Roswell wins first national 100m hurdles title in lifetime best at JAAA championships

Tissanna Roswell won her first Jamaican national title in the women's 100m hurdles on day four of the JAAA/PUMA National Junior and Senior Championships, crossing the line in 12.40 seconds with a legal +0.7 metres per second tailwind.

The 28-year-old, who trains in Texas under coach Fitz Coleman, set a lifetime best. Her previous personal best of 12.44 dated to 2022. She turned 28 three days before the final and had run 11 hurdle races this season, opening the year at 12.88.

Roswell chased down Olympic bronze medallist Megan Simmons in the closing stages to deny the defending champion a fifth national crown. Simmons, a four-time winner whose first title came in 2016, led from the start but settled for second in 12.47, a season's best. Kerrica Hill, the fastest qualifier at 12.69, finished third in 12.56.

Janella Spencer took fourth in 12.74, a personal best after placing third at the NCAA Championships. The former Manchester High School athlete runs for Ohio State. Alexis James, the 2022 World Under-20 silver medallist and former Petersfield High standout, was fifth in 12.77, also a personal best.

Before the championships, Roswell beat Ackera Nugent in 12.53. Nugent later withdrew from the meet. Coleman had backed Roswell off early in the season to ensure she peaked for this point in the campaign.

Pre-race focus had fallen on Simmons, whose career runs from fourth at the Youth Olympic Games to Olympic bronze in Tokyo in 2021, and on Hill, the 21-year-old MVP Track Club athlete who posted the quickest qualifying time. Few athletes have beaten Simmons at a national championship on home soil.

Official results: 1. Tissanna Roswell 12.40; 2. Megan Simmons 12.47; 3. Kerrica Hill 12.56; 4. Janella Spencer 12.74; 5. Alexis James 12.77.