Ajayi outduels Seville again as Jamaicans deliver strong showing in London
Key Points(5)
- Jamaica's Oblique Seville once again found himself locked in a thrilling duel with Nigeria's Kayinsola Ajayi, but for the second time in three weeks, the Nigerian sprinter produced the stronger finish to deny the world 100-meter champion victory at Saturday's Novuna London Athletics Meet.
- Despite the narrow defeat, Seville and national women's 400-meter champion Stacey-Ann Williams led another encouraging day for Jamaica at the 11th stop of the Wanda Diamond League, each earning podium finishes against elite international competition.
- Ajayi's late charge sinks Seville The men's 100 meters lived up to expectations as two of the world's fastest men renewed their budding rivalry.
- Seville, who owns the season's fastest time at 9.82 seconds , exploded from the blocks and controlled much of the race despite battling a 0.7 m/s headwind .
- However, Ajayi found another gear over the closing meters, surging past the Jamaican just before the finish line to win in 9.84 seconds , matching the Nigerian national record.
Jamaica's Oblique Seville once again found himself locked in a thrilling duel with Nigeria's Kayinsola Ajayi, but for the second time in three weeks, the Nigerian sprinter produced the stronger finish to deny the world 100-meter champion victory at Saturday's Novuna London Athletics Meet.
Despite the narrow defeat, Seville and national women's 400-meter champion Stacey-Ann Williams led another encouraging day for Jamaica at the 11th stop of the Wanda Diamond League, each earning podium finishes against elite international competition.
Ajayi's late charge sinks Seville
The men's 100 meters lived up to expectations as two of the world's fastest men renewed their budding rivalry.
Seville, who owns the season's fastest time at 9.82 seconds, exploded from the blocks and controlled much of the race despite battling a 0.7 m/s headwind. However, Ajayi found another gear over the closing meters, surging past the Jamaican just before the finish line to win in 9.84 seconds, matching the Nigerian national record.
Seville crossed second in 9.87 seconds, while Britain's Romell Glave claimed third in a personal-best 9.97 seconds.
The victory marked Ajayi's second consecutive Diamond League triumph over Seville after also getting the better of the Jamaican at the Prefontaine Classic earlier this month.
Following the race, Ajayi added a touch of gamesmanship by glancing toward Seville as he crossed the finish line.
Seville, however, chose to focus on the positives.
"It was a pretty good result and a pretty good race for me. It is not the race I wanted, but I came away from it knowing what I need to work on, so I just need to get the job done," he said.
Williams extends impressive run
Williams continued to demonstrate outstanding consistency in the women's 400 meters, producing yet another sub-50-second performance this season.
The Jamaican finished third in 49.52 seconds, while compatriot Nickisha Pryce placed fourth in 50.09 seconds.
Dominican Republic star Marileidy Paulino maintained her unbeaten record this season by powering through the closing stages to win in 48.97 seconds, with Norway's Henriette Jæger clocking a national-record 49.15 seconds for second place.
Williams' latest podium finish further reinforced her status as one of Jamaica's most reliable performers heading toward the World Championships.
Mixed results for Jamaican contingent
Elsewhere, Lamara Distin finished sixth in the women's high jump after clearing 1.93 meters.
In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Orlando Bennett and Demario Prince also reached the final but finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in 13.21 and 13.27 seconds.
American world-record holder Ja Kobe Tharp dominated the event in a meet-record 12.89 seconds, while Cuba's Kandry Menéndez secured second in a personal-best 13.01 seconds.
Alfred continues dominance in women's 200m
Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred further strengthened her grip on the women's 200 meters this season with another commanding victory.
After withstanding an early challenge from American Olympic champion Gabby Thomas, Alfred accelerated away over the final stages to capture the race in a meet-record 21.66 seconds.
The performance followed her world-leading 21.51 seconds from Monaco and gave the Olympic 100-meter champion the two fastest times recorded anywhere in the world this year.
Thomas finished second in 21.81 seconds, while the Bahamas' Shaunae Miller-Uibo claimed third in 22.24 seconds.
Records continue to fall
The London meeting also featured a series of standout performances across the program.
Home favorite Josh Kerr delighted the British crowd by smashing the men's mile world record, storming to victory in 3:42.66 minutes.
Earlier in the day, Norway's Karsten Warholm established a new world-leading mark in the men's 400-meter hurdles, winning in a meet-record 46.61 seconds, while Britain's Emil Agyekum finished second with a national record of 47.45.
The men's 400 meters produced another high-quality contest as American Rai Benjamin recorded a personal-best 44.05 seconds to defeat Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith (44.18) and fellow American Jacory Patterson (44.25).
