Blake, James take plaudits in Berlin

Jamaican Blake and Grenadian James comfortably won their pet events to continue their impressive form, along with the Trinidad and Tobago pair of Kelly-Ann Baptiste and Jehue Gordon at the IAAF World Challenge meet at the Olympic Stadium.

Blake, the newly-minted World 100 metres champion, ran a personal best of 9.82 seconds for the second time in three days.

He also shattered the previous stadium record of 9.86 secs held jointly by compatriot Asafa Powell (2006) and American sprint legend Maurice Greene (2000).

Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis ran a season’s best time of 10.01 to finish runner-up ahead of T&T’s Richard Thompson (10.08).

James ended his season on a high note, taking the 400 in 45.33. Nery Brenes of Costa Rica finished second in 45.62, and Rondell Bartholomew, another quarter-miler from Grenada, grabbed third in 45.82.

In the women’s 100, there was a sweep of the top positions by Caribbean athletes with Baptiste taking command at the mid-point, and running away from the field for a time of 11.15, followed by a string of Jamaicans. Sherone Simpson was second (11.24), Kerron Stewart third (11.28), and Aleen Bailey, sister of dancehall reggae star Capleton, came in fourth at 11.37.