SACRAMENTO: Mike Rodgers wasn’t going to be slowed by a slight headwind as he captured the 100 metres yesterday at the US Track and Field Championships.
Rodgers claimed his first national title by clocking a 10.09 seconds to beat runner-up Ryan Bailey who ran a 10.23 at Hornet Stadium. Sean McLean was third in 10.26.
Rodgers won his heat earlier in the day with a time of 9.80, but that time he had the wind at his back.
“I am just blessed and happy the track is fast. I hope to come back here soon,” Rodgers said. “I just tried to be aggressive throughout my race and once I got to the end I knew I was the best man.”
Rodgers beat a depleted field Friday as American stars Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin skipped the USA championships.
The 29-year-old Rodgers thinks this result will get their attention.
“Hopefully Tyson and Gatlin will have seen what I did here,” Rodgers said.
Tianna Bartoletta won the women’s 100 meter title with a time of 11.15. Her path to victory was made easier when Olympic gold medal winner Allyson Felix and rising star Tori Bowie both pulled out of the event.
Barbara Pierre (11.27) was second and Lekeisha Lawson (11.30) placed third.
Bowie, who suffered an apparent ankle injury in her heat, ran the fastest time of the semis with a 10.91.
Trey Hardee easily won the decathlon with a 2014 world-leading score of 8,599 points.
Meanwhile in Kingston, Kaliese Spencer ran a world-leading time of 53.41 to win the women’s 400 meter hurdles title on the second day of the Jamaican Track and Field Championships yesterday.
On a day when sprint star Veronica Campbell-Brown made a winning return to the Jamaican track scene after being away for more than a year, the hurdlers provided plenty of excitement as Roxroy Cato ran the second fastest time in the world (48.48 seconds) to win the men’s 400 metre hurdle race.
The Jamaica nationals are doubling this year as a qualifying event for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games which begins next month.
Spencer, the three time Diamond League trophy winner who now has the top three times in the world, continued her brilliant season as she dominated the field at National Stadium.
“This is the fastest I have ever run here in Jamaica so I am happy for that,” she said.
Janieve Russell, the 2012 world junior champion, was second in 54.75 seconds. AGENCIES
