Novlene Williams - REUTERS

SHANGHAI, (CMC):

The vastly improved Jamaican Novlene Williams logged her third personal best time this year as she won the women's 400 metres at the annual Shanghai Golden Grand Prix meet at Shanghai Stadium on Saturday evening.

Williams sped to a stadium record 49.63 seconds to dominate the one-lap event, leaving American Dee Dee Trotter, top Bulgarian Vania Stambolova and Bahamian World and Olympic champion Tonique Williams-Darling behind.

The effort by the 24-year-old Williams topped her previous best of 49.64 seconds - in Rieti just under a month ago - by 0.01 seconds.

There were three other Caribbean top-three finishes at the meet with Grenada's Alleyne Francique and Jamaican Michael Blackwood in the men's 400 metres and Jamaican Aleen Bailey third in the women's 100 metres.

Determined challenge

In the women's 400, Williams, a bronze medallist at the Common-wealth Games in Australia in March, shrugged off a determined challenge from Trotter and got her second European win this season, adding to her triumph at the Thessalonika EAA meeting in late July.

Trotter was solid for second in a personal best 49.80, followed by Stambolova (50.04), while Williams-Darling posted a season's best 50.11 for fourth. Grenada's Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games silver medallist Hazel-Ann Regis was sixth in 51.90 seconds.

Williams had cracked the sub-50 barrier at the Rome Golden League on July 14 when she placed second to American Sanya Richards in 49.65 seconds, before clocking 49.64 for second place - to Stambolova - at the Rieti international on August 27.

Williams is the third fastest Jamaican ever over the distance and fifth quickest for the English-speaking Caribbean. Only Lorraine Fenton (49.30) and Grace Jackson (49.57) have gone faster as Jamaicans while Bahamians Tonique Williams-Darling (49.07) and Pauline Davis-Thompson (49.28) are the all-time English-Caribbean leaders in the event.

In a competitive men's 400-metre finish, American Lashawn Merritt clocked 45.10 seconds to defeat two-time World Indoor champion Francique (45.34) and 2002 Commonwealth Games champion Blackwood (45.36).

Allyson Felix (11.17) won the women's 100 metres ahead of Torri Edwards (11.27) in an American one-two finish with Bailey third in 11.41 seconds.

The 46-year-old Jamaican Merlene Ottey, now representing Slovenia, was seventh in 11.59 seconds.

Americans also dominated the men's 100 with Marcus Brunson (10.03) winning ahead of Leonard Scott (10.09) and Wallace Spearmon (10.11). Jamaica's Chris Williams took fourth in 10.20 seconds.

Michelle Perry posted another USA triumph when she captured the 100 hurdles in 12.60 seconds, chased by her teammates Damu Cherry (12.64) and Joanna Hayes (12.90). Andrea Bliss, of Jamaica, finished eighth in 13.58 seconds.