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Jamaica ends World Indoors with golden run
March 21, 2022
Jamaica saved its best performance for the final day of competition of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, yesterday. The team picked up gold in the Women's 4x400m relay, and Kimberly Williams pocketed bronze in the Women's triple jump.
Jamaica ended 12th overall with one gold and two bronze.
The quartet of Junelle Bromfield, Janieve Russell, Roneisha McGregor, and 400m bronze medallist Stephenie Ann McPherson stepped up big time to land gold for Jamaica in the 4x400m relay with a season's best (SB) 3:28.40 minutes.
With McPherson replacing Tiffany James in the final, it was sensible running from the Jamaicans who came out of lane three. Bromfield ran an excellent opening leg, giving Russell the baton just a few metres in second place. Russell quickly put the Jamaicans in front for the lead, to hand over the baton first to McGregor. McPherson, despite the pack closing in on her, kept her composure to maintain a narrow lead before sprinting away from her rivals over the last 30 metres to give Jamaica a memorable win in the final track event of the meet.
The Netherlands finished second in an SB of 3:28.57, with Poland third in an SB of 3:28.59. The USA, favourites coming into the final, finished fourth.
Williams finished the triple jump third in a SB of 14.62m. Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas, the reigning Olympic and outdoor World champion broke her world indoor record (WIR) of 15.43m with a distance of 15.74. Ukraine's Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk took second with a personal best jump of 14.74.
Natoya Goule, ranked second in the world in the women's 800m, did not earn a medal in the event. She took control of the race early and led for 600m before being caught. Her clocking of 2:01.18 placed her fourth. USA's Ajee Wilson took the gold medal in an SB of 1:59.09, while Freweyni Hailu of Ethiopia, took second in an SB of 2:00.54, and Uganda's Halimah Nakaayi placed third in 2:00.66.
Jamaica's other individual competitor on the day, Olympic Games 110m hurdles bronze medallist Ronald Levy did not advance from the preliminary round of the Men's 60m Hurdles as he finished fifth in his heat in an SB of 7.75 seconds.
Swedish pole vaulter Amand Duplantis produced the second WIR of the Championships when he won the event with a height of 6.20m metres to break his previous mark of 6.18.
