Kishane Thompson clocked a new personal best and world-leading time of 9.75 seconds to defend his national 100m title on day two of the JAAA/Puma National Senior Championships on Friday, securing his spot at the World Championships.
With the National Stadium buzzing with anticipation and a brief delay due to Oblique Seville’s hamstring issue during warm-ups, Thompson kept his focus. When the gun went, the MVP Track Club sprinter rocketed out of the blocks and never looked back, blazing across the line in a time that not only bettered his previous best of 9.77 seconds, set at last year’s championships, but also equalled the National Stadium record.
Final Results – Men’s 100m Final
- Kishane Thompson – 9.75
- Oblique Seville – 9.83
- Ackeem Blake – 9.88
- Ryiem Fordem – 9.98
- Rohan Watson – 10.04
- Kadrian Goldson – 10.07
- Bouwahjgie Nkrumie – 10.09
- Bryan Levell – 10.43
Oblique Seville, overcoming his pre-race hamstring scare, chased Thompson all the way to the finish, clocking 9.83 seconds for second place and confirming his spot on the World Championships team.
Ackeem Blake, continuing his steady rise as a global contender, rounded out the top three with an impressive 9.88 seconds, making it three Jamaicans under 9.90 seconds in a single race. It was also a repeat of last year’s top-three finish at the national championships.
In Thursday’s heats, he cruised to a comfortable 10.12 seconds in Heat 3. He then lit up the track in Friday evening’s semifinals, clocking 9.80 seconds (+0.4 m/s), the fastest time globally this season at the time, comfortably ahead of Kadrian Goldson (10.05) and Ackeem Blake.
It was a performance that confirmed why the Stephen Francis-coached athlete was the firm favourite coming into the meet, especially after his commanding 9.88-second victory at the Racers Grand Prix earlier this month, a run in which he appeared to ease through the line.
With this latest triumph, Thompson, alongside Seville, Blake, and Ryiem Fordem , who finished fourth in 9.98 seconds, have all posted qualifying marks for the World Athletics Championships. Their selections now await formal approval from World Athletics.
