For an extraordinary 21.45 seconds, Shericka Jackson flew supersonic into golden skies. Meanwhile, Dina Asher-Smith found inspiration in the sky to claim an impressive world 200m bronze medal.
Shocking because, as Asher-Smith later revealed, the death of her beloved 92-year-old grandmother Sislyn Asher, who was part of the Windrush generation, had hit her hard in May. Yet here she was, after a season of doubt, fear and pain, proving once again that she is one of the best sprinters in the world.
But on a night when most of Kingston seemed to have decamped to Eugene, no one caught Jackson. The Jamaican’s astonishing time of 21.45 seconds made her the second fastest 200m athlete in history, behind only the late Florence Griffiths-Joyner. Given the doubts about Flo-Jo’s performances, Jackson has a legitimate claim to being the fastest 200-meter runner in history.
Silver was claimed by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, in an electric pink wig, who ran 21.81 to claim the 21st world medal of her career. However, Asher-Smith was rightly delighted to win bronze in 22.02.
He then dedicated his win to his grandmother, who came to England from Trinidad after the second world war to work at an NHS hospital in Lewisham. And, as Asher-Smith later revealed, Sislyn not only looked like her, but she used to claim that she sprinted like her, too.
“We look very similar, the same gestures, birthdays two days apart, my whole life we’ve always had a joint birthday,” she said smiling. “She’d like to claim she was a sprinter, 100%. If you ever asked, I’d say it’s all on me.”
That is why his death, after a long illness, cut so deeply. “My body has been in great shape, I’ve achieved all my goals and I’ve been doing really well in the gym,” Asher-Smith said. “But my brain wasn’t in the room. It looked like it was watching me do things.
“She was an incredible woman, and my whole family would not be who we are without her; without their effort and their sacrifices for us. I know he’s very happy right now.”
Asked about her journey from a shock defeat at the British trials in June to winning another major medal here, the 16th of her career, she explained: “I had to go from being so deeply sad to being okay to run in. But I knew my grandmother would have wanted me to perform amazingly.
“I’ll never be the same because we were so close,” she added. “But I absolutely know that she would want me to be there with her head held high. She’s been giving me great signs all season. Some things have happened and I’ve been like, ‘thank you grandma, thank you,’ because I know she’s sending me these good vibrations”.
But the biggest vibes of the night came from Jackson’s Puma spikes as she proved to be the fastest woman alive in the 200m.
What made their performance even more extraordinary was that after 100m, the top three were separated by just 0.05 seconds. But when Jackson hit the straight, he flew home in an impressive 10.41 seconds. No wonder the vuvuzelas, which sounded like an army of mosquitoes were invading Eugene, honked their horns in approval.
Shericka Jackson crosses the line. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA
During his stellar career, Jackson has won 11 world medals at the Olympics and World Championships, in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m relays. But an individual title has always eluded him. In an era of extraordinary Jamaican sprinters, she was the third Beatle. A George Harrison alongside Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah’s Lennon and McCartney. This performance, however, was his My Sweet Lord.
“I feel great,” Jackson said. “I went out and did the show. Fastest woman alive, national and championship record, can’t complain.” It was hard to argue with that.
Over the years, he has absorbed the lessons of his friend and training partner in Fraser-Pryce at Kingston’s MVP Track and Field Club. MVP stands for “Maximizing Speed and Power”. Jackson certainly showed it in abundance.
And what made this win so special for Jackson was that she was knocked out of the 200m heats in Tokyo after slowing down too much when she was in the lead. It was such a harsh lesson that it brought her to tears. But it also taught him something else.
“It doesn’t matter what you follow,” he said. “After the Olympic Games I cried so much. But I was preparing for this year and I’m very grateful for this moment.”
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But Asher-Smith made a lot of noise with her performance, which pitted her against some of the greatest female sprinters in history. “I definitely think we’re in a golden age,” he said. “It’s crazy. We haven’t seen these times for decades and decades. But we haven’t seen that depth either. And the fact that these times come from a variety of women is so special.”
But even she was surprised by Jackson’s performance. “Does that mean Shericka went around the bend like 11.0 and then ran a 10.4 straight?” she asked. “It’s crazy. I don’t think we’ll see anything like it again.”
It wasn’t long, however, before Asher-Smith’s thoughts returned to her grandmother. “My life will never be the same,” he said. “But she would want me to come here and be in the best mental shape possible. I know I’ve made her proud.”
Is true. But not just his grandmother. Great Britain too.