Source: www.trinidadexpress.com
By Kwame Laurence kwame.laurence@trinidadexpress.com
Prefontaine bronze for Borel-Brown
Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Keston Bledman joined the sub-10 club when he clocked 9.93 seconds in the men's 100 metres final, at a meet in Florida, USA, yesterday.
With the clocking, Bledman moved into third spot on the all-time T&T list, behind quadruple Olympic medallist Ato Boldon (9.86) and 2008 Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson (9.89). Two other T&T sprinters are members of the sub-10 club--Marc Burns (9.96) and Darrel Brown (9.99).
In yesterday's qualifying round, American sprint star Tyson Gay ran a world-leading 9.79 seconds, and in another heat Bledman clocked a wind-assisted 9.99. Gay did not face the starter in the final, and Bledman emerged victorious.
At the Prefontaine Classic Samsung Diamond League meet, in Oregon, USA, yesterday, T&T field athlete Cleopatra Borel-Brown bagged women's shot put bronze with an 18.85 metres throw. Nadzeya Ostapchuk, of Belarus, topped the field with a huge 20.59m effort, beating American Jillian Camarena-Williams (19.76m) into second spot.
Rondel Sorrillo finished fourth in the men's 200m in 20.51 seconds. Another T&T sprinter, Emmanuel Callender was sixth in 20.67. Walter Dix (20.19) of the United States, Norway's Jaysuma Saidy Ndure (20.26) and Churandy Martina (20.39) of the Netherlands were first, second and third, respectively.
Thompson ran a season's best 10.01 seconds in the men's 100m. The clocking, though, was only good enough for seventh spot, the top six men in the race diving under 10 seconds.
Jamaican Steve Mullings blazed to victory in a personal best 9.80. Mike Rodgers also clocked a PR (personal record), the American sprinter finishing second in 9.85. Jamaica's Nesta Carter (9.92) and American Darvis Patton (9.94) were third and fourth, respectively. Fifth-placed Jamaican Michael Frater ran a PR, 9.94, while sixth-placed American Justin Gatlin clocked 9.97. Another US sprinter, Ivory Williams got to the line in 10.02 to finish eighth and last.
Josanne Lucas was eighth in the women's 400m hurdles, the T&T athlete getting home in 57.76 seconds. American Lashinda Demus triumphed in 53.31, beating Jamaicans Kaliese Spencer (53.45) and Melaine Walker (53.56) into second and third, respectively.