Sizzling summer continues for Levell, Moore

JAMAICA'S BRYAN Levell and Ashanti Moore maintained their sizzling summer form in Europe with personal best times while capturing the men's and women's 200 metres at yesterday's Gyulai Istvan Memorial World Continental Tour Gold meet in Budapest, Hungary.

Jamaica secured third victory when Kiskane Thompson won the men's 100m. Levell continued where he left off recently in Austria, where he ran a personal best 9.82, with another commanding performance in the 200m. The national champion stormed to victory in a new lifetime best 19.69 seconds (-0.4mps), easily getting the better of Wayde Van Niekerk and his teammate Benjamin Richardson of South Africa, who were second and third in 20.07 and 20.30 respectively. Jamaicans Adrian Kerr (20.52) and Michael Campbell (20.88) finished sixth and eighth respectively.

With this performance Levell is now the third-fastest man over the distance this season, behind the American duo of Noah Lyles (19.63) and Kenneth Bednarak (19.67).

Earlier, Moore, in a very tight finish clipped Nigeria's Favour Ofili, Both were credited with the same time, 22.31 (-0.4mps). Great Britain's Darryl Neita was third at 22.37.

In the final race of the day, Thompson, the world leader with 9.75, had his poorest execution of the season with a very slow start and lacked his usual mid-race dominance but he still managed to win in 9.95. Abdul Rasheed Saminu of Ghana was second in 10.01, with Akani Simbine of South Africa third, also in 10.01. Jamaicans Ackeem Blake (10.04), Kadrian Goldson (10.08) and Rohan Watson (10.12) were fourth, sixth and seventh respectively.

In the women's 100m - which featured four Jamaicans, including Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson - it was the veteran Marie-Josee Ta- Lou-Smith of Cote d'Ivoire who won.

In what was a close race from the start Ta Lou-Smith found more in the latter stages to win in 10.97 (-0.4mps). Jamaica's Tina Clayton was second in 10.99 while Jackson (11.00) and Fraser-Pryce (11.07) were third and fourth respectively. Jamaican Krystal Sloley ended eighth in 11.28.

Sprint hurdler Hansle Parchment and sprinter Dominic Williams had second-place finishes in their respective events. Parchment, the Tokyo Olympic champion who failed to make the Jamaica team for next month's World Championships, clocked 13.24 for the runner-up spot behind world leader Cordell Tinch of the United States, who won in 13.20. National champion Orlando Bennett was fifth in 13.26.

In a specially arranged 60m event, Williams was second in 6.66 behind Domink Illovszky of Hungary, who won in 6.63. Michael Campbell (6.67), Kadrian Goldson (6.76), and Adrian Kerr (6.79) were fourth, sixth, and seventh respectively.

In the women's 100m hurdles, Ackera Nugent was fourth in 12.85 with Amoi Brown fifth in 12.88. Shiann Salmon placed sixth in the women's 400m hurdles in 54.95, while national champion Rusheen McDonald failed in another attempt to hit the Tokyo World Championships standard in the men's 400m, finishing fifth in 45.12, with Sean Bailey eighth in 48.38.

National champion Ackelia Smith had the best field event result with a 6.67m effort for second place in the women's long jump behind American Claire Bryant, who won with 6.71m.

In the men's long jump, Carey McLeod was fifth with 7.96m and Tajay Gayle seventh with 7.86m, as Germany's Simon Batz won with 8.07m.

Both Rajindra Campbell (20.85m) in the men's shot put and Raymond Richards (2.18m in the high jump) ended seventh in their events.