Jamaica double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah remains convinced the correct call was made regarding the decision to change coaching camps last year.

Following the most successful year of her career, the 29-year-old made the controversial decision to part ways with the Steven Francis-led MVP track club, one of the most high-profile in international track and field.

Instead, the sprinter now trains with her husband, Derron Herah, and ahead of another big year in track and field is feeling comfortable.

“I think the change matches my aspirations and what I want this year,” Thompson-Herah told members of the media on Wednesday, ahead of the Rome Diamond League meet.

“I am definitely getting the love and support that I want for what I am working on.  Sometimes I think a change is good.  I am grown and I know what is best for my career and I’m sure I’ve chosen the right path.”

Heading into Thursday’s Diamond League showdown, over 200ms, the sprinter has won all of her races so far this season.

Double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah admits she is yet to find her best form after being hampered by some early-season injury setbacks.

The Jamaican sprinter is set to face her most formidable challenge to date this term, at Thursday’s Diamond League meet in Rome. Thompson-Herah will face a quality field that includes 400m Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, 200m World champion Dina Asher-Smith and compatriot Shericka Jackson over 200m.

In nine races so far this season, over both the 100 and the 200m, Thompson-Herah is yet to taste defeat.  She will be first to admit, however,  that it has been far from smooth sailing.

“I’m not 100 percent but I think I am a true fighter. I opened my season at Mt. SAC and I got a rotator (cuff) injury so I was in and out of practice.  You need your arms to run and every time I race I have discomfort in it, but I have to race, I have to see where I am at,” Thompson-Herah said at the pre-meet press conference on Wednesday.

“I think having (to compete) with an Achilles and shoulder injury you are a true fighter.  I know most athletes have something that they're going through they just don’t talk about it.  I hate to talk about my injuries,” she added.

With Jamaica’s national trials just a few weeks away, the athlete insists she is using the races to fine-tune her performance.

Reigning Olympic champions Elaine Thompson-Herah will be back in action on Sunday at the Rabat Diamond League, in Morocco, where she faces a quality field in the women’s 100m.

Lining up alongside Thompson-Herah will be experienced Ivory Coast sprinter Marie Jose Talou, Trinidad and Tobago star Michelle Lee Ahye, and compatriot Natasha Morrison.

Thompson-Herah heads into the event off the back of a dominant performance at the Prefontaine Classic last weekend where she got the better of United States sprinter Sha’arri Richardson, compatriot Shericka Jackson, and Great Britain athlete Dina Asher-Smith.  The Jamaican won the event in 10.79.

Elsewhere, another Jamaican Stephenie Ann Mcpherson will compete in the women’s 400m, while Shanieka Ricketts will compete in the women’s triple jump.

Reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah showed her class in a dominant display of sprinting after speeding to win the women's 100m at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday.

Thompson-Herah looked in full control of the race before pulling well clear of the field with around 10 metres to go and stopping the clock at 10.79. American Sha’Carri Richardson finished at the head of the pack behind Thompson-Herah, clocking 10.92 for second spot.  The time was identical to another Jamaican, Sherika Jackson, an Olympic 100m bronze medallist. Richardson was, however, given second ahead of Jackson based on the photo finish.

Elsewhere, another Jamaican star, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took top spot in the women’s 200m.    Fraser-Pryce stopped the clock in a season’s best 22.41, well clear of second-place Brittany Brown who was timed in 22.74. The Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan was third in 22.76.

In the women’s 800m, Olympic finalist Natoya Goule finished fourth in 1:59.39.  The event was won by Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson in 1:57.72.

Jamaica 100m sprinter Oblique Seville ran the second-fastest time recorded over the distance this season after clocking 9.86 to take the event at the JAAA/SDF Jubilee Series.

Seville got away well before pulling away from the field to record a massive new personal best, shattering his previous mark of 10.00.  Conroy Jones took the second spot behind Seville in 10.14 seconds, with Emmanuel Archibald taking third in 10.20.

In the women’s equivalent, Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah dominated the field to take first place in 10.94.  Thompson-Herah pulled away down the stretch to finish well clear of second-place Remona Burchell who was next in 11.31 and Jodean Williams who was third in 11.40.

Reigning Olympic 110m hurdles champion Hansle Parchment has declared himself in good form ahead of a showdown with compatriot and 2016 champion Omar McLeod at the Birmingham Diamond League on Saturday.

With the World Championships and Commonwealth Games on the schedule as major games this year, the Jamaicans are expected to see quite a bit of each other over the coming months.

McLeod, unfortunately, did not get the opportunity to defend his title as he missed out on making the Jamaica squad after failing to qualify from the country’s national trials and will no doubt have his eyes set on redemption later this year.

For his part, Parchment has in the meantime established himself as the country’s top performer at the event and will be looking to keep the wins coming in.

“So far I am feeling good, I think I am in good form,” Parchment told members of the media on Thursday.

“I still have a lot of work to do but I am looking forward to executing a really good race [in Birmingham] and hoping to get a really lovely time on this beautiful track.”

The race will also feature former world indoor champion Andrew Pozzi of Great Britain.”

Jamaica jumper Lamara Distin took top spot at the Southeastern Conference Championships, on Friday, adding to an already impressive run of results this season.

Distin, who has broken the national long jump record several times in the last several months, kept her concentration to dominate the field after a six-hour weather delay.  Eventually, the Texas A&M athlete posted an event-winning mark of 1.95m to complete the SEC indoor and outdoor high jump title sweep.

The athlete finished ahead of South Carolina’s Rachel Glenn who recorded a best of 1.86m and LSU’s Nyagoa Bayak who finished third with 1.86m on the countback.  The in-form Distin also had three attempts at 1.99m but failed to clear the bar.

Bahamian Olympic Champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo was handed a rare defeat to begin the 2022 Diamond League season after finishing behind both the Dominica Republic’s Marileidy Paulino and Jamaica’s Stephenie-Ann Mcpherson in the women’s 400m.

At the Doha meeting, it was the Olympic silver medalist Paulino who dominated proceedings.  Running from an inside lane, the Dominican tracked Miller-Uibo well before coming off the curve with a lead.  The typically strong-finishing Miller-Uibo not only failed to make up ground on Paulino but was overtaken near the line by McPherson who nabbed second spot.

Paulino took the top spot with a time of 51.20, followed by McPherson, second in 51.69, and Miller-Uibo third in 51.84.  Barbados’ Sada Williams was next, and she finished ahead of another Jamaican, Candice McLeod.

In the meantime, the women’s 200m was won by the United States’ Gabrielle Thomas who took top spot after outbattling Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson down the stretch to stop the clock at 21.98, ahead of Jackson’s 22.07.  Great Britain’s Dina Asher was third in 22.37.

In other events, Grenadian Anderson Peters dominated the men’s javelin to take top spot with a throw of 93.07, while Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts captured the women’s long jump.

Reigning Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo will go head-to-head with Jamaicans Stefanie Ann-Mcpherson and Candice McLeod when the 2022 Diamond League season runs off with the Doha meet, in Qatar, on Friday.

The Bahamian will head into the event as favourite, on the back of a strong indoor season where she added the Indoor title to her medal collection, in Belgrade.  The Doha meeting will feature the first match-up between the trio since the Olympics, where Miller-Uibo took gold and Mcpherson and McLeod finished just outside the medals.

In the half-lap event, Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson will battle reigning 200m champion Diner Asher-Smith of Great Britain, who will be opening her season in the event.  The field is also set to feature a rejuvenated Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas and Olympic finalist Gabby Thomas of the US.

There will also be a strong Caribbean presence in the women’s 100m hurdles with the Jamaican duo of Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper facing off with compatriot Britany Anderson.  The Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton will also be part of that field.

Reigning double Olympic champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, executed a comfortable early-season performance with a dominant showing in the women’s half-lap event at the inaugural JAAA/SDF Jubilee Series on Saturday.

Thompson-Herah left the blocks quickly to effortlessly cover the rest of the field by the top of the curve and shut things down to record a 22.75 winning time.  MVP Track Club's Stephanie McPherson chased her to the line late on and was second in 23.16.  Natasha Morrison was third in 23.52.

In the men’s equivalent, Racer’s Track Club’s Zharnel Hughes finished with the fastest time of the day, after recording 20.56 to win heat 4. 

Olympic 100m bronze medalist Shericka Jackson proved a cut above the rest of the field and powered away midway through the race to claim the women’s 100m in 11 seconds flat.  Her MVP Track Club teammate Anthonique Strachan was second in 11.40 and Sprint Tech’s Remona Burchell third in 11.43.

In the men’s equivalent, Oblique Seville took top spot with a time of 10.00.  The Racer’s Track Club athlete finished comfortably ahead of MVP’s Kishane Thompson, who was second in 10.21, and Kadrian Goldson who was third in 10.24.

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce registered the fastest women’s 100m season opener in history with a blistering performance at the World Athletics Continental Tour, in Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday.

In her first appearance on Kenyan soil, Fraser-Pryce looked at home as she took apart the rest of the field with a blistering 10.67 seconds run.  In typical fashion, the decorated sprinter left the blocks in blistering fashion before coasting clear to set the season lead, running into a slight headwind (-0.4ms).

Egypt’s Hemdia Bassant was second with a national record of 11.02, while the USA’s Shannon Ray was third with 11.33.  Olympic 200m silver medallist Christine Mboma did not complete the race as she looked to have pulled a muscle.

“It was very good, the atmosphere was fantastic,” said Fraser-Pryce,” following the event.

“I’m not sure if it was perfect – I’d have to see the replay. But the time tells me that my training has been going great.” she

The run was the third fastest of the athlete’s career and her third sub-10.7 run in the last year.

Jamaica track and field superstar Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce insists she will not focus on the absence of American Sha’Carri Richardson ahead of the World Athletics Continental Tour, at the Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday.

Instead, the nine-time World Champion is more intent on keeping her attention on the rest of the field that she is set to face, which will include 200m Olympic silver medallist Christine Mboma of Namibia.

Ahead of the meet, a lot of attention had been placed on the possibility of another 100m match-up between the Fraser-Pryce and Richardson, no doubt a spillover from last season which feature a highly-anticipated showdown at the Eugene Diamond League meet.  Just two days ahead of the Continental Tour, however, and for the third time this season, it was discovered that Richardson had withdrawn from the meet without a public explanation being provided.

Last year, the Eugene match-up between Richardson and Fraser-Pryce had been billed as a great redemption story of sorts for the American.  The athlete had missed out on facing the Jamaica medal-winning trio of Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Shericka Jackson at the Olympics, after being suspended for a month for marijuana usage. 

Despite the American’s presence, however, the Jamaicans finished in the same order as the Tokyo Games, where Thompson-Herah finished ahead of Fraser-Pryce and Jackson third. Richardson finished in last place.

“As far as I’m concerned there are seven other competitors in the race that I think deserve the same amount of attention and respect as me because when we each line up to compete I don’t think we are fearful of who is beside us or in the next lane.  We are just here to compete and give our best,” Fraser-Pryce told members of the media.

“So, if someone is missing from the competition it doesn’t stop me from focusing on what I’m here to do and getting the job done.”

In addition to Mboma, the 100m field will consist of the USA’s Shannon Ray, Maximilla Imali (Ken), Bassant Hemida (Egy), Rani Rosius (BEL), Patrizia Vanderweken (Lux), and Javianne Oliver (USA).

Bahamian quarter milers Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steve Gardner have reportedly been confirmed for next month’s Paris Diamond League meeting.

The meet will be the seventh in the series, which runs off with the Doha Diamond League meet on May 13.  An appearance at the Paris meeting, scheduled for June 18, could mark a long-awaited return to the city for the reigning 400m Olympic Champions.

Miller-Uibo, who has won the 200m event at the 2017, 2018, and 2019 editions and the 400m, at the 2017 event, has not appeared at the Paris meet since 2011.  Gardiner has yet to win the title and last made an appearance in Monaco in 2019. 

The duo has been in splendid form early this season with Miller-Uibo claiming the 400m title at the World Indoor Championship and Gardiner registering a number of impressive times indoors before opening the outdoor season with world-leading 44.22 seconds at the LSU Alumni Gold meet.

Jamaica high jumper Lamara Distin has been named the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association National Athlete of the Week and Southeastern Conference Field Athlete of the Week.

The former Hydel standout has been recognized on the back of an exceptional performance last week where she set a world-leading high jump clearance of 1.97m to win the Texas A&M Alumni Muster.

The performance saw the jumper set yet another national record for her country and moved her up to No. 4 on the all-time collegiate list.  It also bettered the previous Texas record, which she also held.

Diston, who was born in Hanover, has been on fire this season, clearing 1.93m in four of the five meets entered so far.  Two of those meets have seen the athlete jumping over 1.96m.

For her country, Distin’s assault on the national record this season began with an opener of 1.96m, set during the Texas Relays, which bettered the previous national best of 1.93 held by Sheree Ruff since May 2010.

Olympic champion Steve Gardiner turned in a quality performance to open his outdoor season after clocking a world-leading 44.22 seconds at the LSU Alumni Gold meet on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Gardiner continued to build momentum from a series of impressive indoor performances earlier this season, where he competed in the 200m.  On Saturday, the Bahamian beat back a challenge from the USA’s Vernon Norwood, who ran 44.59 for second place.  The time was the fourth-fastest of Norwood's career.

Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith finished third in 44.61 seconds and the USA’s Tyler Terry was fourth in 45.00.  The time was Gardiner’s fastest ever 400m season opener and seems to set him in good stead to defend his world title at the Eugene 2022 World Championships later this summer.  Gardiner’s time bettered the earlier mark of 44.28 seconds, set by the USA’s Michael Cherry last weekend.

Elsewhere, Jamaica’s LSU hurdles star Damion Thomas finished third in the men’s 110 metres hurdles.  Thomas’ time of 13.79 saw him finish just behind Canada’s Joey Daniels who clocked 13.78 for second, while the event was won by LSU’s Eric Edwards Jr who took top spot in a time of 13.34.