Jackson hands Fraser-Pryce first 100m loss of season at Diamond League Brussels
Canada's Aaron Brown finishes 3rd in 200m, Marco Arop 5th in 800m
Jamaica's Shericka Jackson stormed to victory in the women's 100 metres at the Diamond League meet in Brussels on Friday, handing compatriot and twice Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce her first defeat of the season by one-hundredth of a second.
Fraser-Pryce was quick off the blocks and looked well set to win her fourth Diamond League title of the season before Jackson reeled her in over the final 20 metres, winning with a time of 10.73 seconds. Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou was third (10.78).
"It takes a lot of hard work to beat Shelley-Ann, she's a tough cookie to beat," Jackson said after her first win and fifth podium in the Diamond League this season.
"Tonight I had a good execution ... probably not perfect but it paid off in the end."
Fraser-Pryce, who pulled out of last week's final in Lausanne due to a hamstring injury, said she would "listen to my body" before making a decision on running in next week's final event in Zurich.
WATCH | Jackson sprints to victory in Brussels:
Canada's Brown finishes 3rd in 200m
Toronto's Aaron Brown sprinted to a third-place finish in the men's 200m in a time of 20.22 seconds. American Erriyon Knighton won the race out in lane seven, running a superb bend and maintaining his lead on the stretch under pressure from Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic.
With a head wind of nearly three metres per second, Knighton clocked 20.07 for his first Diamond League win while qualifying for next week's final. Ogando was second (20.18).
"There was a lot of wind tonight, when I came out of the bend the wind just hit me," Knighton said. "Next up is Zurich, hopefully with some less wind."
WATCH | Brown finishes 3rd:
Edmonton's Marco Arop finished fifth in a close men's 800-metre event, posting a time of one minute 44.48 seconds. Great Britain's Jake Wightman won the race in 1:43.65, finishing just ahead of Algerian Djamel Sedjati (1:44.12) and Kenya's Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir (1:44.12).
Brown and Arop have both qualified for the Diamond League Finals in the men's 200 and 800, respectively. The competition kicks off Sept. 7 in Zurich, Switzerland.
Duplantis suffers upset
Sweden's pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis, a six-time winner in the Diamond League this year, was upset when he failed to clear 5.91 metres, handing Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines the victory.
Duplantis was well clear of the bar on his final attempt but clattered into it on the way down, wearing a bewildered look as he wondered how he had failed to clear a mark that was 30 centimetres lower than his world record.
"I didn't jump as I would have liked for sure. I think definitely that I could have jumped higher," Duplantis said.
American Kara Winger, who is set to retire after this season, will go out on a high after the 36-year-old won the women's javelin with a world-leading mark of 68.11m, breaking the national record.
"My last personal best was 12 years ago in 2010 and I had two surgeries since then, but I felt really amazing this year," she said. "I just cannot believe it yet."
Three-time Olympian Liz Gleadle of Vancouver finished fifth (60.01).
With files from CBC Sports
