The USA’s Trayvon Bromell stormed to seventh on the world 100m all-time list on Saturday (5) by running a world-leading 9.77 (1.5m/s) at the NACAC New Life Invitational – a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting – in Miramar, Florida.
Lining up alongside just three competitors, the 2016 world indoor 60m champion got a strong start and powered away to become just the ninth man to ever break 9.80 for 100m.
It continues an impressive return for the 25-year-old, who has overcome injury struggles during the past few years.
MEN’S 100M WORLD LEADER
TRAYVON BROMELL WINS THE 100M with an incredible 9.77s for the best mark in the world this year at the NACAC NEW LIFE INVITATIONAL
⭐️And you saw it live on the Panam Sports Channel⭐️
🥇Trayvon Bromell🇺🇸9.77
🥈Marvin Bracey🇺🇸9.85
🥉Chris Royster🇺🇸10.08 pic.twitter.com/SEaiYpSCVW
— Panam Sports (@PanamSports) June 5, 2021
Bromell’s time in Miramar improves on his previous best of 9.84 which he ran in 2015 and equalled the following year.
Behind him, Marvin Bracy ran a PB of 9.85, with the pair having run respective wind-assisted times of 10.01 and 10.06 (2.2m/s) in an earlier heat. In that first round, Yohan Blake ran a slightly wind-aided 9.97 (2.1m/s).
On a day of fast sprint times which had earlier seen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce become the second-fastest female 100m sprinter in history with 10.63 in Kingston, Elaine Thompson-Herah – with whom Fraser-Pryce had previously shared the Jamaican record at 10.70 – claimed her own victory thanks to a 10.87 (1.2m/s) run in Miramar.
She finished ahead of the USA’s Olympic long jump champion Tianna Bartoletta and Jamaica’s Briana Williams, who both dipped under 11 seconds with respective times of 10.96 and 10.97. Double Olympic champion Thompson-Herah also won the 200m in 22.54 (1.2m/s).
Elaine Thompson-Herah wins the 100m at the NACAC New Life Invitational (© Jeff Porter)
Bartoletta also contested the long jump and finished second with a wind-assisted 6.75m (3.7m/s) as Canada’s Christabel Nettey leapt 6.78m (2.7m/s) to win. Britain’s Lorraine Ugen was third with a best of 6.74m (2.7m/s).
The USA’s world record-holder Dalilah Muhammad dominated the 400m hurdles, clocking 54.50 to finish more than a second ahead of Jamaica’s Ronda Whyte with 55.65, while Tobi Amusan and Michael Dickson claimed sprint hurdles wins with respective wind-assisted times of 12.44 (2.2m/s) in the 100m hurdles and 13.16 (2.6m/s) in the 110m hurdles.
The 400m races were won by Deon Lendore (45.48) and Wadeline Jonathas (51.91), while Ajeé Wilson (2:01.50) and Marco Arop (1:44.93) claimed victory in the 800m events.
Photos by Jeff Porter
World silver medallist Sydney McLaughlin sped to a sub-53-second clocking in her first 400m hurdles race of the year when winning at the Music City Track Carnival in Nashville on Sunday (6).
The 21-year-old had contested a few sprint hurdles races already this year, topped by a 12.65 PB last month at Mt SAC, and had recorded a season’s best of 51.16 for 400m flat, so it was clear McLaughlin was in form. Her aim in Nashville was to put all of that together in a 400m hurdles race.
Jamaica’s Olympic finalist Leah Nugent, drawn in lane three, went out the hardest and led at half way. But McLaughlin, drawn two lanes outside Nugent, maintained her composure and edged into the lead on the top bend. She continued to push ahead and, despite a small adjustment to negotiate the penultimate barrier, went on to stop the clock at 52.83.
Not only is it the third-fastest time of McLaughlin’s career, it’s also the fastest season opener of any 400m hurdler in history. With five sub-53-second times to her name, McLaughlin now ties Lashinda Demus as the most prolific sub-53-second performer in history.
“I just had to get the rust off and I’m glad to be back,” said McLaughlin, whose PB of 52.23 makes her the second-fastest woman in history. “I’ve done a couple of races at short distances and one at 400m, but getting the two combined is good. It’s good to just be able to feel that tempo. My improved speed over short hurdles is helping. Once you open it up, it feels easier.”
Earlier in the programme, Katie Nageotte notched up another pole vault victory. The Pan-American silver medallist effectively had the competition won with her first-time clearance at her opening height of 4.41m, but she went on to clear 4.61m, 4.75m and then 4.85m before ending her series with three misses at 4.95m.
New Zealand’s 2017 world champion Tom Walsh recorded a season’s best of 22.00m in the men’s shot put, backing it up with efforts of 21.78m and 21.66m. World silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd won the women’s event with a season’s best of 19.26m.
Elsewhere, two-time world champion Sam Kendricks won the pole vault on countback from US teammate Matt Ludwig, both clearing 5.71m. And world champion Steven Gardiner was a comfortable winner of the men’s 400m, clocking 45.06.
World discus finalist Valarie Allman produced the second-best throw of her career to highlight the USATF Showcase – a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting – in Prairie View on Sunday (6).
The 26-year-old, who holds the US record at 70.15m, moved into the lead in the third round with 65.88m, overtaking Jamaica’s Shadae Lawrence (62.48m). Allman then improved to 67.07m before producing her best of the day in round six, throwing 67.74m to move to third on this year’s world list.
At a meeting where throwing events produced most of the highlights, Nigerian record-holder Chukwuebuka Enekwechi landed a season’s best of 21.53m to win the men’s shot put while Gwen Berry won the women’s hammer with 72.80m, beating Oceania record-holder Lauren Bruce by 21 centimetres.
On the track, Natasha Hastings won a long sprint double with season’s bests, taking the 200m in 23.09 (1.3m/s) and the 400m in 51.45. Allie Wilson won the 800m in 1:59.92.
Britain’s Taylor Campbell threw a PB to achieve an Olympic qualifying mark in the hammer, while Bahamian 100m hurdles record-holder Devynne Charlton was also among the winners at the Hungarian GP Series – a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting – in Tatabanya, Hungary, on Saturday (5).
Campbell’s best before this year had been 74.98m but he improved to 75.82m in April and then 76.97m in May before adding more than a metre to that with 78.23m in Tatabanya to better the Tokyo standard of 77.50m.
I HAVE QUALIFIED FOR TOKYO OLYMPICS!!!! 😳😳😳PB 78.23m. I’m in absolute shock right now. I have dreamt about this moment so many times since I was a kid. 🇬🇧❤️ pic.twitter.com/UyPFgKOQyu
— Taylor Campbell (@TaylorLC1996) June 5, 2021
For Charlton, who clocked 12.61 at the USATF Golden Games in May, her winning mark this time was 12.85 (-0.6m/s) to finish ahead of home favourite Luca Kozak with 12.92. Brazil’s Gabriel Constantino won the 110m hurdles in 13.51 (-0.5m/s) ahead of Shane Brathwaite with 13.62, while Liberia’s Emmanuel Matadi ran 10.18 (-0.7m/s) to triumph in the 100m from Alonso Edward with 10.20.
Janka Molnar clocked a Hungarian U23 record of 56.17 to win the women’s 400m hurdles, while Kenya’s Cornelius Tuwei won the men’s 800m in 1:46.07 and Hungary’s Bianka Bartha-Keri clocked a 2:01.34 PB to win the women’s event.
Kenya’s Rosefline Chepngetich and Wilberforce Kones were top in the 3000m steeplechase events, with respective times of 9:33.51 and 8:29.43.
Ukraine’s Iryna Gerashchenko won the women’s high jump, clearing 1.94m, while Malaysia’s Nauraj Singh Randhawa achieved 2.27m to win the men’s competition.
Over at the Denka Athletics Challenge Cup – a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting – in Niigata, Japan, on Sunday (6), Yuki Hashioka leapt 8.23m (1.3m/s) to win the long jump.
The 2018 world U20 champion opened his series with 8.19m (-0.2m/s) in the first round, before 8.23m in the second. Hibiki Tsuha placed second with two 7.86m jumps.
Nozomi Tanaka won the women’s 1500m in 4:09.06.
Jess Whittington and Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
