Julien Alfred (© Getty Images)
Julien Alfred, Britton Wilson and Noah Lyles each started their seasons with winning doubles at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida.
Commonwealth 100m silver medallist Alfred improved to a 21.91 (1.8m/s) Saint Lucian 200m record, while two-time world 200m champion Lyles ran 20.16 (-1.2m/s) on Friday (14). They also won their 100m races the following day, Alfred clocking a wind-assisted 10.72 (2.4m/s) and Lyles running 9.95 (1.6m/s) ahead of Joseph Fahnbulleh (9.98).
Alfred picked up from where she left off following an indoor season that included PBs of 6.94 for the 60m and 22.01 in the 200m set at the NCAA Indoor Championships for the best ever one-day indoor sprints double. That 6.94 places her joint second on the world indoor 60m all-time list.
After some relay performances to open her outdoor campaign, the 21-year-old improved her previous 200m PB of 22.46 set last May, taking it to 21.91 in her first individual race of the season.
Finishing second in that collegiate race was McKenzie Long in a PB of 22.31, while Alfred’s Texas teammate Rhasidat Adeleke improved her Irish record to 22.34 in third.
In another race, world finalist Melissa Jefferson ran 23.02 (1.8m/s) to win ahead of five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah (23.23). Kiara Grant won the pro 100m race, clocking 10.99 (1.6m/s).
Also getting his outdoor season under way, Lyles ran 20.16 into a headwind (-1.2m/s) to dominate his 200m race. In one of the collegiate races, Alabama’s Tarsis Orogot ran a wind-assisted 19.60 (2.9m/s), while Terrence Jones went quickest in the collegiate 100m races, clocking 9.91 (1.0m/s) to match the Bahamian record.
Like Alfred, Wilson also threatened a world record at the NCAA Indoor Championships when she ran 49.48 to win the 400m. She achieved another fast time on Saturday (15), running a collegiate record of 49.51 to win her 400m race, the day after she claimed a 400m hurdles win in 53.23 when making her individual season debut. Anna Hall finished second in that hurdles race in 54.48 and Masai Russell was third in 55.39. Adeleke ran another Irish record to finish second behind Wilson in the 400m, clocking 49.90.
In the sprint hurdles, two-time world champion Grant Holloway won his 110m hurdles heat in 13.03 (1.1m/s) ahead of Rasheed Broadbell (13.12). Holloway then won the final in 13.05 (0.5m/s). After a wind-assisted 100m hurdles heat win of 12.55 (2.8m/s), 2019 world champion Nia Ali won the pro final in 12.53 (1.4m/s) ahead of world champion and world record-holder Tobi Amusan (12.59), who won her heat in 12.74 (1.1m/s). World indoor 60m hurdles silver medallist Devynne Charlton was third in the final in 12.64.
World indoor champion Jereem Richards got things off to a fast start as he won his first 400m race of the season in a PB of 44.68. Alonzo Russell also ran a PB of 44.73 for the runner-up spot.
Will Claye and Christian Taylor were separated by a single centimetre in the men's triple jump, respectively leaping 16.90m and 16.89m. Thea LaFond recorded 14.13m to win the women's contest.
Rogers throws 77.84m at Mt. SAC
At the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California, on Saturday (15), world silver medallist Camryn Rogers won the hammer with a throw of 77.84m to improve her own Canadian record. The performance moved her to seventh on the world all-time list.
Olympic and world silver medallist Rai Benjamin made his 400m hurdles season debut and clocked 47.74 for a dominant victory, while Cravont Charleston won the elite men’s 100m race in a wind-assisted 9.87 (3.0m/s) ahead of Kyree King (9.98) and world 400m champion Michael Norman (10.02).
Juliette Whittaker topped the 1500m in 4:12.49 on Friday and the following day won the 800m in 2:01.79 ahead of her Stanford teammate Roisin Willis in 2:01.97.
Talie Bonds improved her PB to 12.65 (1.2m/s) to win the 100m hurdles.
World discus silver medallist Mykolas Alekna continued his strong start to the season, getting close to his own world lead of 68.39m with a best throw of 68.35m.
Over at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, Nikki Hiltz pipped Michaela Rose in a close 800m race, 1:59.03 to 1:59.08, as both athletes dipped under two minutes for the first time on Friday (14). Claire Seymour (2:00.04), Elise Cranny (2:00.25) and Valery Tobias (2:00.31) also went sub-2:01.
On Saturday (15), Cooper Teare opened his season with a near 1500m PB of 3:34.96 ahead of Fouad Messaoudi (3:35.16).
Australian 15-year-old Gout Gout made a statement on the third day of the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Brisbane on Saturday (15), clocking 20.87 (-0.1m/s) to win the 200m by almost half a second.
“It means a lot because I’ve been training so much for this. I was really nervous. The gun went, and I was good and I just kept pushing," he told Athletics Australia.
ICYMI 🎥 | Gout Gout, 15 years of age, stormed around the bend, down the straight and across the finish line in 20.87 (-0.1) to take home the crown and the Australian Under 18 200m record. 🤯#ThisIsAthletics #VisitBrisbane #ThisIsQueensland @ChemistWhouse pic.twitter.com/tCKQ5Dy8KK
— Athletics Australia (@AthsAust) April 15, 2023
On Sunday (16), 16-year-old Delta Amidzovski clocked 13.02 (1.8m/s) to improve by 0.12 an Australian U18 record that had been set by Sally Pearson in 2003.
