NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Jamaican Lerone Clarke took advantage of the absence of his illustrious compatriots Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell to win the Commonwealth Games men’s 100 metres final in Delhi yesterday.
Clarke finished in 10.12 seconds, the slowest winning time for a men’s 100m Commonwealth final since Jamaican Don Quarrie clocked 10.38 to win gold in 1974, highlighting the void of talent in the blue-riband event.
However, Clarke’s time was enough to beat England’s silver medallist Mark Lewis-Francis and Aaron Armstrong of Trinidad and Tobago, who won bronze.
It was the fourth consecutive Games where a Caribbean athlete had bagged the top award after Ato Boldon (Trinidad & Tobago) in 1998, Kim Collins (St Kitts and Nevis) in 2002 and Powell four years ago.
“We’re (Jamaicans) just not talented, we’re also driven. Probably that’s why we run so fast,” Clarke said, when asked about the success in the sport.
The Games sprint final has not been a happy event for Lewis-Francis, who pulled up injured in 2002 and was disqualified four years ago and he was again left frustrated after a slip at the start.
“I won’t take anything away from Lerone who had a great race. But I would have had a better result and a better timing if my block hadn’t slipped,” said the athlete who won European silver this year after a lengthy absence due to a hamstring injury.
“I have come back stronger from injury. If somebody had told me 18 months back that I would win a Commonwealth Games silver, I would have told them to shut up.”
Olympic champion and world record holder Bolt missed the 19th edition of the Games for mostly former British colonies because of scheduling issues while previous winner Powell was injured.
