Reid’s 100m win puts Jamaica level with US

WHEN Alana Reid captured the 100 metres at the World Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday, Jamaica joined the United States on top of the ladder with six women’s titles.

Jamaica’s first women’s 100m title came at the 1992 Championships in Seoul, South Korea, when Nikole Mitchell struck gold with a winning time of 11.30 seconds. Eight years later Veronica Campbell- Brown gave the country a second title after she won in Santiago, Chile, in a then championships record of 11.12. She also went on to take the 200m.

There was a long wait for Jamaica’s third title. It came 18 years after Campbell-Brown’s win. Briana Williams was victorious in Tampere, Finland, in 2018 in 11.16. Like Campbell-Brown, she completed the sprint double.

The country did not have to wait long for its fourth title as at the following championships in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2021, Tina Clayton pocketed the gold medal after winning in 11.09 to start a winning streak for Jamaica.

At the next championships in Cali, Colombia, Clayton gave Jamaica title number five as she won in a championship record 10.95 and became the first under-20 woman to go under 11 seconds at the meet. Clayton also became the first double champion in the event.

Reid, who was a bronze medallist in the 200m two years ago in Cali, ensured that Jamaica drew level with their American rivals with a sixth title.

Below are the American winners of the event:

1994 -Sabrina Kelly

1988 - Shakeda Jones

2002 -Lauryn Williams

2004 -Ashley Owens

2008 - Jeneba Tarmoh

2016 - Candace Hill