Yesterday, the future looked even brighter for Jamaica, the sprint factory, as three of its nationals swept the top three spots in the 100m at the Paris Diamond League. Usain Bolt led the charge with 9.84 secs, ahead of Asafa Powell (9.91 secs) and Yohan Blake (9.95 secs.) Bolt’s time of 9.84 is below his season best 9.82 secs – a world leading time he shares with Powell – run into a headwind of -0.3ms. Blake’s personal best is 9.93 done in 2009.
Another Caribbean sprinter, 2009 World Championships finalist Antigua’s Daniel Bailey, was 4th in 10.00 secs.
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Gonzales
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Jamaica’s quarter-miler Jermaine Gonzales, who has been plagued with a persistent hamstring injury over the last three years, continues his improvement this season, finishing second yesterday to USA’s former Olympic and Worlds champion Jeremy Wariner (44.49), with a lifetime best 44.63.
This is the third consecutive sub-45 performance by Gonzales in recent weeks. The previous two times were 44.79 and 44.72. His personal best prior to these runs was 44.85, which he ran back in July 2006. The 25-year-old Gonzales, like Bolt, Blake and Bailey, is a member of Racers Track Club in Kingston, where he’s conditioned by Bertland Cameron, a former Jamaican World Championships 400m gold medalist.
Other shining Caribbean performances in Paris include those of Cuba’s David Giralt and Alexis Copello, who took the first two spots in the men’s triple jump with leaps of 17.49m and 17.45m, respectively. Great Britian’s star Phillips Idowu was 4th with a jump of 17.20m.
Cuba’s Yarelis Barrios won the women’s discus with a throw of 65.53m, and Yargeris Savigne took 3rd in the women’s long jump with a leap of 6.73 behind USA Brittney Reese (6.79m) and Portugal’s Naide Gomes 6.73m.
Bahamas’s Debbie Ferguson was 3rd in the women’s 200m in 22.62 secs behind the USA duo of Allyson Felix (22.14) and Shalonda Solomon (22.55). Jamaica’s Sherone Simpson placed 4th in 22.65.