DALLAS, March 15: Trinidadian Richard Thompson equalled the fastest 60 metres in the world this year when he clocked 6.51 seconds in the preliminaries at the NCAA indoor championships at Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Friday.

Only Nigerian world indoor champion Olusoji Fasuba has run as fast this year.

Thompson, a student at Louisiana State University, will race in the final on Saturday.

The top women’s 200 and 5,000 metres times of the year were also set on the opening day of the two-day collegiate championships at the University of Arkansas.

American Bianca Knight of the University of Texas won the 200 metres final in 22.40 seconds.

Kenyan Sally Kipyego, a student at Texas Tech University, won the 5,000 title in 15:31.91.

In the men’s 200 final, American Rubin Williams of the University of Tennessee posted the year’s second-fastest time, winning in 20.36 seconds.

—Reuters