Bittersweet day for Jamaicans in Birmingham
IT WAS a day of mixed fortunes for the Jamaican athletes at the Birmingham leg of the IAAF Diamond League as some of them tried to make up ground for a poor showing, by their standards, at the recently concluded IAAF World Championships in London.
In the 100m, double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson won in 10.93 seconds, which went some way to making up for her setback in London, where she fell ill. Jura Levy, who was part of the quartet that won a bronze medal in the 4x100m in London, was third in 11.08 seconds. Christania Williams, Natasha Morrison and Schillonie CalvertPowell all failed to make the final. Thompson is six points ahead of Ivorian Marie-Josée Ta Lou (who came second here) in the overall Diamond League standings for this event.
In a very tough 400m, which involved all the medallists from London 2017, the Jamaicans found the race a bit too difficult as Novlene Williams-Mills, Shericka Jackson and Chrisann Gordon finished in fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Williams-Mills clocked 51.62 seconds while both Jackson and Gordon were given the same time of 52.08 seconds. Former World Junior champion Janieve Russell, who did not qualify for the World Championships, finished third in the 400m hurdles in 54.67 seconds. Kimberley Williams pulled out a big jump in the triple jump event (14.44m) and finished in second place behind the World Champion Caterine Ibarguen. Her compatriot, Shanieka Ricketts, finished in sixth place with a distance of 14.00m. In the overall standings for this event, Williams is now on 24 points, seven behind Ibarguen.