Day three of the World Champs was off to another big start for the Jamaicans as both the men and women took the track in the heats of the 400m. The men were up first, with both Christopher Taylor and Nathon Allen qualifying for the semifinals as they ran 45.68s and 45.61s to place second and third respectively. National Champion Jevaughn Powell did not advance as he placed fourth in his Heat, clocking 46.42s. The women were quite impressive as Stephenie Ann McPherson, Candice McLeod and Charokee Young all qualified for the semifinals. Stephenie Ann McPherson won her heat in the fastest time 50.15s, Candice McLeod was second in her heat with 50.76s, while Charokee Young had to qualify based on time as she placed fourth in her heat with 51.84s.
Fedrick Dacres and Traves Smikle both qualified for the Men’s Discus final in tenth and eleventh respectively. Dacres threw 64.49m while Smikle threw 64.21m. The third Jamaica in the event, Chad Wright, failed to qualify after visa issues saw last year’s Olympic finalist arrive mere hours before the event. His mark of 60.31m was not enough to make the top twelfth.
In the Men’s 400m Hurdles semifinals, only Jaheel Hyde qualified for the final with a time of 48.09s behind the Olympic silver medalist Rai Benjamin. The other two Jamaicans Shawn Rowe and Kemar Mowatt did not advance to the final as they both placed eighth and fourth in their semifinals with times of 49.80s and 48.59s. The finals are slated for Tuesday night.
The Men’s 110m Hurdles saw only the reigning Olympic Champion Hansle Parchment qualifying for the final with a time of 13.02s. Rasheed Broadbell and Orlando Bennett did not advance to the final after placing third and sixth in their semifinals.
Jamaicans were anticipating Hansle Parchment to make the first deposit in the medal account, however he injured his hamstring while warming up on the track for the men’s 110m Hurdles final just minutes before the race. Parchment opted not to start the race leaving Jamaicans feeling extremely emotional. The race moved ahead but a false start which led to America’s Devon Allen being disqualified delayed the official start. The race was eventually won by Grant Holloway in 13 seconds flat, making this his second World Title.
The women’s 100m was filled with much anticipation for fans as three of the four Jamaican women – Shericka Jackson, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce all qualified for the final. While second place finisher at the National Championships Kemba Nelson only managed to place sixth in her semifinal with 11.25s.
The event lived up to the expectation of fans. The crowd was extremely excited and eager to see Jamaica get a clean sweep in the event. Well, so said and so done. Fraser-Pryce led from the start as she put her usual rocket start to use in getting away from the pack and staying there. Jackson was closing fast on the line but could not catch up to green strands of the now 5-time World Champion. Meanwhile Thomapson-Herah overcame a rocky start to catch up to her compatriots and complete the sweep. Fraser-Pryce’s 10.67s erased Marion Jones’ name to set a new Championship Record for gold and Jackson’s 10.73 was new personal best and makes her the third fastest Jamaican woman ever in the event. This shows that Jamaica continues to be a force to be reckoned with in women’s sprinting.
Day four will be a lighter one from a Jamaican perspective as Jamaicans are only scheduled to participate in the Heats of the Men’s and Women’s 200m, as well as the qualifying of Women’s Discus Throw.
-Kemal Forde