Relay heartbreak and sprint progress for Jamaica on Ultimate Championship Opener
Key Points(5)
- Jamaica’s pursuit of a winning start to the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship ended in a narrow defeat to the United States in the mixed 4x100m relay Friday, but the country still produced a series of encouraging performances on an action-packed opening day.
- The Jamaican quartet of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Jonielle Smith clocked 39.72 seconds to finish second behind the Americans, who secured victory in 39.64 seconds.
- Great Britain and Northern Ireland took third in 40.26 seconds.
- The result was particularly striking given Jamaica’s status as world-record holders in the event.
- The United States missed Jamaica’s global mark of 39.62 seconds by just two hundredths of a second.
Jamaica’s pursuit of a winning start to the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship ended in a narrow defeat to the United States in the mixed 4x100m relay Friday, but the country still produced a series of encouraging performances on an action-packed opening day.
The Jamaican quartet of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Jonielle Smith clocked 39.72 seconds to finish second behind the Americans, who secured victory in 39.64 seconds. Great Britain and Northern Ireland took third in 40.26 seconds.
The result was particularly striking given Jamaica’s status as world-record holders in the event. The United States missed Jamaica’s global mark of 39.62 seconds by just two hundredths of a second.
Clayton: Exchanges cost us a better chance
Jamaica remained in contention throughout the race, but the team was unable to produce the clean exchanges needed to overtake the Americans.
Clayton, who ran the second leg, acknowledged that the relay had not unfolded according to the team’s plans.
“The atmosphere was absolutely amazing and fun. We just wish we had clear exchanges to give ourselves a better shot but it is what it is. Our tactics did not go exactly as we planned. We wanted quicker exchanges, but again it is what it is. We wanted to win, we got the baton around on our own and we finished healthy, that is the most important thing.”
The second place nevertheless gave Jamaica a strong opening-day result in a championship designed to bring the world’s leading athletes together in a compact, high-profile format.
Simmonds leads Jamaican individual performances
Megan Simmonds delivered Jamaica’s best individual finish of the day, placing fifth in the women’s 100m hurdles final in a season’s best 12.42 seconds.
American Masai Russell won in 12.22 seconds, completing an unbeaten season. Nigeria’s world-class hurdler Tobi Amusan was second in 12.34 seconds, while Nadine Visser of the Netherlands finished third in 12.39 seconds. The Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton was fourth in 12.40 seconds.
Simmonds’ performance came after three other Jamaicans failed to reach the final.
Ackera Nugent was unable to complete the opening semi-final after falling at the ninth hurdle. Two-time world champion Danielle Williams finished fifth in the second semi-final in 12.72 seconds, narrowly missing qualification, while national champion Demisha Roswell was eighth in 13.04 seconds.
American sweep highlights men’s hurdles
Jamaica’s men also endured a difficult evening in the 110m hurdles, with Orlando Bennett, Demario Prince and Tyler Mason all missing out on the final.
Bennett finished fifth in the first semi-final. Prince was seventh after striking a hurdle near the finish, while Mason also placed seventh in the second semi-final.
The United States dominated the final, claiming all four top positions. World record holder Ja’Kobe Tharp edged world champion Cordel Tinch in a tight finish, winning in 12.94 seconds to Tinch’s 12.95 seconds.
Bradley Franklin was third in 13.01 seconds, with Trey Cunningham fourth in 13.08 seconds.
Distin settles for sixth in high jump
Lamara Distin was unable to challenge for a podium place in the women’s high jump after clearing 1.86 meters, leaving her joint sixth.
Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh captured the title with a winning clearance of 1.99 meters. Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers finished second at 1.95m, while compatriot Eleanor Patterson was third at 1.91m.
Pryce advances as Williams misses out
National record holder Nickisha Pryce secured Jamaica’s first individual track final berth of the championship when she finished third in her women’s 400m semi-final in 49.72 seconds.
Pryce made a strong start and led through the opening 200 meters before the field tightened in the closing stages.
World leader and Diamond League champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic won the semi-final in 49.58 seconds. Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser followed in 49.67 seconds, while Cuba’s Roxana Gómez took fourth in 50.34 seconds to claim the other qualifying spot.
Pryce will contest Saturday’s final against a field featuring some of the world’s leading quarter-milers.
Jamaica’s national 400m champion Stacey-Ann Williams, however, failed to advance. Running from lane nine, she finished sixth in her semi-final in 50.43 seconds.
Norway’s Henriette Jæger won that race in 49.64 seconds.
A new championship with major rewards
The Ultimate Championship features a new, compact competition format and brings together leading athletes from across the sport.
The event carries a record US$10 million prize purse, with individual event winners set to receive US$150,000.
For Jamaica, Friday’s second place finish and Pryce’s qualification provided a solid foundation for the remainder of the championship, with the country’s leading performers set to return to action on Saturday.
