Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson sets fastest time of year in women’s 100m, gets Budapest ticket

KINGSTON – Shericka Jackson threw down the gauntlet with a personal best and world-leading 10.65 seconds, the fifth-fastest time, as she retained her women’s 100m title at the Jamaican Championships on Friday.

Jackson, who won silver at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, is tied with American Marion Jones for fifth on the all-time list and eclipsed the previous fastest time of the year, the 10.71sec set by American Sha’Carri Richardson at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships on Thursday.

With Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who did not compete in Kingston, holding a wild card as defending world champion, Jamaica will have four runners in the event at the Aug 19-27 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Jackson won in a legal wind of 1.0m/sec, while Shashalee Forbes ran a new personal best of 10.96sec for second place and Natasha Morrison was third in 10.98sec.

Five-gold Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah was fifth in 11.06sec.

Jackson, who was shocked to learn she had moved up to No. 5 of all time, said the big difference maker was nailing the start.

“I told them last year that one of my main problems was the start. I think tonight I mastered it, but I have to go back to the drawing board with coach (Paul Francis), but tonight I did a very good job,” she said.

Relative unknown Rohan Watson stunned the large crowd when he won the men’s 100m, running a personal-best 9.91sec (1.1m/s). It was his second sub-10-second performance in 24 hours after running 9.98sec in Thursday’s first round.

Ryiem Forde took silver with a personal best of 9.98sec. World Championships finalist Oblique Seville was third in 10.00sec.

Roshawn Clarke equalled the world Under-20 record in the men’s 400m hurdles, running 47.85sec. Clarke, the World Under-20 bronze medallist, tied the world mark held by American Sean Burrell. He also surpassed his previous personal best of 48.91sec set in Thursday’s semi-finals

The winner a year back, Jaheel Hyde, was second in 48.45sec while Assinie Wilson was third in a personal-best 48.50sec.

Both joined Clarke as qualifiers for the World Championships.

In Eugene, Oregon, Cravont Charleston surged past 2019 world champion Christian Coleman to win the men’s 100m at the US championships on Friday as Richardson won the women’s 100m to book her long-anticipated World Championships berth.

The 25-year-old Charleston, who had never made it to the 100m final at the meet before, clocked 9.95sec to edge out Coleman by 0.01sec.

“Just keep running. That’s what I tried to do,” he said of his mindset as he trailed early in the race.

Two-time 200m world champion Noah Lyles (10.00sec) finished third, despite recovering from Covid-19 days earlier to achieve his goal of booking a spot on the world stage in the shorter sprint.

“This is probably the hardest team I’ve ever had to make in my life,” said the 25-year-old, who won the Paris Diamond League in June, but was unable to train for a week leading up to Eugene because of his illness.

“I had to keep believing that I was just going to keep going. I had that dream that I was going to make that (sprint) double... I didn’t feel like I was going to really be part of the team unless I made the team in the 100 this year.”

The trio will join reigning world champion Fred Kerley in the event at the worlds, trying to repeat the US sweep in Eugene in 2022.

Richardson, meanwhile, will spearhead the US women’s 100m challenge after booking her first world championships berth with an emotional victory in 10.82sec.

Richardson, who posted 10.75sec in the semi-finals, was a picture of determination on the start line, tossing away her bright red wig to reveal long braids before settling into the starting blocks.

A slow start left her some work to do, but she pulled away late to leave Brittany Brown second on 10.90sec, with Tamari Davis third in 10.99sec.

“I’m ready mentally, physically and emotionally, and I’m here to stay,” she said.

The win was a vindication of sorts for Richardson, who was infamously barred from the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after testing positive for marijuana.

She then saw her hopes of competing for a medal at the 2022 World Championships vanish when she flopped at the US trials.

“I’m not back. I’m better,” the 23-year-old Richardson said. AFP, REUTERS