Jamaica’s two-time Women’s 200m World Champion, Shericka Jackson, topped a quality field to secure the 100m Diamond League trophy after a blazing victory in 10.70 seconds (0.8mps) at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, United States on Saturday.
Loss to Richardson a fluke
On the opening day of the two-day, season-ending Diamond League fixture at the superfast Haywood Field at the University of Oregon, Jackson proved that her loss at the World Championships to rising American star Sha’Carri Richardson was a fluke as she stormed to victory in no uncertain manner ahead of Marie-Josee TaLou of the Ivory Coast, who finished second in a season’s best 10.75 seconds. TaLou was fourth in the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Third place went to an ever-improving Elaine Thompson-Herah in a season-best 10.79 seconds, with Richardson floundering in fourth place with a time of 10.80 seconds.
Jamaica’s third finalist in the event, Natasha Morrison, finished in sixth place with a personal best time of 10.85 seconds and could be seen celebrating heartily with the race winner and compatriot, Jackson, when the results were posted.
Prize money for the athletes
Alongside the Diamond League trophy, Jackson and all other individual winners will receive US$30,000 in prize money.
Second through eighth-place finishers will receive US$12,000, US$7,000, US$4,000, US$2,500, US$2,000, US$1,500, and US$1,000, respectively.
Jackson, who finished second in the 100m to her compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce last year, before winning the 200m Diamond League trophy and prize money, will attempt to complete the double on Sunday when she contests the 200m final, the closing event on the program.
Beating Records
She lines up in lane seven of nine with a personal best of 21.41 seconds, only seven-hundredths of a second outside the track record held by Florence Griffith-Joyner.
The Meet Record is 21.77 seconds, set in 2017 by the late American Tori Bowie. Jackson faces, in lane order from one, Gemima Joseph of France, Tasa Jiya of the Netherlands, Marie-Josee TaLou, Daryll Neita of Great Britain, Jenna Prandini and Kayla White of the US, Antonique Strachan of the Bahamas, and Twanisha Terry of the US.
Meanwhile, Shanieka Ricketts and Kimberly Williams of Jamaica also earned podium finishes in the women’s triple jump final.
Ricketts, who surprisingly finished in fourth place just outside the medals in Budapest, produced a personal best of 15.03m on her sixth and final attempt to claim second place to the unbeatable Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas, who jumped 15.35m, a Meet Record and World Leading effort.
Ricketts’ compatriot Williams produced a season-best jump of 14.61m for third place in her best series of jumps in a long time.
The Men Compete
In the men’s 100m final, Kishane Thompson was the best-placed Jamaican with a fourth-place finish in 9.87 seconds.
The event was won in a World Leading time of 9.83 seconds by American Christian Coleman, ahead of the World Championships triple gold medalist Noah Lyles in 9.85 seconds.
Kenya’s Omanyala Ferdinand finished third in 9.85 seconds. Jamaica’s Yohan Blake was sixth in 10.08 seconds, while countryman Akeem Blake false-started and was disqualified.
There was also disappointment for Jamaica in the Women’s shot put as Dinniel Thomas-Dodd finished sixth with a throw of 19.12m.
The event was won by American Chase Ealey with a National Record, Meet Record, World Lead, and personal best throw of 20.76m.
Kirani James of Grenada rebounded from his World Championships flop to win the men’s 400m Diamond League trophy with a season-best time of 44.30 seconds.
He beat the American pair of Quincy Hall (44.44 seconds) and Vernon Norwood (44.61 seconds) for the title, with Jamaica’s Rusheen McDonald finishing fifth in 45.10 seconds.
Anderson Peters of Grenada was sixth in the men’s javelin throw with a best effort of 74.71m, well below the 84.24m throw of the winner, Czech Jakub Vadlejch.
And in one of the races of the meet, the men’s 400m hurdles final, American Rai Benjamin upset the world record holder, Norway’s Karsten Warholm, in a Diamond League Record, Meet Record, and World Leading time of 46.39 seconds, compared to Warholm’s time of 46.53 seconds.
Third place went to Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands in 47.31 seconds.
The meet concludes on Sunday with the men’s long jump final featuring Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle and LaQuan Nairn of the Bahamas.
Hurdles Next
The women’s 400m hurdles will feature the Jamaican pair of Janieve Russell and Rushell Clayton; the women’s 400m final will include stars such as Aliyah Abrams of Guyana, Candice McLeod of Jamaica, World Champion Marileidy Paulinho of the Dominican Republic, and Sada Williams of Barbados.
The men’s 110m hurdles final will feature Hansle Parchment, the reigning Olympic Games champion; the women’s 100m hurdles final will include two-time World Champion Danielle Williams, compatriot Megan Tapper, and Olympic Games champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico, while the women’s 800m final will feature Natoya Goule of Jamaica.
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