Jamaica’s Olympic track and field trials saw Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce win both the 100 and 200 metre events, but Rio’s gold medallist in the 110 metre hurdles, Omar McLeod, placed last and will likely not compete in Tokyo.
As if that wasn’t enough, on Sunday, Fraser-Pryce, the 2008 and 2012 Olympic 100 metre champion who returned from childbirth to win the 2019 World 100 metre championship, closed trials by winning the 200 metre in a personal best of 21.79 seconds. On Friday, she ran a 100-meter dash in 10.71 seconds and won.
Fraser-100-meter Pryce’s time of 10.63 seconds from June 5 places her second all-time behind Florence Griffith Joyner and makes her the fastest woman in the world this year. 2021 runner-up, the American Sha’Carri Richardson, with a time of 10.72 seconds.
After Gabby Thomas, who ran a 21.61 to win the U.S. Olympic Trials on Saturday and become the second-fastest woman in history behind Griffith Joyner, Fraser-Pryce is this year’s No. 2 200-meter runner.
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individual Olympic Flat Sprint Champion in History
At the age of 34, Fraser-Pryce has a chance to become the oldest individual Olympic flat sprint champion in history. She made history in 2019 as the first mother to win an Olympic or world 100m gold in 24 years.
Similarly on Sunday, McLeod placed dead last and will not be going to the Tokyo Olympics if the Jamaican federation takes only the top three finishers.
McLeod, who was suffering from cramping, stumbled over the first hurdle with his lead foot and never recovered. This page contains a video.
Took first place in 13.10 seconds was Ronald Levy, followed by 13.11 by Damion Thomas, and third by Hansle Parchment (13.16). McLeod slowed down just before the finish line, crossing with a time of 16.22 seconds.
McLeod won the 2017 World Championship to go along with his 2016 Olympic gold. As his hamstring injury slowed him down, he fell into Orlando Ortega’s lane during the final of the 2019 World Championships, where he was disqualified for interfering with the race.
McLeod is Second Fastest Overall
For this Olympic cycle, McLeod is second fastest overall after 2019 World champion Grant Holloway. On Saturday, at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Holloway ran 12.81 seconds, just missing Aries Merritt’s world record by.01. 2017 McLeod’s time was 12.90 seconds.
Aside from the Olympic champions, Russian Sergey Shubenkov is the only other male to run a mile in under 13 seconds since Rio.
Fraser-Pryce is joined on the Tokyo squad by two more Jamaican sprinting studs. Olympic 100- and 200-meter champion Elaine Thompson Herah placed third in both events this past weekend (10.84, 22.02).
Bronze Winner in the 400 Metres
Shericka Jackson, bronze winner in the 400 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is currently ranked third in the world in both the 100 metres (10.82) and the 200 metres (21.82).
In both the 100-meter dash (10.01 seconds) and the 200-meter dash (20.18 seconds), Yohan Blake—the second-fastest man in history—placed third, behind Tyquendo Tracey (10.00) and Rasheed Dwyer (20.17).
Jamaica has no men ranked in the top 10 in the world for either the 100-meter or 200-meter events heading into the first Olympics since Usain Bolt’s retirement.
Final Words
Jamaica’s fastest 100-meter hurdler since the beginning of 2019, Danielle Williams, did not make the roster. Five years after she crashed out of world championship contention at Trials, she finished fourth in Sunday’s final.
Only one of the four fastest ladies so far this year (Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico) is qualified to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
Stalwarts Asafa Powell and Veronica Campbell-Brown won’t be going to the Olympics either. Former 200-meter Olympic champion Nicola Campbell-Brown has announced her retirement. In contrast to Bolt, Powell did not compete in the Olympic Trials for the 100-meter dash.
