KINGSTON, Jamaica – If LSU alumnae Jasmin Stowers burst onto the international stage with a personal best of 12.40 seconds at the Drake Relays two weeks ago, she announced herself as a true World Championship hopeful on Saturdayby dropping her world-leading time to 12.39 in winning the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the 2015 Jamaican Invitational.
Stowers blew away the field with ease, crossing the finish line in a career-best 12.39 (+2.0) at the National Stadium in Kingston ahead of sisters Danielle Williams (12.77) in second place and Shermaine Williams (12.89) in third place overall. It proved to be a new world-leading performance for the former Lady Tiger standout as she was aided by a legal tailwind of 2.0 meters per second.
Stowers now ranks among the world’s Top 10 hurdlers all-time as she is tied with Natalya Grigoryeva and Vera Komisova both of the former Soviet Union for the No. 10 spot in the all-time World rankings.
After entering the 2015 outdoor season with a previous personal best of 12.71 set at the 2014 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships following her final collegiate season at LSU, Stowers first dropped her PR in 2015 to 12.40 at the 106th Drake Relays on April 25 where she set the meet record in the Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles Beijing World Championship Preview. She was a split-second faster on Saturday when she set a personal best once again with a 12.39 clocking as she is now nearly two tenths of a second faster than the rest of the world this spring.
Great Britain’s Tiffany Porter follows Stowers (12.39) in the 2015 World Rankings with a seasonal-best time of 12.56, while Australia’s Sally Pearson follows in the No. 3 spot at 12.59 as the only three hurdlers to eclipse a time of 12.60 this spring. Reigning Olympic Gold Medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson ranks No. 5 at 12.71, while reigning World Champion Brianna Rollins follows in No. 7 at 12.75 for the 2015 season.
It has already been an outstanding debut season as a professional for Stowers as she has already been crowned the 2015 USA Indoor Champion in the 60-meter hurdles this season with an indoor personal best.
The 2014 NCAA Outdoor Silver Medalist and former seven-time All-American and five-time SEC Champion in four seasons with the Lady Tigers from 2011-14, Stowers claimed her first career national championship with a PR of 7.84 in the final of the 60-meter hurdles at the USA Indoor Championships held at the Albuquerque (N.M.) Convention Center earlier this year.
