Blackwood MONTE CARLO, CMC:
JAMAICA'S MICHAEL Blackwood has taken over as the world's number one spot over 400 metres in the latest International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) world rankings.
Blackwood, whose wins this seasons included the Commonwealth Games title, moved from second last week to the top spot after capturing the Grand Prix Final in Paris last weekend.
Gregory Haughton, who held the No. 1 spot for much of this year, climbed two places to joint No. 2 with American Leonard Byrd, behind Blackwood, who also won Grand Prix titles this season in Oregon, Rome and Berlin.
Last week's No. 1 Fawzi Al-Shammary, of Kuwait, slipped to fourth.
Bahamian Avard Moncur, the reigning world champion, is fifth, and the Dominican Republic's world 400-hurdles champion Felix Sanchez seventh, in a strong event for the Caribbean.
Jamaicans Lorraine Fenton and Sandie Richards are second and 10th respectively in the women's 400m that has Mexican Ana Guevara a clear No. 1.
Caribbean athletes are prominent on the sprint lists, with Jamaican Tayna Lawrence and the Bahamian pair of Debbie Ferguson and Chandra Sturrup, third, fifth and sixth respectively in the women's 100m headed by American Marion Jones.
In the 200m, where Muriel Hurtis of France and Ukraine's Zhanna Pintussevich hold the top two spots, Commonwealth sprint double champion Ferguson is third and Jamaica's Juliet Campbell fifth.
Kim Collins, of St. Kitts and Nevis, is ranked sixth in the men's 100m headed by new world record holder Tim Montgomery, and at 39th, Collins is the only Caribbean athlete on the overall men's top-50 list.
Bridgette Foster, who had a splendid season with Grand Prix victories in Brazil, Qatar, Seville, Britain and Berlin, is second to American Gail Devers in the 100-hurdles, and is the highest rated Caribbean athlete on the women's overall list.
She is rated 10th and Fenton 11th among all women, with Jones at No. 1.
In the women's 400 hurdles, Russian Yulia Nosova is No. 1 , with Jamaica's 1996 Olympic champion Deon Hemmings fifth and Debbie-Ann Parris seventh.
Also holding a top-10 spot is Jamaica's 1996 Olympic silver medallist James Beckford, who is fifth among the men's long jumpers with American Savante Stringfellow at No. 1.
