Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Keston Bledman grabbed men’s 100 metres bronze at the IAAF Diamond League in New York, USA yesterday, but missed out on his personal best.
Bledman clocked 10.16 seconds from lane seven in a quality field to secure a spot on the podium, behind Americans Tyson Gay and Ryan Bailey. Gay stopped the clock at 10.02 for the easy win, while Bailey secured silver in 10.15.
The T&T athlete missed out on his season best of a wind-assisted 10.14, achieved on May 11 at the National Training Center (NTC) Classic in Clermont, Florida, USA. But it was still good enough to beat his Jamaican rival Nesta Carter, who finished in 10.24.
Bledman qualified for the final after finishing third in the second men’s semi-final with a 10.29 run, with Jamaican Nickel Ashmeade (10.20) and Bailey (10.28) grabbing first and second respectively.
But T&T’s 2008 Olympic 100-metre silver medallist Richard Thompson did not have a good day, as he brought up the rear among the eight athletes in the first men’s ‘semi’, won by Gay in 10.30. Kemar Bailey Cole (10.46) of Jamaica was second, and USA’s Rakieem Salaam (10.58) third.
Sixth was Antiguan Daniel Bailey in 10.61, while Thompson clocked 10.68.
T&T had two other competitors at the meet yesterday, but neither could get among the medals.
Quarter-miler Renny Quow finished fifth in the men’s 400 ‘B’ race in a season best 47.06 seconds. He trailed four Jamaicans around the track. Among them, Mario Forsythe (46.65) was the winner, while Dewayne Barrett (46.85) and Allodin Fothergill (47.01) rounded out the top three in that order.
And in the 400m hurdles event, Jehue Gordon finished sixth in 49.76. That event was won by American Michael Tinsley in 48.43, with 2012 Olympic silver medallist Javier Culson of Puerto Rico second in 48.53.
Johnny Dutch (48.78), also of the US, was third. Gordon’s season best so far is the 49.05 he clocked at the Guadeloupe International Meeting at Baie Mahault earlier this month.
...But Thompson misses out on final