Steven Gardiner of The Bahamas in action in the 400m (© Mark Shearman)
Steven Gardiner broke his own Bahamian 400m record to highlight the inaugural Grenada Invitational in St George's on Saturday (8).
Dominating the B race, the Olympic 4x400m bronze medallist clocked 44.26 to shave 0.01 from the national record he set in Nassau in June 2015. The 21-year-old’s impressive performance was one of the fastest ever produced in the month of April, and was also an early season world lead.
Najee Glass of the US was a distant second in 45.70.
Gardiner's run upstaged that of local hero Kirani James, the 2012 Olympic 400m champion, who headlined the evening-capping A final. James won that event handily in 45.44, finishing nearly a second clear of Briton Martyn Rooney who clocked 46.35.
Other races were much closer.
Mike Rodgers of the US won the 100m in 10.17, edging compatriot Isiah Young by just 0.02, while former world record-holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica won the B final in 10.18.
Two-time world 400m champion Lashawn Merritt won the 200m in 20.42, edging Canada's Brendan Rodney who clocked 20.45.
On the women's side, Ivory Coast's Murielle Ahoure took the 100m in 11.14 (2.1m/s), edging Morolake Akinosun of the US, who clocked 11.17. Felicia Brown of the US won the 200m in 22.60.
Sharika Nelvis of the US kicked off the meeting with a solid 12.68 victory in the 100m hurdles, well clear of Queen Harrison who clocked 12.81.
In her second outing of the season, Olympic 400m hurdles bronze medallist Ashley Spencer cruised to a 54.78 victory in her specialty, another world-leading performance. In a fairly tight finish, Leah Nugent of Jamaica, who was sixth in the Olympic final last summer, finished second in 54.88.
Quincy Downing, a world junior 4x400m relay champion in 2012, won the men's 400m hurdles in 48.80, a lifetime best for the 24-year-old.
The best performance on the infield came in the men's long jump, won by Jamaican Damar Forbes with a 7.92m leap.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
