Lifetime best runs by Jackson, Williams

JAMAICA’S Shericka Jackson and young sensation Briana Williams both clocked a lifetime best 7.04 seconds to finish fifth and sixth, respectively, in the women’s 60 metres final on yesterday’s opening day of the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Jamaican sprinters ran on strongly at the end of the race and were in fact awarded the same time as the third- and fourth-place finishers. Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji created a major upset to win the event in a personal best and world-leading 6.96 seconds. American Mikiah Brisco was second in 6.99 while her compatriot Marybeth Sant-Price took third in 7.04.

Williams had earlier won her semi-final and Jackson advanced from her semi-final after finishing third to be the best non-automatic qualifier. Both had fairly good starts but it was the Swiss athlete who stole the spotlight. Running out of lane eight, and despite being back of the field for the majority of the race, Kambundji, the bronze medallist in the event in Birmingham in 2018, came storming through late to win convincingly in the end catching the fast-starting United States duo of Briscoe and Sant-Price. The overwhelming favourite and world leader, Ewa Swoboda of Poland, had to settle for fourth.

Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd, the 2018 shot put silver medallist, produced a season’s best of 19.12 metres to finish sixth in the women’s final as Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo won with a world-leading 20.43 metres. American Chase Ealy took second with an Area record of 20.21m while Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands took bronze with 19.48m.

FASTEST QUALIFIER

Olympic Games 400m finalist Stephenie Ann McPherson will be seeking glory today in the women’s final. McPherson led from start to finish to win her semi-final in a season’s best of 51.26 seconds, holding off the diving Femke Bol of the Netherlands who clocked 51.28. McPherson advanced to the final as the fastest qualifier. Olympic champion Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas, competing for the first time this season, won the other semi-final in 51.38. The final is scheduled for 1:50 p.m. Jamaica time.

There was no luck for Christopher Taylor who pulled up and stopped some 100 metres in his 400 metres semi-final. Earlier, Taylor finished second in the preliminary round of the event to advance to the semi-final.

Four more Jamaicans, including three medal prospects, will bow into action on today’s second day of competition in preliminary round action in their events.

Danielle Williams, the world leader in the women’s 60 metres hurdles, with a season’s and personal best 7.75 seconds along with number two seed at the Championships, Britany Anderson, with a personal best of 7.82, will be the first set of Jamaicans in action today at 3:50 a.m. Jamaica time. Anderson will run out of lane four in heat one while Williams will also out of lane four in heat two as both hunt semi-final places later slated for 12:15 p.m.

Another medal prospect is Olympic Games 800m finalist Natoya Goule who has been in tremendous form all season and who is ranked number two in the world with a season’s best one minute 58.46 seconds. She will run out of lane eight in the first heat (5:45 a.m. Jamaica time) of the event as she seeks a berth in tomorrow’s final.

The other Jamaican down to compete today is Nigel Ellis in the first round of the men’s 60 metres at 4:45 a.m. Jamaica time.