CHORZOW, Poland, CMC – The Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino continued her dominance in the women’s 400 metres, while Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent, Tia Clayton and Shanieka Ricketts all won their respective events at the Silesia Diamond League here yesterday.
Paulino, the Olympic champion, set a new meet record of 48.66 seconds in a race that featured the same top three finishers as the Paris Olympics, with Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain second in 49.23 and Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek grabbing bronze in 49.95.
Sada Williams of Barbados was eighth in 50.82 seconds.
Nugent was also spectacular on her way to winning the women’s 100-metre hurdles in a meet record 12.29 seconds, just outside her personal best and national record 12.28 seconds.
Grace Stark of the USA was second in 12.37 seconds to narrowly edge out Nugent’s fellow Jamaican Danielle Williams (12.38). Olympic champion, Masai Russell of the USA finished fourth in 12.40 seconds.
Meanwhile, Clayton pipped Ivory Coast’s Marie Jose Ta Lou-Smith and Tamari Davis in a thrilling finish to the women’s 100 metres.
Clayton won gold in a wind-aided 10.83 seconds, the same time as Lou-Smith who finished second, while Davis was a close third in 10.84 seconds in a blanket finish.
Also in winners’ row was Ricketts, whose leap of 14.50 metres could not be matched in the women’s triple jump.
Leyanis Perez of Cuba copped silver in 14.42 metres and Italy’s Dariya Derkach placed third with her effort measured at 14.02 metres.
The Jamaican duo of Rasheed Broadbell and Romaine Beckford also delivered commendable performances to win silver in the 110-metre hurdles and high jump respectively.
Broadbell clocked a season’s best 13.05 seconds to finish just behind Olympic champions Grant Holloway of the USA in 13.04 seconds.
Beckford produced a personal best jump of 2.29 metres to claim silver, with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi winning the event in 2.31 metres.
Ackeem Blake rounded out an outstanding performance by Caribbean athletes at the meet when he finished third in the men’s 100 metres in 9.89 seconds, equaling his personal best.
The event was won by Fred Kerley of the USA in 9.87 seconds, with Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya finishing second in 9.88 seconds.
