Early April would have been a delight of the track and field fans. On fourth Michael Johnson debuted his brainchild, Grand Slam Track. His very own track league. The very next day – the Miramar Invitational. Though it might have not been as grand as GST, the invitational had its fans. It also had something more to offer than GST. While the event in Kingston, Jamaica only had the track events in the queue, the field athletes also showed up for the one in the Ansin Sports Complex in the city of Miramar.
Miramar Invitational had Rasheed Broadbell, a 2024 Olympic bronze medalist in the 110m hurdles. 2020 Olympic gold medalist Steven Gardiner also showed up at the event. 2024’s fastest man with a 9.77s 100m and Olympic silver medalist, Kishane Thompson, marked his presence as well. From the USA not an olympian but 2019 NCAA champion, Kayla White is also there. Despite the presence of such big names, the fans were excited for one single match.
After the Olympics’ Sha’carri Richardson April fool’s prank, fans have been left hungry of a competitive race where the unstoppable force meets an immovable object. And who could have given that. Two Olypians of course. Two sensational Olympic medalists have raced in the meet at Miramar. The Reigning Olympic 100m champion from Saint Lucia has gone going head to head against a five-time Olympic medalist. So what happened in the race between Julien Alfred and Shericka Jackson?
Julien Alfred triumphs over the second-fastest female 200m runner
When Julien Alfred put on her shoes and the yellow attire, it was the first time for her in 2025. The Miramar Invitational marked the season opener for the Olympian. While Julien’s Olympic medal came in 100m, Sherick Jackson had run the 200m in 21.41 seconds at the 2023 World Championships, 0.7 seconds slower than the world record set by Florence Griffith Joyner. So it was a thought that Jackson might have an advantage over her competition when the two got their marks for the 300m.
And it even felt like that for a moment. Jackson took the lead early in the race, leading the field in and out of the bend. But Alfred worked for her win, she matched the opponent’s stride until the last 10m and then channeled whatever she had left in the tank to surge towards the victory. Jackson clocked a 36.13 while Alfred went on to create a new national record. Marking a 36.05 on the clock, she set a new national record for her country, Saint Lucia. Jessika Gbai from Ivory Coast also ran a good race to finish third in 36.24s.
“Going forward, I am just going to keep on working hard and trust myself,” Alfred said after the race. She has yet to lose a sprint since winning the Diamond League 100m title last year. Jackson, on the other hand, has accepted the defeat on US soil. Coming to the US, gold did come for them.
Gold for White
While many donned the pink attire for the Miramar invitational’s 100m dash, only White had what it takes for Gold. Three to her right, three to her left, Kayla White took her mark in lane number six. 3. Ready….set…shoot and all of them jolted. For a moment, there seemed to be no one in the lead.
But that problem was dealt with by Kayla White pacing up at taking the lead and before you knew it, she had run past the finish line claiming the gold in the 2025 Miramar Invitational. The meet record is held by Sha’Carri Richardson, with a 10.72 run in 2021. That did not break. White started and finished the race in 10.99 seconds. Though the gold for us, silver and bronze were claimed by Jamaicans. Briana Williams finished second with a time of 11.07 and Natasha Morrison clocked an 11.08 for the bronze. Number 2 also came for another Jamaican as well.
Kishane Thompson, appearing in the men’s 4x100m relay was an interesting bit. The whole race was an interesting bit if being truthful. The Dominican Republic, who defeated Jamaica in a major upset, started badly but was shown a green card. Thompson anchored the race for the team and he did try to put up a fight in the final few meters but the Dominican runner was fast enough to not be left behind by the Olympic silver medalist. They did it in 38.95 seconds while it took Jamaica 39.11.
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