OSLO, Norway – Jamaican's Rushell Clayton, Andrenette Knight, and Janieve Russell finished 1-2-3 in the women’s 400m hurdles during the Bislett Games, the sixth leg of the World Athletics Diamond League series, on Thursday in Norway.
Rushell Clayton of Jamaica runs to victory in the women’s 400 metres hurdles during the Bislett Games, the sixth leg of the World Athletics Diamond League series, on Thursday in Oslo, Norway. (World Athletics photo)Clayton was slightly off her season’s best time in tough weather conditions, but she led the race from the start and pulled away in the final straight to finish in 54.02 secs with Knight and Russell running season’s best times of 54.63 and 55.07 respectively, to follow her home.
“I never expected conditions like that, but nevertheless, it was a good race,” she said post-race. “My execution went well, and I cannot ask for more than to win. It is always good to win. Each race is a challenge, and I am working towards a bigger goal.
“Whenever these ladies decide to compete, I will be there to do the same, to compete. My next plans: to train, train, train… and I need to do the national championships.
“I am literally training through all these meets. I have training [on Friday], the next day, I do what my coach decides. It’s hurting. My main goal is to get to the Olympics and to win a medal. My last and ultimate goal of the season.”
The two-year unbeaten streak of women’s world 200 meters champion Shericka Jackson, however, came to an end.
The 29-year-old Jamaican sprint queen was making her second Diamond League appearance of the season at the Bislett Stadion in the Norwegian capital of Oslo and was seeking to improve on her performance two weeks ago in Morocco.
But she finished a distant fifth, clocking 22.97 seconds – 0.15 slower than her run in Rabat-Marrakech – in a race that the top three finishers all ran season’s best times to be able to stand on the podium, and it will mean she will have her work cut out in the build-up to the Jamaica Olympic Trials next month.
American Brittany Brown, the 2019 world silver medallist, won in a time of 22.32 secs with Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith of the Ivory Coast coming second in 22.36, and Daryll Neita of Great Britain taking third in 22.50.
Another Jamaican, Natoya Goule-Toppin ran a season’s best time of one minute, 59.10 seconds to finish second in the women’s 800m.
Prudence Sekgodiso of South Africa proved that her recent win in Morocco was not a fluke when she came out on top once again in the two-lap race.
The 22-year-old had a comfortable lead with 200 metres remaining and held on to win in 1 min, 58.66 secs from a fast-finishing Goule-Toppin.
Former Olympic and world champion, Kirani James of Grenada provided the other podium finish among English-speaking Caribbean athletes when he ran a season’s best 44.58 and finished second in the men’s 400 metres.
World Championship silver medallist Matt Hudson-Smith of Great Britain charged away from the field to break his own European record and set a personal best of 44.07, with Vernon Norwood of the United States running a season’s best 44.68 to take third; while Rusheen McDonald of Jamaica finished at the back of the eight-man field with a time of 47.60.
Sada Williams of Barbados also endured a setback when she too, finished fifth in the women’s 400 in a clash of the podium from last year’s World Championships in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, although she clocked a season’s best 50.71.
World Championships silver medallist Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland led at the half-way stage, but World champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic continued to rule the event when she kicked hard on the final bend and entered the home straight with a slight lead to forge ahead and win in a world-leading 49.30, only 0.07 shy of the meet record.
Kaczmarek was rewarded with a season’s best of 49.80 for second, and Alexis Holmes of the United States was third in 50.40.
Elsewhere, Fedrick Dacres of Jamaica finished sixth with a toss of 65.06 metres in the men’s discus, which featured the winners of the past five global titles.
But new world record-holder Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania came out on top, producing his fourth competition of the year beyond 70 metres and taking down a meet record that had stood to his father Virgilijus for the past 17 years.
World and Olympic champion Daniel Stahl took an early lead with 66.26m, but Alekna responded in the second round with 70.91 – a 40-centimetre improvement on the meet record and a mark that remained the best of the night.
Matt Denny of Australia moved into second place with a third-round throw of 67.61, and Stahl improved to 66.80 in the same round, but Alekna notched his fifth victory of the year.
The Jamaican pair of Rohan Watson and former world champion Yohan Blake finished sixth and seventh respectively, in the men’s 100.
Watson clocked a season’s best time of 10.23, and Blake ran 10.29, but the first four finishers all clocked season’s best time to reach the podium.
Reigning Commonwealth Games champion Akani Simbine of South Africa powered to the win in 9.94 after Jeremiah Azu of Great Britain led at half-way, but then pulled up with what appeared to be a slight injury.
Simbine came through for the win, five hundredths-of-a-second ahead of Hakim Sani Brown of Jamaica, with Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon running 10.01 to take third, two hundredths-of-a-second ahead of Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy.
