Jackson gets maiden 200m Diamond League title

Shericka Jackson can now add Diamond League champion to her list of accomplishments, in a year of first for the World Championships 200 metres champion.

Jackson stormed to victory in the women's 200 metres of the Diamond League final in Zurich yesterday, clocking 21.80 seconds, capping off a year where she won her first major global individual title two months ago.

Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Gabby Thomas of the United States of America (USA) finished second in 22.38 seconds and her compatriot Tamara Clark finished third in 22.42.

Jackson ends the Diamond League season as the second fastest woman in history in the 200 metres, after the 21.45 championship record clocking at the World Championships in July. Having finished second in the 100 metres final earlier, Jackson said that the achievement was a great end to a remarkable year.

"I just wanted to come out here and take the win and run as fast as possible. I had the 100 metres in my leg. My season was magnificent. I have run so many fast times. It is a wonderful year for me. I am just grateful for everything that happened," Jackson said.

She ends her 200 metres season with nine wins and a second-place finish and clocked sub-22 seconds six times this season.

Meanwhile, five-time World Championships 100 metres champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, captured her fifth Diamond League trophy clocking 10.65 seconds, equalling the meet record and finishing the season with her seventh sub-10.7 clocking.

Fraser-Pryce said that her consistency this season was important in being able to not only continue her career at age 35 but as part of women defying age, balancing motherhood and competing at the highest level.

"The more women that break the barriers and evolve in their sport or their different careers, it shows us as women that there is power in numbers, to be able to be among a lot of women this year who have chosen to be mothers or defy age and come back and show that they too can compete at the highest level, we are no longer in a box," Fraser-Pryce said.

Jamaica's Commonwealth Games champion Rasheed Broadbell and Tokyo Olympic Games' champion Hansle Parchment guaranteed a podium finish in the men's 110 metres hurdles. Broadbell clocked 13.06 seconds for second place while Parchment was third in 13.26 as the race was won by USA's Grant Holloway in 13.02.

Formwer World Championships 100 metres winner Yohan Blake finished second in the men's 100 metres, clocking 10.05 seconds, placing him behind Trayvon Bromell of the USA, who ran 9.94, with Canada's Aaron Brown third in a season best of 10.06.

World championship silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts finished third in the women's triple jump with a jump of 14.85 metres, with Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela winning in 15.28 and Mayna Bekh Romanchuk of Ukraine second in 14.96.

World Championship silver medallist and national record holder Britany Anderson finished third in the women's 100 metres hurdles clocking 12.42 seconds as the event was won by World champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria in a meet record of 12.29 with Tia Jones of the USA second, in 12.40.

Natoya Goule finished second in the women's 800 metres clocking 1:57.85 minutes, behind World Championships bronze medallist Mary Moraa of Kenya who did 1:57.63.

Commonwealth Games champion Janieve Russell finished third in the women's 400 metres hurdles with a time of 53.77 seconds with the Netherland's Femke Bol winning in 53.03 and second going to Panama's Gianna Woodroff, who did 53.72. World Championships bronze medallist Rushell Clayton finished fifth in 54.25.

World Championships 4x400 metres silver medallist Candice McLeod was fourth in the women's 400 metres final in 50.03 seconds and 2013 World Championship bronze medallist Stephenie-Ann McPherson was eighth in 52.32.