BUDAPEST, Hungary, CMC – Jamaican superstars Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson both suffered stunning defeats here Monday when eccentric American Sha’Carri Richardson upset them to win the women’s 100 titles at the World Athletics Championship.
Entering the final as heavy favorites after sweeping their respective semi-finals an hour earlier, Fraser-Pryce could only manage bronze in a season-best 10.77 seconds, while Jackson grabbed silver in 10.72.
The 23-year-old Richardson, running in her first global championship, produced a brilliant performance out of lane nine to clock a new championship record of 10.65.
A late inclusion as one of the fastest losers after finishing third in semi-final two behind Jackson, Richardson made the most of her reprieve to secure her first-ever World title.
“I’m honored, I’m blessed, I had great competition [which] pulled the best out of me, and I’m just honored to leave with a gold medal,” said Richardson.
Five-time World champion Fraser-Pryce burst from the blocks to take a slight lead over the first 30 meters before Jackson, the reigning 200-meter World champion, turned it on to lead after 60.
However, Richardson rallied on the outside in a tremendous finish to clinch victory at the line.
“I think I did pretty good tonight, not as good as I wanted to, but I have to be grateful,” said Jackson, who also left the Eugene World Championships last year with silver in the 100m.
“I got a silver medal on the podium, so I’m grateful. In the semi-final, I executed a good for 30 – I guess I never did that [in the final].
“It’s just going back to the drawing board, and coach and I will decide where I went wrong, and we’ll fix it.
“We have a couple more races after this, so the championship isn’t over. I have the 200, so as I said, it’s just going back to the drawing board.”
The 36-year-old Fraser-Pryce, the oldest sprinter in the race, said: “I want to say congrats to Sha’Carri and Shericka. It was a fantastic race.
“I said to her earlier that last year I ran the 100 in a championship record [in Eugene], and it took a championship record [to win the title] tonight, so that’s remarkable.”
St Lucian Julien Alfred, the only other Caribbean sprinter in the final, finished fifth in 10.93 seconds.
Jamaica was also forced to play second fiddle in the men’s sprint hurdles final. Olympic champion Hansle Parchment finished second in a season-best 13.07 as American Grant Holloway clinched his third World title in 12.96.
American Daniel Roberts claimed bronze in 13.09.
In the women’s 400m, impressive Barbadian Sada Williams clocked a national record 49.58 to surge into Wednesday’s final.
The 25-year-old, a bronze medallist last year in Eugene and the reigning Commonwealth champion, finished second in semi-final three behind Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek (49.50).
Candice McLeod also advanced to the final after cruising to fourth in 50.62 in the opening semi-final. Still, Cuban Roxana Gómez (51.07), along with Jamaican Nickisha Pryce (51.24) and Cherokee Young (51.40), all missed out.
In the men’s 400 meters hurdles, Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands won his semi-final in 47.72 to secure his spot in the final and was joined by Jamaican Roshawn Clarke as the other Caribbean finalist after finishing second in the third semi-final in a World Under-20 record 47.34.
The heats of the corresponding women’s event saw several Jamaicans, Rushell Clayton (53.97), Janieve Russell (54.53), and Andrenette Knight (54.21), advance to the next round.
On the field, Jamaican Fedrick Dacres finished outside the medals when he mustered fifth in the men’s discus with a throw of 66.72 meters. Olympic champion Daniel Ståhl of Sweden took gold with a championship record mark 71.46.
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