Brown produced her best throw this season at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago, on Sunday (25), to grab gold in the Sagicor National Open Championship women’s Shot Put.
The 18.81 metres effort earned the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist the number nine spot on the 2006 world list.
With no athlete in the men’s 800 metres field capable of challenging Sherridan Kirk for top honours, the 25-year-old Tobago half-miler took on the clock.
Kirk went to the front early in the race, and stayed there. He set a torrid pace, opening a huge gap on his rivals before thundering to victory in 1:46.52. Jamaal James copped second spot in 1:50.78, ahead of John Warren (1:59.98).
When Aaron Armstrong, running in lane four, came off the bend in the men’s 200m final, the only other sprinter still in the same race was Marcus Duncan, way out in eight. Armstrong, though, took care of that potential challenge on the straight, getting home in 20.65 seconds to retain his half-lap title. Duncan (20.95) and Rondell Sorillo (21.32) earned silver and bronze, respectively.
Sixteen-year-old Cadajah Spencer outsprinted her older rivals to capture the women’s 200m title. The diminutive athlete bolted to the line in 24.14 to finish ahead of Keenan Gibson (24.31) and Britney St Louis (24.76).
Rhonda Watkins cleared the bar at 1.80m to win the women’s High Jump and complete an impressive double. On day one, the UCLA student had triumphed in the long jump with a 6.35m leap.
Ayanna Alexander was victorious in the women’s Triple Jump with a wind-assisted 13.47m effort. Second-placed Sheron Mark had the satisfaction of jumping a personal best 13.11m.
Chris Hercules, the men’s Long Jump silver medallist on Day One, promoted himself to gold in the Triple Jump yesterday. And while the 15.05m effort he produced was well short of his best, it was good enough to see off the challengers in Sunday’s competition.
Kwame Laurence (Trinidad Express) for IAAF
