Fraser-Pryce clocks world-leading 10.67 to win 100m in Nairobi / Photo: © AFP
Fraser-Pryce clocks world-leading 10.67 to win 100m in Nairobi
Jamaican sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce posted the fastest 100m in the world this year as she clocked 10.67secs to win her season opener in Nairobi on Saturday.
The 35-year-old, who has won eight Olympic medals including silver in Tokyo last summer, was a comfortable winner after new sprint sensation, the 18-year-old Namibian Christine Mboma, pulled up suddenly before collapsing to the track.
Fraser-Pryce's winning time was close to her personal best of 10.60, set in Lausanne in August 2021.
Only four other women have run the distance faster than Fraser-Pryce's time on Saturday -- Americans Marion Jones (10.65) and Carmelita Jeter (10.64), fellow Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.54), and the controversial world record holder American Florence Griffith-Joyner (10.49).
Earlier, men's Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs withdrew at the last minute from his long-awaited return to the distance in Nairobi because of intestinal problems.
The Italian, who was a surprise winner at last year's Olympics, was due to go head-to-head with silver medallist Fred Kerley for the first time since Tokyo.
Instead, Kerley was beaten by home runner Ferdinand Omanyala, who powered to victory in 9.85secs, also a world-leading time.
American Kerley could only manage 9.92secs to finish behind African record holder Omanyala, who clocked his personal best of 9.77secs last year.
(M.Dorokhin--DTZ)
