Olympic champ McLeod sets new Jamaican 110m record
gold medalist Omar McLeod set a Jamaican national record of in the 110 meter hurdles Saturday with a blistering time of 12.90 seconds during the 2017 Jamaican track and field championships.
McLeod says he is dedicating the next few weeks to setting is sights on Aries Merritt’s world record of 12.80 seconds which he hopes to break before the London World Championships in August.
“I did not get it, so I am going after it next time,” said McLeod, who has races in Paris and Budapest meets before traveling to London. McLeod’s time on Saturday eclipsed the previous Jamaican record of 12.94 seconds set by Hansle Parchment in 2014 in Paris.
Fred Kerley ran the second fastest 400 metres of the year and Sam Kendricks soared to the outdoor season’s first six metre pole vault at the United States’ national championships on Saturday.
Keni Harrison, the world record holder in the women’s 100 metres hurdles, also joined the parade of Americans heading to August’s world championships in London with her first national title, winning in 12.60 seconds.
Germany led the European team athletics championship on Saturday despite Olympic javelin champion Thomas Roehler managing just third place in his final.
After 21 of 40 events, Germany have 166 points with Poland in second spot (150.5) and Britain, the hosts of August’s Worlds in third (144.50).