Jamaicans Shanieka Ricketts and Andrenette Knight secured standout victories on Friday night (6 June) at the Golden Gala, Rome Diamond League at the Stadio Olimpico.
Ricketts set the tone early in the women’s triple jump with a 14.64m leap (-0.7) on her first attempt — a mark that held through all six rounds. Cuba’s Leyanis Pérez Hernández (14.46m) and Thea Lafond of Dominica (14.30m) followed on the podium.
“The competition felt really good. Achieving a season´s best on the first attempt – I am grateful for that,” said Ricketts. “Leading from the beginning puts you in a relaxed mood. Unfortunately, I could not use that to jump further. Now I can build on this result.”
Lafond, the reigning Olympic champion, continues to build back toward top form.
“I was hoping for a little more. But I use those meets to work on some things,” she said. “I kind of managed to put out some decent jumps to be able to build on. This is my third or fourth meet in the entire year so I am still getting my legs and my timing a bit low.”
Knight delivered a breakthrough in the women’s 400m hurdles, running 53.67 for her first Diamond League victory. Italy’s Ayomide Folorunso thrilled the home crowd with a second-place finish in 54.21, while Rushell Clayton secured third in 54.31. Jamaican teammate Shiann Salmon finished seventh in 55.47.
“This season has been going well. I just kind of had that number in mind, for no reason. I came so confident to Rome,” said Knight. “Each race has just been improvement on improvement. So I am happy to come out here with a season best and to win — my first Diamond League win.”
“Honestly, it was not a smooth race — there were some technical errors. So now I need to go back to the practice and work on that,” she added. “I know I am pretty strong, I have the speed, so it is just a matter of tweaking a few things.”
In the men’s shot put, Jamaican Rajindra Campbell placed third with 21.64m, behind Tom Walsh (NZL, 21.89m) and Zane Weir (ITA, 21.67m).
Beckford back in business
In the men’s high jump, Romaine Beckford of Jamaica equaled his season best with a 2.26m clearance to finish third, tied with American JuVaughn Harrison. Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo won with 2.32m.
“I feel pretty good about today’s competition,” Beckford said. “I had a slow start into the season. I achieved a season’s best today in Rome where I got my personal best the year before. Rome is where I got my breakthrough.”
“I always have good energy when I come here. I am satisfied with my technique, even at the highest bar,” he said.
Fellow Jamaican Raymond Richards cleared 2.12m to place 11th.
Bromell, Battle take sprints
In the men’s 100m, American Trayvon Bromell powered to a world leading 9.84 to win ahead of Emmanuel Eseme (CMR, 9.99) and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (10.01). American former world champion Fred Kerley was fifth in 10.06.
The women’s 200m saw Anavia Battle (USA) sprint to victory in 22.53 (+0.8). Amy Hunt (GBR) placed second in 22.67, with Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, the Ivorian star, third in 22.75. American Mckenzie Long (22.81) and Maia McCoy, now representing Liberia, took fourth and fifth respectively.
Caribbean depth across events at Rome Diamond League
In the men’s 400m, the Caribbean was represented by Kirani James of Grenada, who finished sixth in 44.92. The race was narrowly won by American Quincy Hall in 44.22, just ahead of South Africa’s Zakithi Nene (44.23).
In the men’s 110m hurdles, Orlando Bennett ran a season-best 13.29 for fourth. Rio 2016 Olympic Games champion Omar McLeod ran 13.58 for eighth place. Switzerland’s Jason Joseph and American Cordell Tinch shared the same winning time of 13.14.
Jamaica’s Carey McLeod was fifth in the men’s long jump with 8.01m (-0.4). The event was won by Liam Adcock (AUS), who registered 8.34m (-0.2).
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