Jamaica's Hansle Parchment (centre) competes to win the men's 110m hurdles event during the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League competition at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, yesterday. (PHOTO: AFP)
HANSLE Parchment set a new Jamaican national record and World-leading time after running a sublime 12.94 seconds (0.8m/s) to win the men's 110m hurdles at yesterday's Meeting Areva in the Paris IAAF Diamond League.
The 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallist, who was second at the JAAA/Supreme Ventures National Senior Championships last weekend, destroyed a quality field on his way to smashing his own previous personal best of 13.05 seconds set at Eugene, Oregon in June last year.
His victory was the only one for the Jamaicans at the event with Stephenie-Ann McPherson taking second in the women's 400m, just beating compatriot Novlene Williams-Mills.
Parchment, the Fitz Colemancoached athlete, is the first Jamaican man to go under the 13.00 seconds barrier that is reserved for the truly special hurdlers and only 16 have ever done it legally.
The lanky UWI, Mona final year student, who was breaking the national record for the fourth time, is now joint 10th best of all time and was easing up as he crossed the line yesterday, winning by nearly a metre over the field.
Parchment used his customary mid-race acceleration to get past the field as France's Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, the most consistent sprint hurdler this season, was second, well behind despite yet another personal best 13.05 seconds, while Cuba's Orlando Ortego was third in a season's best 13.10 seconds.
World Championships finalist McPherson ran a season's best 50.40 seconds for second in the women's 400m, which was won by American Sanya Richards-Ross in 50.10 seconds with Jamaican national champion Williams-Mills taking third in 50.68 seconds, her slowest time in more than two months.
It was the first Diamond League win for Richards-Ross this season which snapped a string of three straight wins for Williams-Mills.
It was another disappointing result for Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who was fifth in the women's 200m, as she returned to the track for the first time in a month after an injury.
Fraser-Pryce got off to a great start and was second to American Allyson Felix at the top of the curve but faded badly in the straight to finish fifth in 22.63 seconds, just ahead of another Jamaican, Simone Facey (22.75 seconds).
Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare powered home over the finals 30metres to win in 22.32 seconds, with Felix second in a season's best 22.34 seconds and the Bahamian Anthonique Strachan third in 22.54 seconds.
Nesta Carter was the best-placed Jamaican in the men's 100m, clocking 10.12 seconds (-0.8m/s) for fourth with Kemar Bailey-Cole fifth in 10.14 seconds.
American Mike Rodgers won the race in 10.00 seconds, edging Trinidad's Richard Thompson (10.08 seconds) and St Kitts’ Kim Collins (10.10 seconds).
The race was held up for some time as Jamaica's national champion Nickel Ashmeade vigorously protested his disqualification for false-starting.
Television replays showed Ashmeade leaving the blocks prematurely, but he protested that crowd noise had distracted him and even sat on the track at one time before he eventually left the track
