By Gary Smith
Caribbean Net News Sports Correspondent
Email: gary@caribbeannetnews.com
TALLINN, Estonia: Jamaican representatives, Steve Mullings and James Beckford recorded victories at the 15th international meet in Tallinn, Estonia, in ideal competition conditions on Sunday.
Mullings, a member of the Jamaican team for next month’s IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, clocked 10.10 (+1.4 m/s) to win the men’s 100-metre dash.
The former national 200m champion edged out Jaysuma Saidy of Gambia, who ran a personal best (10.10) to take second place. American De Bryan Blanton posted 10.14 to take third place.
In the men’s 200m dash Jamaica’s experienced half-lap runner Ricardo Williams was beaten out by a fast Saidy, who recovered well from the 100m second place to improve his European season leading time with a 20.25.
Williams clocked 20.69 to finish second, while Blanton took another third place finish with a time of 20.86. Short dash champion, Mullings, did not face the starter’s gun for the event.
The other win for the Caribbean at the meeting came from the experienced Long Jumper Beckford, who has been finding his form after a disappointing few seasons.
Beckford backed up his season’s best of 8.37m, with another impressive jump over the 8.3m barrier. The 1996 Atlanta Olympic medallist James leapt 8.35m to win the competition.
He defeated 2002 European champion Oleksiy Lukashevich of Ukraine, who jumped 8.02m for second, while 2006 European silver medallist, Greg Rutherford of Great Britain finished third with 7.96m.
The other Caribbean athlete at the meeting, Andrea Bliss, picked up fourth place in the women’s 100m Hurdles in 13.41. |
