Jamaican sprinter – Shericka Jackson run the show on show on Thursday, beating Elaine Thompson-Herah and Dina Asher-Smith at Diamond League and promided she will ‘definitely’ be at the Commonwealth Games.
The women’s 200m at the Diamond League in Rome yesterday featured an amazing field that included Olympic champions Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shaunae Miller-Uibo, world champion Dina Asher-Smith and multiple global medallist Allyson Felix.
They were all blown away, though, by the relatively unheralded Shericka Jackson who clocked 21.91 [1.3] in the Italian capital as fellow Jamaican Thompson-Herah ran 22.25 to narrowly beat Britain’s Asher-Smith as Miller-Uibo was fourth in 22.48 and Felix, who is enjoying her retirement tour, was seventh in 22.97. Dealing with the tight inside lane, Britain’s Beth Dobbin was ninth in 23.36.
Until recently Jackson was specialising in 400m, winning bronze at that distance at the 2015 and 2019 World Championships and 2016 Olympics.
But she demonstrated her speed over shorter distances last year with bronze in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics in 10.76 and her run in Rome this week suggests she will be a gold medal contender at the World Championships in Eugene in July and Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in early August.
With such a busy season, will she run the Commonwealths, though? “Definitely!” she said. “It is on the table. But one championship at a time. The Jamaican Championships comes first and then the World Championships.
“One step at a time. I’m not rushing into anything as you never know what might happen.”
The 27-year-old added that she will focus on 100m and 200m this summer but if asked to run the 4x400m at the major championships then she will not say no.
Asher-Smith, meanwhile, said: “I’m really happy with where I placed at this point in this season as it was a really stellar field and you never know what women of that calibre are going to do.
“We have three champs [later this summer] and when you have that kind of year you have to maintain focus. No one remembers what happens in May,” added Asher-Smith, who will race next at the UK Athletics Championships in Manchester at the end of this month.
Source: AW
