American men, Jamaican women rule at 125th Penn Relays

WASHINGTON: Two- t ime Olymp i c 1 0 0m ch amp ion Shelly- Ann Fraser- Pryce and Stephenie McPherson sparked t wo J ama i c a n wome n’s triumphs while Mike Rodgers and Michael Cherry led two US men’s victories at Saturday’s 125th Penn Relays.

American men and Jamaican women swept 4x100 and 4x400 titles at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whi le Kenya’s men and US women took sprint medley crowns in the longest- running US athletics meet.

The event served as a tuneup for several nations for the IAAF World Relays in two weeks in Yokohama, Japan.

Fraser- Pryce, the 2008 and 2012 100m Olympic champion, surged ahead in the opening leg to power a victory with Natasha Morrison, Shillonie Calvert and anchor Shasha Lee Forbes in 43.19sec with Canada a distant second (44.37) and the US women third (44.40).

“The team and I, we wanted to put a good race together and I’m glad we were able to come home with the win,” FraserPryce said.

Jamaican Gold and Green teams went 1- 2 in the 4x400 relay, with Shericka Jackson, Janieve Russell, Christine Day and McPherson triumphant in 3min 28.94sec, and a Jamaican second team 2.1sec back, edging Canada for second.

“It was an amazing feeling,” said Day. “When the crowd is roaring it’s great to be able to put on a show for them.”

In the men’s 4x100, Rodgers anchored a USA Red win in 38.80sec with Canada second ( 38.94) and US Blue edging Nesta Carter- led Jamaica for third ( 39.16).

“It meant a lot to me,” Rodgers said. “A lot of good pictures. Proud of my teammates. It was a great win.”

Rodgers brought home a win for Chris Belcher, Bryce Robinson and Josiah Young by holding off Canada’s Ben Williams.

Cherry, who helped the US men to a 4x400 runner-up finish at the 2017 worlds, surged ahead in the second leg and along with opener My’lik Kerley, Dontavius Wright and anchor Je’Von Hutchison won in 3 : 02.70 with Canada second ( 3: 04.54) and Bahamas third ( 3: 05.58).

“I wanted to get out at a good pace, get a big lead in the backstretch and hold my pace going to the finish and I was able to do it,” Cherry said after the 17th US win in 20 tries in the event. — AFP