Yohan Blake ran a season best 9.95 seconds (0.1m/s) to win the men’s 100m final at Friday’s American Track League Stars and Stripes Classic held at Marietta High School in Atlanta, in the USA.
Blake was one of three Jamaican winners on the evening as Danielle Williams also ran a season’s best 12.62 seconds (0.0m/s) to win the 100m hurdles and Ronda Whyte won the women’s 400m hurdles.
Blake, the 2011 World Championships 100m champion, was quickest out of the blocks and powered away from the field to beat his previous season’s best 9.98 seconds set at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Senior Championships two weeks ago.
In the prelims, he had run 10.09 seconds (0.1m/s) to win his heat and led all the qualifiers as another Jamaican, Javoy Tucker, was eighth in the final, running a season’s best 10.35 seconds.
Williams, who missed selection to the Olympic Games team after finishing fourth at the JAAA National Championships, lowered her season’s best from the previous 12.65 seconds with a solid victory after running 12.68 (0.1m/s) in the preliminaries.
Tobi Amusan of Nigeria was second in 12.71 seconds and Tiffany Porter of Great Britain placed third in 12.88 seconds.
Whyte won for the second time overseas this season, clocking 54.47 seconds, beating Colombia’s Melissa Gonzales (55.45secs) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Sparkle McKnight (55.62secs).
Hansle Parchment, Rasheed Dwyer and Candice McLeod all finished second in the 110m hurdles, men’s 200m and women’s 400m, respectively.
Parchment ran 13.32 seconds (0.1m/s) to finish behind American Michael Dickson (13.23secs) with another American Devon Allen third in 13.33secs.
Dwyer, the national senior champion, clocked 20.62 seconds (0.0m/s) for the runner-up spot in the half-lap event, behind American Kyree King’s 20.26secs with Trinidad and Tobago’s Kyle Greaux third in 20.74secs.
Nathon Allen was fourth in 20.81secs and Jevaughn Minzie sixth in 21.00secs (0.1m/s).
McLeod, who was second at the recent JAAA National Senior Championships, ran 51.51secs to finish behind American Jessica Beard (51.11secs), as Jamaicans Tovea Jenkins was fifth in 52.19secs, Anastasia LeRoy was seventh in 52.35secs and Tiffany James ninth in 52.88secs.
Andre Clarke was third in the men’s 400m hurdles in 49.67secs and Demish Gaye fifth in the men’s 400m in 46.13secs