EUGENE, Oregon: Jamaica’s two-time world champion Shericka Jackson completed a double of Diamond League trophies as she clocked a meet record 21.57 to win the women’s 200m on the second and final day of the season-ending Prefontaine Classic track and field meet on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Jackson dominated the race from start to finish, a day after her victory in the 100m at 10.70 (0.8m/s) where she narrowly edged out Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Cote d’Ivoire by 0.05 seconds.
Ta Lou again had to settle for second place in a season’s best 22.10. Bahamian Anthonique Strachan was third in 22.16.
There was considerable excitement leading up to the race with Jackson having spoken openly about Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record of 21.34 being her target.
Although the record eluded her, Jackson’s performance is the eighth fastest in history and she now has five of the top eight performances of all time to her name.
Jackson, however, stated that she did not have the world record on her mind as her primary focus for the day was securing the sprint double.
Jackson pointed out that she attempted the record in Brussels on September 8 when she came home in 21.48 to become the Diamond League record holder in Brussels. The 21.48 represents the fourth-fastest time ever.
Before Brussels, Jackson was just 0.07 seconds away from the mark when she blazed to victory in the final of the 200m at last month’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, setting the second-fastest time in history (21.41) in the process.
The Prefontaine Classic, normally run in late May, was this year’s final stop on the international Diamond League circuit. The 32 champions crowned during the two-day meet at Eugene’s Hayward Field were set to earn $30,000 apiece.