Tina Clayton tops Jamaican 100m podium charge in Rabat

Tina Clayton, the World Athletics Championships silver medallist, delivered her quickest run of the season on Sunday, stopping the clock at 10.85 seconds to put Jamaica in charge of the women’s 100m at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athlétisme de Rabat in Morocco, the third leg of the Wanda Diamond League.

Clayton reacted sharply and stayed ahead from the early metres, finishing close to the 10.83 meeting standard Elaine Thompson-Herah set in 2022. Lavanya Williams, in her first Diamond League appearance, was runner-up in a lifetime best 10.95, while Jonielle Smith, also making her Diamond League debut, completed the sweep in 11.00.

Jamaica earned another top-three placing in the women’s 400m hurdles through Rushell Clayton, who crossed third in 53.75 seconds. Andrenette Knight ended eighth in 55.37. Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalova took the win in 52.82, a national record and the fastest time in the world this year, with American Anna Cockrell second in 53.18.

Lamara Distin shared fourth in the women’s high jump after clearing 1.91m. Kerrica Hill placed ninth in the 100m hurdles in 12.71 seconds with a 1.2m/s wind reading, a season-best effort in her Diamond League debut. Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan won that race in 12.28, lowering her own meeting record of 12.45.

In the men’s shot put, Rajindra Campbell threw 21.04m for seventh, a week after his 22.34m Jamaican record in China. American Joe Kovacs won with 22.58m, both a world-leading mark and a meeting record. Bryan Levell was ninth in the men’s 200m in 20.44 seconds, with a 0.4m/s wind.