Jamaica’s 2011 world champion Yohan Blake won the men’s 100m event at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial, the penultimate Gold meeting of this season’s World Athletics Continental Tour Gold, in Szekesfehervar, Hungary on Tuesday.
Blake secured the top spot with a time of 10.04 (0.1m/s) seconds, his first 100m win of the season, to lead a Jamaican top three. Ackeem Blake, the fastest Jamaican male this season with 9.89, settled for second place with a time of 10.09, closely followed by national champion Rohan Watson, who finished in 10.10.
Ryiem Forde, who had secured the second spot at the Jamaica trials earlier this month, managed only a sixth-place finish with a time of 10.19.
Yohan and Akeem had disappointing performances at the Jamaica trials earlier this month, missing their chance to represent the country in the 100m event at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Earlier, Andrenette Knight started strongly in the women’s 400m hurdles and she held on to turn the tables on national champion Janieve Russell and lead a Jamaican top four. Knight – runner-up to Russell at the Jamaica trials earlier this month – improved her PB to 53.26 to win this time, with Russell second in 53.72 and Rushell Clayton third in 53.79. Shiann Salmon finished fourth in 55.04.
USA’s Daniel Roberts edged Jamaica’s Olympic champion Hansle Parchment and Tyler Mason to win the men’s 110m hurdles, dipping over the finish line in 13.12 (0.5m/s) to his rivals’ matching time of 13.14. Damion Thomas, third Jamaican in the field finished fifth in 13.45.
Rusheen McDonald finished second in the men’s 400m in 44.03 – his second-fastest ever time behind his Jamaican record from 2015.
Olympic champion Steven Gardiner made a statement ahead of the World Athletics Championships, to win in a world leading time of 43.74 – the second-fastest performance of his career so far. USA’s Vernon Norwood was third in 44.63.
Racing in hot and sunny conditions, Gardiner improved the meeting record of 44.30 he set in 2015 to replace Muzala Samukonga as the fastest 400m runner in the world this year. Samukonga clocked 43.91 in April, while world record-holder Wayde van Niekerk continued his own comeback with a 44.08 win at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia on Sunday.
