- Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Marion Jones powers home in the 100 metres at the Jamaica International Invitational meet at the National Stadium yesterday.
LeVaughn Flynn, Staff Reporter
THERE WERE no surprises at the end of the women's 100 metres dash when the world's fastest woman, Marion Jones, outlasted everyone to win in 11.04 seconds at the Jamaica International Invitational meet at the National Stadium last night.
National sprint double champion Aileen Bailey (11.19) and local star Tayna Lawrence (11.29) gave close chase behind Jones, finishing second and third respectively. Former national 100m champ Peta-Gaye Dowdie finished in fifth position in 11.40.
Clad in a full black spandex suit, Jones looked well poised before taking to the blocks. She got off to a great start, which fuelled her pace until she passed the mark.
"I felt good. This is a great atmosphere to run. The weather is great and it doesn't get much better than that," Jones said after the race.
"I thought my start was very good. I'm competing against Aileen, Tayna, Peta-Gaye like the best starters in the world, and the fact that I got out a little ahead of them said to me that what we're doing in practice is working," she said.
A single hair follicle separated the men in their 100m dash which, by no surprise, was dominated by the U.S.
What was surprising was world record holder Tim Montgomery slipping to fourth in 10.25. His compatriots Darvis Patton (10.12) and John Capel (10.13) barely crossed the line ahead of him for first and second respectively. Nigeria's Deji Aliu finished third in 10.18.
Jamaicans were not very impressive in this race with Xavier Brown (10.57) and Llewellyn Bredwood (10.65) finishing seventh and eighth respectively.
Despite not getting the gold, Jamaica dominated the 400m men's hurdle. Labronze Garnett of the U.S. outdid everyone in 48.76 seconds but Jamaica filled up the following four positions. Danny McFarlane (48.93), Kemel Thompson (48.95), Dinsdale Morgan (49.78) and Neil Gardner (49.84) finished second for fifth respectively.
