GAINESVILLE, FL – Beijing 2015 World Championships 200m gold medallist Dafne Schippers sped to a world-leading time of 22.25 seconds at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, on Friday night (22).
The Dutch sprinter who is targeting the sprint double this summer at the Rio Olympic Games, improved the previous world best mark for 2016 of 22.26 seconds, which was set by American Tori Bowie in Nassau, Bahamas at the Chris Brown Invitational on 16 April.
Schippers accomplished the mark running in a slight headwind of -0.2 m/s and she dominated the race from the start on her way to running the fastest season opener of her career.
American 2016 World Indoor Championships 400m bronze medallist Quanera Hayes ran a personal best of 22.89 secs for second place with compatriot Cambrya Jones running home third in 23.42.
WORLD-LEADING TIME AS WELL FOR OGUNODE
Also blasting to a world-leading time of on Friday was Femi Ogunode, who tied his Qatar national and Asian record and personal best time of 9.91 seconds (0.6 m/s) to win the men’s 100m.
USA’s Isiah Young clocked a seasonal best of 10.03 for second place, the same time as Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade.
Simone Facey, a member of the Jamaican gold medal winning 4x100m team in 2009, ran 11-seconds dead to take the women’s invite 100m, which was the second-fastest time of her career.
Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure, the 2013 World Championships sprint double silver medallists, finished second in 11.06, with Candyce McGrone of USA finishing third in 11.13.
In another world-leading outing, 2011 IAAF World Championships gold medallist Jason Richardson of USA won the men’s 110m hurdles in 13.33 seconds, bettering the previous world best effort of 13.35, which was posted by Canada’s Johnathan Cabral on 16 April.
Great Britain’s Tiffany Porter took the women’s 100m hurdles invitational in 12.72 seconds.
Elsewhere, Trinidad and Tobago’s 2014 world junior 400m champion Machal Cedenio took the men’s one-lap event in a seasonal best of 44.79, while Taylor Tubbs of USA took the women’s 800m in 2:10.76 over Jamaica’s quarter-final speciallist Novlene Williams-Mills, 2:11.05.