AZUSA, CA — World champion Dafne Schippers produced world-leading times on her way to winning the sprint double to open her season at Friday’s Bryan Clay Invitational at the Azusa Pacific Cougar Stadium.
Schippers, the IAAF World Championships 2015 champion over 200m, got a measured start and then pulled away from the field over the last few metres to record 10.95 seconds, the first sub-11 seconds performance of the season.
The Dutch sprinter, representing Tumbleweed, also broke the previous meet and stadium record of 11.06, set by Great Britain’s Desiree Henry last year.
Following Schippers home on Friday was American Tianna Bartoletta, who ran 11.08 in the same heat, while Henry, the winner of Heat 2 in 11.09, finished third overall on the day.
Schippers returned later in the night and clocked 22.29 secs, improving the previous 2017 best effort of 22.60 by Americans Gabrielle Thomas and Felicia Brown and Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown.
Desiree stopped the clock at 22.70 for second place in the 200m on Friday night.
In the men’s 100m event, Great Britain’s Adam Gemili posted a time of 10.08 seconds for first place.
Japan’s 18-year-old Hakim Sani Brown, the 2015 World Youth 100m and 200m sprint double champion, was second in 10.18, while Dutch veteran sprinter Churandy Martina took third in 10.20.
Sani Brown returned to take the 200m with a time of 20.41.
