JULY 20-21 @ATHLETICSWEEKLY
JAMAICA not only won the 100m, relay and
100m hurdles, they also enjoyed success
in the women’s 200m, 400m and 400m
hurdles.
Shericka Jackson finished strongly to
win the 400m in 50.59 from team-mate
and last year’s winer Stephenie Ann
McPherson (50.74), but both had to work
incredibly hard to catch Laviai Nielsen
(below), who started fast and only lost the
lead in the last 30 metres. The Briton’s
reward was a big PB of 50.83, compared
to a previous best of 51.21 and that
moved her to 12th all-time in the UK.
She said; “I’m absolutely over the
moon. It’s a time I knew I could do,
but it was just a matter of getting the
competitions in and being
competitive. This is my
favourite place to
run. Every timeI’m here, the
crowd just gives
me goosebumps
and I get a
lift I just can’t
describe. I just
want to race here
all the time.”
Finishing
in sixth, Emily
Diamond set a
season’s best
of 51.69.The 200m also went Jamaica’s way as
Olympic champion Elaine Thompson won
in 22.13 from Marie Josee Ta-Lou’s 22.36.
A very clear third was Beth Dobbin who
improved her Scottish record to 22.50.
Dobbin said: “I’m over the moon with
that. This time last year I missed the
Anniversary Games because I had a shift
at work, so to now be a full-time athlete,
racing against Olympic champions, it’s
just a dream come true. I was racing
against my idols so I am absolutely
buzzing. I didn’t expect to be in PB shape
until the trials because every year we
focus on peaking for trials so to run a PB
here today means a lot.”
At the back of the field, Bianca
Williams just got the better of Katarina
Johnson-Thompson with both running
23.19. Many thought the latter would go
much faster as she normally runs the
event at the end of the first day of the
heptathlon where she has clocked
22.79.
While their success in most of the
sprints was largely expected, more of a
surprise came in the 400m hurdles.
Rushell Clayton won in a huge PB of
54.16 – her previous best was 54.73 - to
defeat double world champion Zuzana
Hejnova, who ran 54.33 here. Tia-Adana
Belle of Barbados was third in 54.54.
Back in sixth, European bronze
medallist Meghan Beesley strengthened
her Doha claim with a UK lead, world
qualifying and Olympic standard 55.20.
It was faster than her medal-winning
time in Berlin last year and on that
she has only bettered it in two World
Championships races.Jamaica dominant on track
here. I did my first sub-11 second
100m here and today I ran two sub-
11’s against the Olympic champion
which was amazing.
She added: “I am in really good
shape – I wanted to go 10.8 today,
so seeing that time in the final was
a bit frustrating. But I really can’t
be disappointed with two 10.9s and
I’ll definitely look to push to faster
times as the season progresses
but really it’s just about peaking.
We have trials in August, so I’m
looking forward to getting out of
hard training and reaching my
peak for then.”
Marie-Josee Ta Lou was third in
10.98.In the heats, Asher-Smith
was probably marginally more
impressive winning her heat in
10.91, her equal second fastest ever
time and comfortably repelling the
challenge of Ta Lou’s 10.96. Daryll
Neita was a non-qualifying fifth in
11.24.
In the opening heat Fraser-Pryce
won into a light headwind in 10.
with Imani-Lara Lansiquot the
leading Briton in a non-qualifying
sixth in 11.24.
On Saturday, Jamaica
also won the final event
of the day, the 4x100m
relay but only thanks to
a superb anchor leg from
Fraser-Pryce. She came from
a long way back to pip Neita
after excellent British runs from
Ashleigh Nelson, Lansiquot and
Bianca Williams.
Jamaica won in 42.29 with
Britain, without Asher-Smith,
second in a season’s best 42.30,
which should go a long way in
securing their Doha qualification.
China finished third in 42.71.Fraser-Pryce is right on form
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce:
too swift on the day for
Britain’s Dina Asher-SmithDaryll Neita, Bianca Williams, Imani-
Lara Lansiquot and Ashleigh NelsonRushell Clayton: big PB of
54.16 to win 400m hurdles