By Kayon Raynor
KINGSTON (Reuters) – Jamaica’s top sprinters sent warning shots to their rivals ahead of the Paris Games on Thursday by posting searing times in the 100m heats at the Jamaican Olympic trials in Kingston.
Double Olympic 100m gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and two-time 200m world champion Shericka Jackson both dipped under 11 seconds for the first time this season.
Five-times 100m world champion Fraser-Pryce, 37, displayed her signature bullet start to separate herself from the field before coasting to the finish in 10.98 to win her heat.
Jackson also exploded from the blocks to create separation before coasting to the finish line from 60m in 10.99.
Double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah withdrew ahead of the trials due to an Achilles injury and will not defend her 100m and 200m titles in Paris.
On the men’s side, Kishane Thompson caught the eye with a lifetime best 9.82 while Oblique Seville impressed in clocking 9.98, using just enough energy required to make the semi-finals.
In the field, fresh off her success at the NCAA Championships in the U.S., Ackelia Smith continued her impressive long jump form by leaping 6.53m to win her second national title in three years.
However, it was a nerve racking competition for the 2022 Commonwealth Games finalist after nailing only a single legal jump on her third attempt.
“For one, I definitely wanted a better series of jumps, I didn’t get that, but I did get the national title, which is a big honour and I’m thankful for that,” Smith told Reuters.
Punching her ticket to her first Olympics is lifetime achievement, she added.
“I’ve been dreaming about this for a minute and while the road to get there might not have been the smoothest, I’m excited to be a first generation Olympian and I’m so happy for that,” Smith added.
“Most of my jumps were huge, but the marker was off, so I’ll have to work on that and come back when it really matters (at the Olympics).”
(Reporting by Kayon Raynor in Kingston; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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