Budapest, Hungary – The inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship kicked off with excitement at the National Athletics Centre in the Hungarian capital. Jamaica, the world-record holders, aimed to reinforce their reputation as the best in the newly introduced mixed 4x100m relay. However, Team USA had other plans, claiming a remarkable victory with a national record time of 39.64 seconds. This was the second-fastest time ever recorded in the event, just two hundredths of a second shy of the record of 39.62 seconds held by Jamaica.
Running out of lane nine, Team USA expertly fended off a strong challenge from Jamaica’s team, which included Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson, and Jonielle Smith. Jamaica finished second with a time of 39.72 seconds.
“We always come out to win,” said anchor runner Jonielle Smith. “However, we are happy everyone finished healthy. It’s not the result we wanted, but we have to be grateful.”
This was Jamaica’s best performance of the night, as other outcomes proved disappointing for the proud nation. In the women’s high jump, Lamara Distin finished sixth after failing to clear the bar when it was raised to 1.91m.
Despite having four entrants in the semi-finals of the women’s 100m hurdles, only Megan Simmonds advanced to the final, where she placed fifth with a season-best time of 12.42 seconds. The newly crowned world-record holder, Masai Russell, who extended her unbeaten streak this season to 13 races, won the event with a time of 12.22 seconds.
Jamaica’s men fared worse in the 110m hurdles semi-finals, as none of the three competitors qualified for the final. This was surprising, especially with Demario Prince, the reigning Commonwealth Games Champion, and Orlando Bennett, the Tokyo World Championship silver medallist, in the lineup.
“At the fourth hurdle, I tried to push through and became unbalanced, which threw off my stride and caused me to hit the hurdle,” explained Prince. “That messed up my whole race plan, but that’s the nature of hurdles. I’m just moving past this setback.”
Tyler Mason’s performance might be more understandable, given that he has barely competed this season, and his lack of rhythm showed. “It’s been a rough season for me,” Mason admitted. “I’ve had a few injuries, but I had to show up and represent my country. The experience at the Ultimate Championship has been good; I hope to be injury-free next year.”
In the women’s 400m semi-finals, Jamaica’s Nikisha Pryce secured her spot in Saturday’s final by finishing third in a competitive race with a time of 49.72 seconds. She trailed Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino, who won the race in 49.58 seconds, and 2019 World Champion Salwa Eid Naser, who finished second with a time of 49.67 seconds.
“I love to compete, and I’ve really shown that to the world this season,” remarked Paulino. “Competing here at the Ultimate Championship has already been an incredible experience; everything about the event presentation is different, and the spectators make a huge difference too.”
The 2023 World Champion added, “I ran 48.74 seconds here in Budapest, but my dream is to go sub-48. I am putting in the hard work during training to accomplish that goal.”
In the second semi-final, Stacey-Ann Williams ran out of steam in the home straight, finishing sixth with a time of 50.43 seconds. It was a disappointing outcome for Williams, who had dipped below the 50-second mark six times this season.
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