Danielle Williams and Britany Anderson put Jamaica’s hurdling prowess on display in separate indoor meets on the weekend. They both raced to personal best times and Williams, the 2015 World Champion in the 100m hurdles, moved into the number 2 slot on the yearly indoor performance list.

Williams had to be inch-perfect at the World Athletics Karlsruhe meet, in Germany on January 28. Her time of 7.84 in the 60m hurdles barely edged France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela who got the same time.

Anderson, who beat Samba-Mayela to the 2017 World Under 18 100 metre title, put her best foot forward at the 114th Millrose Games in New York on January 29. She clicked to a 60m hurdles lifetime best of her own, 7.91 seconds.

Williams, now 29, moved up to joint number 3 on the Jamaican all-time indoor performance list, tying with Gillian Russell, and Anderson now stands at number 6.

The 21-year-old Anderson was one of three Jamaicans to win at Millrose. On Thursday, 2019 and 2021 Jamaican hammer champion Erica Belvit launched two personal bests – 19.72 and 19.82m – to dominate the weight throw. On Saturday, Olympic 400m finalist Christopher Taylor outlasted American Vernon Norwood to win his pet event in 46.38 seconds.

Top three finishes went to 2018 Commonwealth bronze medallist Natoya Goule-Tappin, second in the 800m, and 2018 World Indoor finalist Tovea Jenkins, third in the 400m for women.

Along with individual World Championships finalists Nathon Allen, Ackeem Bloomfield and Demish Gaye, Taylor may be leading Jamaica into a new era of 400m and 4x400m speed. Based on his speed at the Texas Tech Open, Chevannie Hanson might soon join those big names. Racing at the Texas Tech Open on the weekend, the Edwin Allen High school graduate won the 400m for his Texas A&M University team in 46.51 seconds.

Competing in Lexington, Kentucky, 19-year-old Ackera Nugent laid down a series of races – 8.02 in the heat, 7.93 in the semi and 7.96 seconds in the final – that bolstered her chances of retaining the NCAA Indoor title she won last year for Baylor University. A week earlier, Nugent clocked 7.90 to stand one place above Anderson on the Jamaican all-time 60m hurdle performance list.

The weekend saw some notable Jamaican jumps action. Taishia Pryce long jumped 6.54 metres for second at the Texas Tech Open, with Lamara Distin also second in the high jump with a clearance of 1.85 metres. In addition, Olympian Carey McLeod and 2018 World Under 20 bronze medallist Wayne Pinnock placed second and third respectively in the long jump at the Bob Pollock Invitational, which was staged at Clemson University in South Carolina. McLeod and Pinnock posted distances of 7.96 and 7.92 metres respectively.

There was one Jamaican winner at the Clemson meet and it was Rajay Hamilton who won the 800 metres in 1 minute 49.81 seconds.