Olympic gold medalist Omar McLeod on Saturday set a Jamaican national record in the 110m hurdles with a blistering time of 12.9 seconds at the 2017 Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association National Senior Championships.
McLeod said he is dedicating the next few weeks to setting is sights on Aries Merritt’s world record of 12.80 seconds which he hopes to break before the London World Championships in August.
“I did not get it, so I am going after it next time,” said McLeod, who has races in Paris and Budapest meets before traveling to London.
Photo: Reuters
McLeod’s time eclipsed the previous Jamaican record of 12.94 seconds set by Hansle Parchment in 2014 in Paris.
McLeod has been having a fantastic last two seasons where he won the World Indoors 60m and Olympic Games gold medals five months apart. He also shaved .07 seconds off his previous personal best time.
“It was a great race,” said McLeod, who credits his new coach Edrick Floreal with rekindling his enthusiasm for the sport.
“The coach wanted a 12.8 and I know he will be a little upset, but I can tell him I set a national record of 12.9 and am now the fifth fastest man in history,” McLeod said.
McLeod now has the top four times in the world so far this year and lowered his previous career best of 13.01 seconds. He is tied for fifth best all time with US’ Dominique Arnold and trails only Merritt, Cuba’s Dayron Robles, China’s Liu Xiang and US’ David Oliver.
The sky is the limit for McLeod who is seeking to make up for his disappointing 2015 World Championships in Beijing where he finished sixth.
“I am just really excited about what is to come. A new coach made me fall in love with hurdles again so it is a good thing,” he said.
Ronald Levy, the second fastest in the world so far, was second in 13.13 seconds while Parchment, running with an injury, took third place in 13.19 seconds.
Speedster Yohan Blake is on course for the sprint double after qualifying the 200m finals yesterday, winning his semi-final heat in 20.3 seconds in his first 200m race of the season.
Commonwealth Games champion Rasheed Dwyer was the fastest qualifier after he won his heat in 20.16 seconds while World and Olympic medalist Warren Weir also advanced.
Discus thrower Fedric Dacres retained his Jamaican title with 66.52m toss, while London Olympian Traves Smikle was second with 63.26m.
National Collegiate Athletic Association champion Chrisann Gordon has thrown down the gauntlet among the women in the 400m after lowering her personal best to 50.32 seconds.
‘SU-PENKO’: Hsieh and Ostapenko face a rematch against their Australian Open final opponents, the same duo Hsieh played in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday survived a near upset to the unseeded duo of Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, setting up a semi-final showdown against last year’s winners. Despite losing a hard-fought opening set 7-6 (7/4) on a tiebreak, the fourth seeds turned up the heat, losing just five games in the final two sets to handily put down Cirstea and Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2. Nicknamed “Su-Penko,” the pair are next to face top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in a reversal of last
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and her Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko finished runners-up in the Wimbledon women's doubles final yesterday, losing 6-3, 2-6, 4-6. The three-set match against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium lasted two hours and 23 minutes. The loss denied 39-year-old Hsieh a chance to claim her 10th Grand Slam title. Although the Taiwanese-Latvian duo trailed 1-3 in the opening set, they rallied with two service breaks to take it 6-3. In the second set, Mertens and Kudermetova raced to a 5-1 lead and wrapped it up 6-2 to even the match. In the final set, Hsieh and
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei and her Latvian partner, Jelena Ostapenko, advanced to the Wimbledon women’s doubles final on Friday, defeating top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in straight sets. The fourth-seeded duo bounced back quickly after losing their opening service game, capitalizing on frequent unforced errors by their opponents to take the first set 7-5. Maintaining their momentum in the second set, Hsieh and Ostapenko broke serve early and held their lead to close out the match 6-4. They are set to face the eighth-seeded pair of Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens
Outside Anfield, the red sea of tributes to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, has continued to grow this week, along with questions over whether Liverpool could play at Preston today, their first game since the brothers’ tragic loss. Inside Anfield, and specifically a grieving Liverpool dressing room, there was no major debate over the pre-season friendly. The English Premier League champions intend to honor their teammate in the best way they know how. It would be only 10 days since the deaths of Jota and Silva when Liverpool appear at Deepdale Stadium for what is certain to be a hugely
RSS