American blasts to 10.72 at Continental Tour Silver meeting in Miramar

It is only April but Sha’Carri Richardson showed blistering early season form over 100m at the Miramar Invitational in California with 10.72 (1.6m/sec) to go No.6 on the world all-time rankings.

Only Florence Griffith-Joyner, Carmelita Jeter, Marion Jones, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson have run quicker as the 21-year-old from Dallas sped to victory at this Continental Tour Silver event despite a poor start.

“My season is gonna be unbelievable,” she told commentator and former world 200m champion Ato Boldon after her race.

The women’s 400m also saw a fast time as Shamier Little clocked 49.91 for a world lead. The 26-year-old American specialises in 400m hurdles and, like Richardson, showed she has come into Olympic year in fine form.

World record-holder Keni Harrison took the 100m hurdles in a wind-assisted 12.38 (2.7m/sec).

Behind, British duo Cindy Sember (12.55) and Tiffany Porter (12.57) ran quick times but they will hope for less breezy conditions when they next chase the Olympic qualifying mark.

Grant Holloway, who broke Colin Jackson’s world indoor 60m hurdles record recently, was also helped by a tailwind of 2.2m/sec as he won the 110m hurdles comfortably in 13.04.

Kenny Bednarek won the men’s 200m in a fast 19.65 but it was aided by a 4.0m/sec tailwind while Jenna Prandini took the women’s 200m in 22.29 (2.3).

Wind speeds were legal in the men’s 100m, though, as Kyree King ran 9.97 (1.9) to beat 39-year-old Justin Gatlin by one hundredth of a second.

In the 800m races, Ajee’ Wilson finished strongly to run 2:00.57 ahead of Natoye Goule of Jamaica as Britain’s Hannah Segrave was seventh in 2:04.73.

The men’s two-lap race, meanwhile, saw Abe Alvarado win in 1:47.29 as Olympic 1500m champion Matt Centrowitz continued his modest start to the 2021 season with 1:50.97 in sixth.

In the field, Tajay Gayle took the men’s long jump with 8.27m (1.5) while fellow Jamaican Danniel Thomas-Dodd won the women’s shot with 19.17m.