After her mediocre start in her semi-final, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce must have taken a long hard look at how she could turn things around. Whatever conclusion she came up with was spot on as she made another contribution to Jamaica’s gold reserves with a sparkling run in 6.98.
The triple gold medallist from the 2013 IAAF World Championships got out of her blocks quickly, was in front after just 10 metres and stayed in pole position all the way down the track to register a huge personal best, although that should not be too much of a surprise as she is only in her second season of running under cover.
She held off a battling Murielle Ahoure who won the silver medal for the second successive championships, clocking a season’s best of 7.01.
USA’s Tianna Bartoletta, the 2005 world long jump champion, is now a confirmed sprint specialist and took the bronze medal in 7.06.
There was a slight gap between the three medallists and the rest of the field with Great Britain’s fast-starting Asha Philip fourth in 7.11, just 0.02 outside her personal best and showing enough ability to suggest she’ll get a lot closer to the women in front of her this summer.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF
