By Kwame Laurence kwame.laurence@trinidadexpress.com
Bledman third in Rio
Rondel Sorrillo copped third spot in the men's 200 metres, at the Golden Gala IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) Diamond League meet, in Rome, Italy, yesterday.
The Trinidad and Tobago half-lap specialist got to the line in 20.68 seconds.
Italy's Andrew Howe clocked 20.31 to win in front of his home crowd, beating Jamaican Marvin Anderson (20.49) into second spot.
American Shawn Crawford, the 2004 Olympic 200m champion, and Great Britain's Christian Malcolm were among the athletes Sorrillo beat. Crawford finished fourth in 20.82, while Malcolm (20.95) was fifth.
T&T's Emmanuel Callender copped sixth spot in 20.99.
T&T sprint star Richard Thompson clocked 10.13 seconds to finish fifth in the men's 100m.
The race was won by double Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt. Competing for the first time this year, Bolt stopped the clock at 9.91 seconds to finish ahead of fellow-Jamaican Asafa Powell (9.93). Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre (10.00) and 2003 world champion Kim Collins (10.12), of St Kitts/Nevis, were third and fourth, respectively.
Reigning world junior champion Jehue Gordon improved on his season best by almost a full second in finishing fifth in the men's 400m hurdles.
The 19-year-old T&T athlete got home in 49.09 seconds, 93-hundredths of a second faster than the 50.02 run he had produced in Guadeloupe on May 7.
South Africa's LJ van Zyl continued his fine run of form, topping the one-lap hurdles field in 47.91 seconds. Briton David Greene was second in 48.24, finishing ahead of two-time Olympic champion Angelo Taylor (48.66), of the United States, and Puerto Rico's 2009 World Championship silver medallist Javier Culson (48.86).
T&T-born American Kerron Clement, a two-time world champion, was ninth and last in 50.03.
T&T's Renny Quow finished fifth in the men's 400m. The 2009 World Championship bronze medallist clocked 45.83 seconds. Bahamian Chris Brown (45.16), Jamaican Jermaine Gonzales (45.43) and Belgian Jonathan Borlee (45.53) were first, second and third, respectively.
At the IAAF World Challenge meet, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, T&T's Keston Bledman earned bronze in the men's 100m dash in 10.27 seconds. Briton Dwain Chambers was the class of the field, winning easily in 10.05 seconds.
At the halfway stage, Bledman was well placed to secure silver. However, he was challenged for the runner-up spot in the second half of the race by Jamaicans Kimmari Roach and Dexter Lee. Roach won the battle for silver in 10.26, finishing just ahead of Bledman and fourth-placed Lee (10.28).