Olympic hurdler Shane Brathwaite broke the meet record at the Grande Premio Internacional in Sao Paulo in Brazil to join sprinters Andrew Hinds and Jade Bailey in qualifying for July’s Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Brathwaite, a former World Youth octathlon champion, clocked 13:39 seconds to eclipse the old record set by Joel Brown of United States in 2008.
Brathwaite was followed home by Eder Antonio Souza of Brazil (13.71) and Jorge Mc Farlane (13.76), who came third.
At the same meet, Hinds, a silver medallist in the 100 metres at last year’s Central and American Championships, was fourth in the 200 metres in a commendable 20.59, his best time since 2009.
The time was a Commonwealth Games qualifier and adds to his earlier season 10.25 qualifying time in the 100 metres.
The top three places were captured by Brazilians with Jorge Henrique da Costa Vides (20.38) first, followed by Aldemir Gomes da Silva Junior (20.51) and Jefferson Liberato Lucindo (20.54).
Brathwaite and Hinds are scheduled to compete again tomorrow at the Grande Premio Internacional Uberlandia on the Brazilian tour.
Meanwhile, Bailey, the Olympic Games quarter-finalist in 2008, was second in the 100 metres (11.37 seconds) at the TNT Twilight Games in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday night.
The 100-metre national champion’s time qualified her for the event at the Commonwealth Games, as she surpassed the qualifying requirement of 11.45 seconds.
Apart from Brathwaite, Hinds and Bailey, who has also met the standard for the 200 metres, other Commonwealth Games qualifiers are are CARIFTA?Games’ 100 metres silver medallist Levi Cadogan in both 100 and 200 metres; Akela Jones in the long jump; and women’s 100-metre hurdlers Sade-Mariah Greenidge and Kierre Beckles. (EZS)
