SOPOT, Poland, CMC – Reigning World and Olympic 100 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica won her first World Indoor medal when she ran a world leading time of 6.98 seconds to capture the gold in the women’s 60m final here yesterday.
Fraser-Pryce, among favourites in a highly anticipated match-up against rivals Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast and fellow Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown, exploded out of the blocks to win the title in a world leading and personal best.
Campbell-Brown, who won in Istanbul two years ago, was fifth (7.13) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye was sixth in 7.16.
Fraser-Pryce, the triple gold medallist from the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, now joins Campbell-Brown as the only women to win world titles in the 60,100 and 200m.
“It’s an amazing feeling of grace. I’ve never done the indoor championships before and I finally did it and it and I won,” she told reporters.
“It reminds me of the Olympics – I’ve never done the Olympics (before) 2008 but I went and I won so it’s an amazing feeling of grace and of course I lined up against girls who are seasoned in the 60m and it was just an awesome time to just go out and have fun.”
It was a strong finish for the Jamaicans who also picked up medals in both relays.
The quartet of Patricia Hall, Anneisha McLaughlin, Kaliese Spencer and Stephanie Ann McPherson ran a new national indoor 4x400m record of 3:24.83 to finish behind the United States (3:24.82).
Spencer ran a terrific third leg to give the Jamaicans silver after trailing Great Britain (3:27.90) over the first 800m.
The Jamaican men’s team also had a strong finish but could not overpower the dominant United States which set a new world record of 3:02.13. Great Britain (3:03.49) took the silver and Jamaica secured the bronze in a new national indoor record of 3:03.69.
Jamaican champion hurdler Andrew Riley did not start in the final of the 60m hurdles in which American Omo Asaghae ran a world leading 7.45 to take gold and the Frenchmen Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (7.46) and Garfield Darien (7.47), the silver and bronze respectively.
On Saturday, Spencer took the silver in the women’s 400m and Kimberly Williams was third for the bronze in the women’s triple jump.
Cuba with three medals and the Bahamas with two medals – one silver and one bronze were the other Caribbean countries on the medal table.
The United States led the table with 12 medals including eight golds, followed by Russia, Ethiopia, Great Britain and Jamaica with a total of five medals – one gold, two silvers and two bronzes.
