Source: www.trinidadexpress.com
By: Kwame Laurence
Richard Thompson stopped the clock at 10.06 seconds to finish first in his section and second overall in the men's 100 metres event, at the Sport Solidarity international meet, in Lignano, Italy, yesterday.
The Trinidad and Tobago track star was the class of the section three field, getting to the line well ahead of Americans Jeffery Demps (10.14) and Trell Kimmons (10.16).
Another T&T sprinter, Marc Burns, clocked 10.33 seconds to claim top spot in section two. He was 12th overall.
Steve Mullings was the fastest man on show in Lignano, the Jamaican getting to the line in 9.98 seconds to triumph in section four.
Americans Darvis Patton (10.07) and Mike Rodgers (10.09) finished second and third, respectively.
Thompson also competed in the men's 4x100m relay. The double Olympic silver medallist anchored an All Stars quartet to silver in 38.20 seconds. Thompson's teammates were Norway's Jaysuma Saidy Ndure and Americans Maurice Mitchell and Jeremy Dodson.
The USA Red combination of Kimmons, Rodgers, Justin Gatlin and Walter Dix struck gold in 37.90.
A Caribbean quartet--Jamaicans Ainsley Waugh, Winston Barnes and Jacques Harvey, and Barbadian Andrew Hinds--finished third in 38.66.
Thompson's 10.06 run was his third fastest legal clocking this season. On June 4, the 26-year-old athlete got to the line in 10.01 at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon, USA. And two Sundays ago, he clocked 10.05 seconds at the Aviva Grand Prix, in Birmingham, England.
Thompson declined selection on the T&T team for last weekend's Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior Track and Field Championships, in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
Burns, on the other hand, has been struggling this season and was not chosen to represent the country in Mayaguez. Burns' best legal 2011 clocking is 10.30 seconds.