Source: trinidadexpress.com | By Kwame Laurence kwame.laurence@trinidadexpress.com
Kelly-Ann Baptiste sounded a warning to the world's sprint elite when she grabbed gold in the women's 100 metres dash, at the Meeting Areva Samsung Diamond League meet, in Paris, France, yesterday.
The Trinidad and Tobago track star clocked an impressive 10.91 seconds--the second fastest time of her career, behind the 10.84 national record run she had produced in Florida, USA last year.
Baptiste, who is fifth on the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) 2011 performance list, had the satisfaction of beating two of the four women currently ahead of her—Jamaicans Veronica Campbell-Brown and Kerron Stewart.
Campbell-Brown, second on the IAAF list at 10.76, was forced to settle for silver yesterday, the 2007 100m world champion getting to the line in 10.95. Stewart, the fourth fastest woman this year at 10.87, bagged bronze in Paris in 11.04.
Carmelita Jeter leads the world with a 10.70 clocking, while her fellow American Marshevet Myers is third at 10.86.
In yesterday's century, Baptiste produced a superb run, getting out of the blocks quickly and then outpacing Campbell-Brown.
Cleopatra Borel was also in fine form in Paris, producing her best effort in more than seven years in the women's shot put.
The T&T field athlete threw the iron ball 19.42 metres, just six centimeters short of the 19.48m national record she had established at the Virginia Tech Challenge indoor meet, in Virginia, USA, in February, 2004.
Yesterday's big heave was an outdoor best for Borel, and her second best throw ever.
New Zealand's Valerie Adams triumphed with a 20.78m effort, beating Belarusian Nadzeya Ostapchuk (20.49m) and American Jillian Camarena-Williams (20.18m) into second and third, respectively.
Rondel Sorrillo copped fifth spot in the men's 200m. The T&T sprinter got home in 20.81 seconds.
Jamaican megastar Usain Bolt struck gold in 20.03, getting to the line ahead of France's Christophe Lemaitre (20.21) and American Darvis Patton (20.59).