Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell secured the nation’s second gold medal in the track events after bolting to a personal best time of 13.08 seconds in the final of the men’s 110 meters hurdles at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Broadbell, who did not progress to the final of the event at the recently concluded Oregon World Athletics Championships, has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with after equaling Welshman Colin Jackson’s Games record of 13.08 to secure the gold for Jamaica. He was followed by Shane Brathwaite of Barbados, who clocked a season’s best time of 13.30, while Andrew Pozzi of England rounded out the top three in a time of 13.37.
Meanwhile, the other Jamaican competitor in the event, Orlando Bennett, had to settle for a fifth-place finish in a time of 13.43. Hansle Parchment was declared a non-starter for the final of the men’s 110-meter hurdles.
In addition, the recently crowned 100 meters champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, has positioned herself to claim another global sprint double title at the Birmingham Games. The Jamaican double-double Olympic sprint champion, who has a lifetime best of 21.53 and is the third fastest woman of all time in the event, will look to better her seventh place finish at the Oregon22 World Athletics Championships. She clocked 22.80 to win her heat ahead of Scotland’s Beth Dobbin (23.10), Jacinta Beecher of Australia (23.13) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Mauricia Prieto (23.69).
Thompson-Herah will be joined by her compatriot Natalliah Whyte in the semi-finals of the event. Whyte won heat three in a time of 23.61, crossing the line ahead of Hannah Brier of Wales (24.04) and Abi Galpin of Guernsey (24.47). Both women will grace the track for the semi-finals of the 200 meters tomorrow, August 5 at 2:23pm Jamaica time.
Also advancing to the semi-final round is Olympic silver medalist Christine Mboma who returned from a two-month injury setback this season to win her heat in 23.20, while NCAA star Favor Ofili of Nigeria qualified with the fastest time at 22.71 (+1.3 m/s).
Other events contested at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games:
Men’s Discus Throw: Oregon World Championships finalist and Jamaican national champion, Traves Smikle, captured the bronze medal in the final of the men’s discus throw. He produced a best mark of 65.58 meters, while his fellow countryman Roje Stona finished fifth with a best throw of 62.15 meters.
Men’s Long Jump: Jamaica’s lone competitor in the final of the men’s long jump, Shawn-D Thompson, narrowly missed a podium finish after producing a season’s best jump of 8.05 meters to place fourth in the event. Laquan Nairn of the Bahamas copped the gold medal with a leap of 8.08 meters, while Sreeshankar Sreeshankar of India (8.08) and Jovan van Vuuren of South Africa claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Men’s 200 meters: Kadrian Goldson, who has a personal best of 20.74 and is the only Jamaican representative in the event at the Games, progressed to the semi-finals after finishing second in heat one in a time of 21.19 seconds. His race was won by Adam Gemili of England in a time of 20.94. Goldson will face the starter for the next round of the event tomorrow, August 5 at 1:09pm Jamaica time.
Women’s 400-meter hurdles: Jamaica’s 400-meter hurdles trio of Rushell Clayton (54.93), Shiann Salmon (55.30) and Janieve Russell (55.79) are on target for a clean sweep of the event after all three progressed to the final of the event with the fastest qualifying times. The Jamaican women will grace the track for the gold medal race of the 400 meters hurdles on Saturday, August 6 at 1:30pm Jamaica time.
Women’s High Jump: National champion Kimberly Williamson and national record holder, Lamara Distin, have both cleared a height of 1.81 meters to secure their spot in the final of the women’s high jump. Both women will vie for the Commonwealth Games title on Saturday, August 5 at 4:17am Jamaica time.
