Foster-Hylton in seventh heaven

Published: Saturday | September 26, 2009


DAEGU, South Korea (CMC):

World champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton streaked to her seventh consecutive victory and led a quartet of English-speaking Caribbean winners at the Pre-Championship Daegu track and field international meeting yesterday.

In spite of a headwind of -0.5 metres per second, Foster-Hylton won the 100-metre hurdles in a new championship record 12.60 seconds, and her Jamaican colleague Dwight Thomas took the men's sprint hurdles in 13.36 seconds.

Bahamians Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie and Leevan Sands captured the women's 200 and men's triple jump, respectively, and in-form Americans Tyson Gay and Carmelita Jeter registered championship record wins in the 100-metre races.

maintained supremacy

The 34-year-old Foster-Hylton maintained her supremacy over the American Olympic champion Dawn Harper as she increased her winning streak to seven consecutive events, stretching from her IAAF World Championship gold medal in Berlin last month.

Foster-Hylton was smooth and cleared all hurdles without a touch to win by 0.15 seconds over Harper (12.75), with Jamaican Nickiesha Wilson third in 12.96 seconds.

Thomas was hardly threatened and won the 110-metre hurdles comfortably, chased by Dutchman Gregoy Sedoc (13.45) with American Joel Brown third in 13.46.

Ferguson took control of the women's 200 from the curve and ran out a solid winner in 22.90 seconds against a -1.7 mps, followed home by Jamaican 400-metre specialist Shericka Williams (23.18) and the Cayman Islands' Cydonie Mothersill (23.32).

The 100-metre sprinters also faced negative wind but the in-form Gay and Jeter still posted meet records.

Delivering strong late-race speed, Gay clocked 9.94 seconds to defeat the Jamaicans Asafa Powell and Nesta Carter.

"I'm happy to have ended my season here in Korea with a win and sub 10-second result," Gay told reporters.

Coming off his Shanghai International win in 9.69 seconds, the second-fastest time ever - behind Usain Bolt's world record 9.58 - last Sunday, Gay won ahead of Powell (10.00) and Carter (10.15). Trinidad and Tobago's Marc Burns was fourth in 10.37.

rivals crushed

Jeter crushed her rivals for a win in 10.83 seconds, more than 5/10ths of a second in front of Jamaican Sherone Simpson and American Gloria Asumnu, who both clocked the same time of 11.35. Bahamian veteran Chandra Sturrup was sixth in 11.82 seconds.

American Wallace Spearmon ran a strong curve and won the men's 200 easily in 20.29 seconds. Britain's Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun was a well-beaten second in 20.98 seconds and the St Kitts and Nevis veteran Kim Collins (21.19) was third.

Olympic bronze medallist Sands landed the men's triple jump at 16.50 metres. He used his fourth and last jump to snatch victory from American Brandon Roulhac (16.44m) with Slovenia's Andrej Batagelj third at 16.10m.

The Dominican Republic's former Olympic and World Champion Felix Sanchez claimed his second consecutive win in the 400-metre hurdles inside three days as he continues on the comeback trail from injury.

Sanchez, who won at the Kawasaki International on Wednesday, clocked 48.94 seconds to lead home Japan's Kazuaki Yoshida (50.33) with American Michael Tinsley (51.16).

 
 
 
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