of 7.93m, saved his best for last. He produced a massive 8.30m effort in the final round, securing second place and a spot on the Olympic team.
Thompson's jump initially seemed to be a foul, but after review, it was deemed valid. His final leap pushed national record holder and two-time World Championships medallist Tajay Gayle out of contention. Wayne Pinnock finished third with an 8.27m effort.
Nickisha Pryce, competing in Jamaica for the first time since setting a national record at the NCAA Championships, dominated the women’s 400m semi-finals. Pryce clocked 49.63 seconds, the fastest time heading into Sunday's final. Pryce, who also set the NCAA record with 48.89 seconds, was the only Jamaican to run under 50.00 seconds on Saturday.
Barbados' Sada Williams posted a season’s best of 49.80 seconds, while Junelle Bromfield achieved a lifetime best of 50.74 seconds, meeting the Olympic qualifying standard. Stacey-Ann Williams ran 50.93 seconds, with veteran Stephenie-Ann McPherson recording her fastest time in two years at 51.10 seconds. Ashley Williams (51.16s), Charokee Young (51.58s), and Shaquena Foote (51.62s) also made it to the final.
The men's 110m hurdles final on Sunday promises a thrilling showdown, with the last two Olympic champions, Hansle Parchment and Omar McLeod, and Commonwealth Games champion Rasheed Broadbell, all qualifying from Saturday’s semi-finals. The trio will compete for the three spots on the Jamaican team for the Olympic Games in August.
The women’s 100m hurdles semi-finals saw World Champion Danielle Williams and Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper advancing to Sunday's final. Ackera Nugent led the qualifiers with a season’s best of 12.46 seconds followed by Williams at 12.57 seconds and Tapper, running with a sore hamstring at 12.71 seconds.
Oneka Wilson of Clemson University clocked a personal best of 12.76 seconds, a similar time as Demisha Roswell, while 2019 World Championships finalist Janeek Brown (12.83s) and Amoi Brown (12.86s) also advanced.
Notably, national record holder and World Championships silver medallist Britany Anderson, running in Jamaica for the first time since 2022, failed to get past the semi-finals.
The action-packed day set the stage for an exciting final day of competition on Sunday, with several athletes looking to secure their places for the Paris Olympic Games.
The three 100m medalists from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics all looked extremely easy to win their semi-finals in 22.54, 22.68 and 22.85, respectively.
Jackson, who secured the 100m title on Friday, looked especially easy, completely shutting down in the last 100m of the race.
Natalliah Whyte (23.05), Ashanti Moore (23.21), Kevona Davis (23.33), Jodean Williams (23.21) and Dominique Clarke (23.29) will join them in the final.
Meanwhile, 100m Champion Yohan Blake led all qualifiers to the Men’s final with a season’s best 20.20 to win his semi-final ahead of Andrew Hudson (20.23).
2020 Olympic finalist Rasheed Dwyer will also contest Sunday’s final after producing 20.35 to win his semi-final ahead of Nigel Ellis (20.45).
Mario Heslop (20.52), Riquan Graham (20.66), Jazeel Murphy (20.67) and Antonio Watson (20.74) complete the line-up for the final.
NCAA Championships silver medalist Charokee Young (50.19), 2020 Olympic finalist Candice McLeod (50.85), Stacey-Ann Williams (50.87) and 2013 World Championship bronze medalist Stephenie Ann McPherson (50.67) led all qualifiers to the Women’s 400m final.
The men were led by Jevaughn Powell (45.38), Anthony Cox (45.43), Nathon Allen (45.52) and Akeem Bloomfield (45.59).
The qualifiers for the Women’s sprint hurdles final were led by Britany Anderson (12.45), Megan Tapper (12.61), 2015 World Champion Danielle Williams (12.59) and Demisha Roswell (12.84).
Reigning Olympic Champion Hansle Parchment (13.24), Orlando Bennett (13.27), Rasheed Broadbell (13.29) and 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Champion Omar McLeod (13.36) led the qualifiers to the Men’s 110m hurdles final.
In the field, 2019 World Championship silver medalist Danniel Thomas-Dodd threw 18.79m to win her seventh national title ahead of Lloydricia Cameron (16.96m) and Danielle Sloley (15.98m).
Wayne Pinnock added to his NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles earlier this season with a personal best 8.14m to win the Men’s long jump ahead of defending World Champion Tajay Gayle (7.97m) and Shawn-D Thompson (7.88m).
Thompson's sixth and final jump of 8.30m had initially placed him in a strong position. However, the jump was ruled a foul, and after being measured, the matter was sent to the jury of appeals. Following their deliberation, the jury decided to dismiss the appeal, thereby disqualifying Thompson's mark.
The ruling has altered the final standings of the competition. Carey McLeod's leap of 8.38m now secures him the first place, while Wayne Pinnock moves up to second with his jump of 8.27m. Tajay Gayle, the 2019 World Champion, who had initially missed out on a top-three finish, will now take third place with his jump of 8.13m.
The decision is a significant blow to Thompson, who had been eyeing a spot at the Paris Olympics. In contrast, it is a fortunate turn for Gayle, who has been one of Jamaica's top performers in the long jump and now gets another opportunity to showcase his talents on the world stage.
Smikle, a five-time national champion, produced 65.65m to win ahead of Samoa’s Alex Rose who threw 65.02m and American Reggie Jagers III who threw 64.64m.
Despite the win, Smikle admitted that his performance wasn’t up to his usual world class standards.
“I wasn’t my best today based on my standard and how I know I am but, at the same time, I’m in a competition where I have to go out there and do it, I’m competing against some of the best in the world and I am in my home town so I had to deliver,” Smikle said.
Trailing the USA’s Kenturah Orji 14.32m established during the third round of the competition, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist produced her best effort to steal the win.
Cuba’s Fernandez Velazco jumped 14.08m for the bronze medal.
LaFond (6.34m) was fourth in the long jump on Saturday night. Quanesha Burks of the USA jumped 6.75m for the victory over Christabel Netty of Canada (6.46m) and Jamaica’s Chanice Porter (6.43m).
In the men’s long jump on Sunday, William Williams of the USA won the gold medal with a leap of 7.89m.
Tajay Gayle, the 2019 world champion was second with 7.81m, while his compatriot Shawn-D Thompson copped the bronze medal with 7.75, relegating Commonwealth champion Laquan Nairn, who also had his best mark of 7.75m, to fourth.
Adelle Tracey won her second medal of the championships when she finished second in the 1500m. Tracey ran 4:08.42 to be runner-up to the USA’s Heather MacClean while Helen Schachtenhaufen of the USA won the bronze medal having run 4:10.43.
In the relays, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas all garnered medals.
Jamaica finished second in the 4x400m relay in 3:26.32. The USA won the two-team race in 3:23.54.
The USA won the men’s final in 3:01.79. They finished ahead of Jamaica 3:05.47 and the Bahamas 3:06.21.
The USA also won the women’s sprint relay clocking 42.35, leaving the Bahamas 43.34 and Jamaica 43.39 to claim silver and bronze, respectively.
The USA men followed suit winning the men’s sprint relay final in 38.29. Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica were both credited with 38.94 but the Trinidadians were awarded the silver medal and Jamaica, the bronze.
The World Championship 100m bronze medallist from Eugene ran an easy 10.99 to win heat two and advance.
Antigua & Barbuda’s Joella Lloyd was next up, finishing third in heat three in 11.42 to advance. In heat four, Guyana’s Jasmine Abrams almost perfectly matched Lloyd, running 11.42 for third to advance.
Trinidad & Tobago’s Michelle Lee-Ahye and the Bahamas’ Tynia Gaither ran 11.14 and 11.19, respectively, to finish first and second in heat five and progress.
Jamaica’s Natalliah Whyte ran 11.31 to win heat six and advance while St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred (11.24) and Jamaica’s Remona Burchell (11.46) were the top two finishers in the seventh and final heat.
On the Men’s side, Nadale Buntin of St. Kitts & Nevis will be in the semis after finishing third in the first heat with a season’s best 10.37.
Rikkoi Brathwaite of the British Virgin Islands finished second in heat three in 10.42 to advance.
Next up was Jamaican 2014 Commonwealth Games 100m champion Kemar Bailey-Cole who ran 10.15 to finish second in heat four to progress.
Heat six saw Trinidad & Tobago’s Kion Benjamin produce 10.34 for second to move on while Jamaica’s Conroy Jones (10.28) and Trinidad & Tobago’s Eric Harrison Jr (10.37) both advanced from the eighth heat.
The tenth and final heat saw three Caribbean men advance. Trinidad & Tobago's Jerod Elcock won the heat in 10.26 while Guyana's Emmanuel Archibald (10.28) and St. Lucia's Stephan Charles (10.29) finished second and third, respectively.
Jamaican World Championship finalist Natoya Goule is now a Commonwealth Games finalist as well after running 1:58.39 to advance to the final as the fastest qualifier.
In the field, Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd and Lloydricia Cameron both advanced to the final of the Women’s shot put after throws of 18.42m and 16.61m, respectively. Thomas-Dodd’s distance was the farthest in qualifying.
The Caribbean will be well represented in the final of the Men’s long jump as The Bahamas’ Laquan Nairn (7.90m), Jamaica’s Shawn-D Thompson (7.85m), Guyana’s Emmanuel Archibald (7.83m), Dominica’s Tristan James (7.65m) and Trinidad & Tobago’s Anduelle Wright (7.58m) will all be present.
Jamaica’s Traves Smikle (64.90m) and Roje Stona (58.35m) will both be in the final of the Men’s discus throw alongside Grenada’s Josh Boateng (56.51m).
