Omar McLeod of Jamaica after crossing the finish line (© Getty Images)
World indoor 60m hurdles champion Omar McLeod wrote himself into the history books at the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, USA, when he took advantage of a 2.0m/s breeze on his back to win the 100m in 9.99 on Saturday (23).
The time means that the Jamaican hurdler, a 12.97 performer in his specialist event, has become the first athlete in history to run under 10 seconds for the 100m and 13 seconds for the 110m hurdles.
"Hard to believe that I haven't ran this event in five years and my personal best prior to this was 11.02 wind-legal. So with that said, this race kinda means a lot. Finally trusting my abilities!" McLeod said on social media.
McLeod’s compatriot, 2012 world junior discus champion Fedrick Dacres, threw a world-leading 68.02m to win at the Triton Invitational in San Diego.
Dacres' previous best was 66.75m from 2014 and his effort in San Diego was just short of the Jamaican record of 68.19m set by Jason Morgan last year.
Another world-leading mark came at the at the LSU Alumni Gold meeting in Baton Rouge with 2012 world junior 400m champion Ashley Spencer continuing her rapid transition to being a world-class hurdler when she won over the barriers in 54.70, taking more than a second off her best from three years ago.
Spencer, the world indoor 400m silver medallist, was pushed all the way by 2011 world youth champion Nnenya Hailey, but the latter had to settle for second in a personal best of 54.98, which was also more than a second faster than she had ever run before.
Okolo first ever US collegian under 50 seconds
Courtney Okolo won the 400m in a personal best and US collegiate record of 49.71, becoming the first US college student to run under 50 seconds over one lap of the track.
"I wanted to run that fast," she told local media. "We've been talking about it and training has been looking like I could run that fast so it was just about executing. I was relieved. I put a lot of pressure on myself to execute my race right, but the last 100, it was rough."
In the men’s 4x400m, a multi-national Louisiana State University team of Lamar Bruton, Michael Cherry, Cyril Grayson, and Fitzroy Dunkley ran a world-leading 3:00.38, with the last three runners all going under 45 seconds for their splits.
Vernon Norwood took the men’s 400m in 45.01 while Byron Robinson took the 400m hurdles in 49.10.
At the same meeting, Morolake Akinosun and Felicia Brown got wind-assisted wins in the 100m (3.5m/s) and 200m (2.6m/s), running 10.97 and 22.57 respectively.
In the 100m hurdles, Phylicia George won in 12.67 but, again, the following wind was above the legal limit at 2.7m/s.
Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake won the men’s 200m in a windy 20.14 (3.6m/s).
The pick of the field events in Bation Rouge came in the men’s long jump where the in-form Jarvis Gotch, who earlier this month set a legal personal best of 8.24m, was blown out to 8.35m with the aid of a 2.7m/s wind. The women’s pole vault was won by Morgann Leleux with 4.51m.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF
