Commonwealth champion, Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare was one of the favourites to watch out for in the women’s 100m at the Eugene Diamond League on Saturday, but the Nigerian finished 4th despite clocking an impressive 10.87s at the IAAF meeting also known as the Prefontaine Classic.
It was a night to remember in Eugene as a whopping SIX athletes ran inside 10.90s, comprising of the Top 4 in the Diamond League race as well as the Top 2 in the international race. It was Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who stole the show, firing on all cylinders to mark her return with a World Lead (WL) and Season’s Best (SB) of 10.81s, putting her back in contention for the world title this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV8Zyspzn1o
African Record holder Okagbare has had an impressive season thus far, finishing 2nd at the Jamaican Invitational in 11.05s and then easily winning the event at the Shanghai Diamond League where she clocked 10.98s, while 2014 World Leader, Tori Bowie and Michelle-Lee Ahye of Trinidad and Tobago finished in 2nd and 3rd respectively; Fraser-Pryce had to settle for 4th place.
However the Nigerian did not replicate the splendid start she had in Shanghai, getting out of the blocks after her competitors, though she made a good effort in bridging the gap before getting to the finishing line.
Her slow start presented an opportunity for the Jamaican to exert revenge as she and Okagbare coincidentally traded places from Shanghai in Eugene, in a keenly contested affair which featured a daunting field comprising of all the 100m & 200m medallists at the 2013 World Championships, as well as finalists at the last Olympic Games.
Fellow African and double Silver medallist, Murielle Ahouré led the race for the first 60m, before losing her lead to the Jamaican who was faster by 2000th of a second, though both athletes were awarded the same time. Ahouré could not hide her delight at setting a new Ivorian National Record of 10.81s, which means that Okagbare’s African Record of 10.79s, is now under severe threat from both of them this season.
USA’s Bowie came 3rd in 10.82s, while the world’s second fastest woman ever, Carmelita Jeter placed 5th in 11.02s. Kelly-Ann Baptiste (11.08s), Tianna Bartoletta (11.09s) and Michelle-Lee Ahye (11.90s) completed the star-studded line-up. It was an unfortunate result for Ahye who stumbled towards the end of the race, with what appears to be yet another injury which could threaten her challenge this season.
The women’s 100m International race was no pushover, going by the performance of Okagbare’s training partner, English Gardner who demonstrated that she has come of age, posting a Personal Best (PB) of 10.84s to beat world leader, Elaine Thompson to the 2nd spot (10.84s), while Brazil’s Rosangela Cristina Oliveira Santos followed in 3rd place with 11.04s.
Going by this result, Okagbare only has the 6th fastest time of all the competitors in the women’s 100m field in Eugene, underlining how hotly contested the World Championships in Beijing this summer. That notwithstanding, the Nigerian will be in good stead to get to the podium if she can overcome the poor start that has cost her some important races.
Eugene is typically a fast track, but with six women all running under 10.90s across the two races, one can only wonder who will triumph when it matters most in Beijing and how fast they would have to run to be crowned World Champion. Could we see a 10.6 this year? Only time will tell!
To find out how the athletes fared in other track events, click here, while you can also read about Renaud Lavillenie and Mutaz Barshim’s attempts at breaking the World Record (WR) in the Pole Vault and High Jump respectively.
