Track: Boateng finds relief in first medal

Toronto-based sprinter Bismark Boateng didn’t make the 100-metre final at this weekend’s NACAC Championships, but he set a personal best anyway.

The 26-year-old ran the leadoff leg on Canada’s 4x100-metre relay team, which finished in 38.56 seconds to win gold. That win gave Boateng his first international medal, and the time made Sunday’s relay squad the fastest in which Boateng has ever participated.

It also gave the soccer playerturned sprinter a long-awaited payoff for his decision to focus on track.

Boateng ran leadoff on Canada’s Commonwealth Games sprint relay team in April, but a fumbled exchange led to a disqualification. So after running a strong leadoff leg and making a smooth hand-off to Jerome Blake, Boateng felt relieved, thrilled and vindicated.

“The relay is really, really big for me, so I always want to execute,” Boateng said. “To be able to win the gold is my best feeling ever. After everything I went through, I came out on top.” LONG JUMP LEGEND: While several top performers missed this weekend’s meet, two-time NCAA outdoor champion Marquis Dendy won the long jump on his first attempt with a leap of 8.29 metres.

Dendy jumped 8.26 to win a world indoor title two years ago, and this winter he won world indoor bronze with 8.43. Cuban Juan Miguel Hechevarría won the world indoors with an 8.46-metre mark, and was scheduled to compete at the NACAC meet before an injury forced him to withdraw.

But even with his main competitor sidelined, Dendy was still only the second-most accomplished long jumper at Varsity Stadium on Sunday.

First place went to retired U.S. superstar Carl Lewis, an 8.87-metre performer with four Olympic titles and two world championships on his record. Lewis, who presented long jump medals on Sunday, spent the weekend at the stadium coaching several athletes, including U.S. sprinter Cameron Burrell and Canadian long jumper Jared Kerr. LITTLE LOVES TORONTO: Shamier Little was the first runner to clear the first barrier in the women’s 400-metre hurdle final, and the first to cross the finish line 53.32 seconds later.

That time shattered the stadium record and set a new season’s best for the Chicago native. It’s also the second-fastest time in the world this season.

The last time Little competed in Toronto, she clocked 55.50 seconds to win gold at the 2015 Pan American Games.