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.

U20 world champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi dominated the men’s 800m field with Tokyo Olympic medalist Ferguson Rotich failing to shine and finishing a distant seventh. South Africa’s Sekgodiso Prudence won the women’s race.

Kazakhstan’s Norah Jeruto won the women’s 3,000m steeplechase while Kenya’s Abel Kipsang did not disappoint in the men’s 1500m, sweeping past the finish line in 3:31:01

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2022