Thompson clocks another sub-11sec win in Spain
ELAINE Thompson set a meeting record 10.90 seconds (1.0m/s) to win the women’s 100m at the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Madrid, Spain, yesterday, as her MVP track club training partner Andrew Fisher ran a big personal best 9.94 seconds to become the 10th fastest Jamaican ever over the 100m.
Thompson’s win was anticlimactic, however, as her main rival, American English Gardner failed to show up for the finals after leading the semi-final qualifiers.
Thompson, the national senior champion in the 200m, did not get off to the best start but caught the previous record holder Barbara Pierre of the USA and powered past her to the line to record her fourth sub-11-second time of the season.
Pierre, who set the previous record of 10.92 seconds 2013, was second yesterday in 11.05 seconds, while Carina Horn of South Africa was third in 11.10 seconds.
In the semi-finals, Thompson was second in her heat in 11.07 seconds (1.2m/s) behind Horn’s personal best 11.06 seconds.
Gardner had won her semi-final in 11.02 seconds.
Meanwhile, Fisher, the former Albert Town and St Elizabeth Technical High School runner, became the 14th Jamaican man to run under 10 seconds, lowering the 10.01 seconds he ran twice this year, both times at the National Stadium.
American Mike Rodgers set a new meet record 9.88 seconds, his season’s best and eighth best so far this year to win while another American, Ammeer Webb, ran 10.04 seconds for third.
Rodgers, who ran 9.97 seconds in the semis, was just shy of the record 9.87 seconds set by Jamaica’s Nesta Carter set in 2013.
Michael Frater was seventh in 10.19 seconds.
Fisher joins the list of Jamaican men under 10 seconds which includes world record holder Usain Bolt at 9.58 seconds, Yohan Blake at 9.69 seconds, Asafa Powell at 9.72 seconds, Nesta Carter at 9.78 seconds, Steve Mullings with 9.80 seconds, Michael Frater at 9.88 seconds, Nickel Ashmeade with 9.90 seconds, Kemar Bailey-Cole at 9.93 seconds, Kemarley Brown, also at 9.93 seconds, Mario Forsythe at 9.95 seconds, Raymon Stewart with 9.96 seconds, Percival Spencer at 9.98 seconds and Lerone Clarke with 9.99 seconds.
Julian Forte, the third Jamaican in the race, was disqualified in the semi-final after he false-started.
Rusheen McDonald was fourth in the 400m in 45.04 seconds won by 18-year-old Qatari Abdalelah Haroun in 44.63 seconds.
Meanwhile, Jason Morgan, the national record holder and world leader, continued to struggle in the discus throw after finishing fourth with a best of 59.32m.