Another sub-48 clocking for James-King in 400m hurdles

NATIONAL 400 metres hurdles champion Malik James-King produced another gallant run on the Wanda Diamond League circuit in Monaco with a fourth- place finish behind the world’s three fastest men in the one-lap obstacle event.

There were also fourth-place finishes for sprinter Andrew Hudson in the 200m and triple jumper Shanieka Ricketts.

James-King ended a respectable distance behind the three Paris Olympics medal favourites but still clocked a very good 47.73 seconds, his second sub-48 run this season following his 47.42 to win the national title.

The 25- year-old, who has shown tremendous improvement in the event this season, started out very cautiously for the first 200 metres but ran on very strongly in the end despite hitting the final three barriers. World leader Rai Benjamin of the United States won in 46.67, relegating Olympic and World champion Kersten Warholm of Norway to second in 46. 73, while Alison dos Santos of Brazil was third in 47.18.

Hudson, who was runner-up in the 200m at the national championships, clocked 20.43 seconds for his fourth-place finish. Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, in a rare appearance on the track this season following the death of his mother two months ago, won in a season’s best 19.87, ahead of Alexander Ogando of Dominica Republic (20.02) and Gracious Oroot of Uganda, 20.32.

Ricketts produced a season’s best 14.67m in the women’s triple jump behind Cuba’s Leyanis Perez Hernandez. The Cuban made a big statement in the event three weeks before the Olympics with a season’s best 14.96m for the win. World Indoor champion Thea LaFond of Dominica also had a season’s best outdoor performance with 14.87m for second while Maryna Bekh Romanchuk of Ukraine, in her first competition in the event in six months, was third with 14.81m. Jamaica’s Ackelia Smith ended fifth with 14.30m.

St Lucia’s Julien Alfred, a strong contender for a sprint medal in Paris, followed up her 200m win in midweek at a World Continental meet in Hungary with a 10.85 seconds clocking to win the 100m while running against a negative wind of 1.0 metres per second. American Tamari Davis was second in 10.99, the same time awarded to Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith for third.

American Quincy Hall and Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati registered world-leading times in their respective events.

Hall, the US champion, became the first athlete to go sub-44 seconds this season in the 400m when he posted an impressive personal best of 43.80. His countryman Vernon Norwood was second in a season’s best 44.34 with Lythe Pillay of South Africa third in 44.58.

Following his spectacular performance at the Paris Diamond League on Sunday, Sedjati was at it again as he improved on his personal best by clocking a national, Diamond League and meet record 1:41.46 to win the 800m.