Monday, August 24, 2009

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Debbie splits a pair of Olympic Champions! By SHELDON LONGLEY ~ NG Sports Editor ~ slongley@nasguard.com: A little over a week ago, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie had her fastest time in over five years in the women's 200 meters (m) on the Greek island of Crete. Yesterday, she did it in the 100m in no wind in Monaco. The former World and Olympic Champion spilt a pair of Jamaican Olympic champions yesterday afternoon, when she finished second in the women's 100m in 10.97 seconds at the Herculis Super Grand Prix Meet in Monaco - the first time she ran under 11 seconds in the century since 2003. Olympic champions from Beijing, Shelly-Ann Fraser and Veronica Campbell-Brown, finished first and third respectively. Bahamian veteran sprinter Chandra Sturrup, 37, was fourth in that same race in 11.13 seconds after running 11.09 seconds over the weekend in London. For Ferguson-McKenzie, not only was it a season's best time, it was only six one hundredths of a second off her personal best time, and the fastest time ran by a Bahamian this year, eclipsing the 10.99 done by Sturrup at the Golden Gala in Rome, Italy earlier this month. It also makes her the sixth fastest sprinter this year, behind the two Jamaican Olympic Champions, fellow Jamaican Kerron Stewart, U.S. National Champion Carmelita Jeter and Kelly-Ann Baptiste from Trinidad & Tobago. With the Berlin World Championships a little less than three weeks away, Ferguson-McKenzie appears to be peaking at the right time. Last week Monday, she ran a world-leading time of 22.32 seconds in the women's 200m, and then backed that up with her blistering time in the 100m yesterday. Both Sturrup and Ferguson-McKenzie are having exceptional seasons, just when the critics thought they were past their primes. Sturrup is currently second in the World Athletics Tour Standings in the women's 100m with 72 points, trailing just Kerron Stewart who is out front with 100 points. At 33, Ferguson-McKenzie is seventh with 55 points, but is second in the 200m with 39 points, trailing just LaVerne Jones-Ferrette from the U.S. Virgin Islands who is slightly ahead with 42 points. Jones-Ferrette was fifth in that heated 100m race in a time of 11.14 seconds. American Alexandria Anderson finished sixth yesterday in 11.18 seconds, Jamaican former Olympic relay gold medalist Aleen Bailey was seventh in 11.26 seconds, and American Stephanie Durst brought up the rear in 11.35 seconds. Only one other Bahamian competed in that meet in Monaco yesterday. Grand Bahamian Andrae Williams, who suffered a hamstring injury at the Bahamas Association of Athletics Associations (BAAA) National Championships here in New Providence in June, finished a dismal eighth in 47.98 seconds. The event was won by American Olympic Champion and world leader LaShawn Merritt in a blazing time of 44.73 seconds. Bahamians would certainly remember the name David Neville - the American who dove across the finish line in Beijing last year to edge Chris Brown for the Olympic bronze. Neville ran a time of 45.26 seconds to finish second behind Merritt in Monaco yesterday. David Gillick from Ireland was third in 45.34 seconds, Leslie Djhone from France finished fourth in 45.57 seconds, and American Jamaal Torrance made it five guys under 46 seconds as he finished fifth in 45.97 seconds. Teddy Venel from France was sixth in 46.14 seconds, and Martyn Rooney from Great Britain finished seventh in 46.22 seconds. Wednesday, July 29, 2009