Carter on fire - Jamaican blazes to year-leading 9.78

Raymond Graham, Gleaner Writer

JUST two days after running a personal best of 9.85 seconds when finishing second to the United States' Tyson Gay at the Brussels Diamond League meeting in Belgium, Jamaica's Nesta Carter was at it once again as the Olympic Games 4x100 metres relay gold medallist sped to a world-leading and a new personal best of 9.78 to win a fast 100 metres race at the Reiti IAAF World Challenge Track and Field meet in Italy yesterday.

At the same meet, Kenya's David Rudisha also lowered his own 800 metres world record.

Carter, who was clocking his fourth sub-10-second run this season, following 9.86 in Notswil, 9.85 in Brussels and 9.96 in Berlin, became the country's fastest man this season in the event, as he joined Gay as top man this year in the event following the American's 9.78 clocking at Crystal Palace in London.

Five athletes went under 10 seconds, including Jamaicans Mario Forsythe and Michael Frater.

The United States' Ryan Bailey finished second in a personal-best 9.88, while Forsythe finished third, also in a personal-best 9.95. Frater was fifth in a season-best 9.98.

France's Christophe Lamaitre finished fourth in a personal best of 9.97.

The vastly improved Forsythe actually went under 10 seconds twice, as in the preliminary round he improved his season-best 10.09 to finish third in 9.99 seconds before improving his time in the final.

Lerone Clarke failed to advance from the heats after finishing seventh in 10.23.

In the women's equivalent, Jamaica's Olympic 100 metres joint silver medallist Sherone Simpson won in a modest 11.11 seconds.

The Bahamas' veteran sprinter, Debbie Ferguson, was second in 11.15, with the United States' Mikele Barber third in 11.21.

Jamaica's World Championships 4x100 metres gold medallist, Aleen Bailey, was fifth in 11.31.

Like he has been doing for the majority of the season, World Championships 110-metre hurdles finalist, Dwight Thomas, had to settle for second behind the United States' David Oliver. The world leader won in 13.01 seconds, with Thomas finishing second in 13.26 ahead of the United States' Jason Richardson, who clocked 13.37.

Senior Pan Am 400 hurdles gold medallist, Nickeisha Wilson, clocked 55.07 seconds for third in her pet event. The United States Sheena Tosta won in 54.07 seconds ahead of Czech Republic Zuzana Hejnova in 54.99.

Jamaica's Kalise Spencer, the overall winer of the event in the Diamond League series, she fell over the final hurdle before walking through the finish in eighth place in 1:22.45.

After breaking the 13-year-old world record in the men's 800 a week ago in Berlin, Germany, where he ran 1:41.09, Kenya's Rudisha once again demonstrated his great form by breaking his own record, winning in a new world-best 1:41.01 to defeat teammate Boaz Kiplagat Lalang, who was timed in 1:42.95.

In the men's 200, Jamaica's Lanceford Davis placed seventh in 21.07.

The Diamond League's overall winner, Wallace Spearmon of the United States, won in 19.85 seconds ahead of countryman Angelo Taylor, with a personal-best 20.23.