RAMON GITTENS won a bronze medal in the men’s 60 metres dash at the IAAF World Indoor Championships late Friday night in Portland, Oregon.
Gittens improved on his lifetime best of 6.53 from the semi-finals, clocking 6.51 in the final to finish in third place.
American Trayvon Bromell took the gold medal in 6.47 seconds and Jamaican Asafa Powell, who had raced to a world lead 6.44 in the heats, was second in 6.50 seconds.
It took the photo finish cameras to separate the finalists.
Photo finish is being examined with a magnifying glass in a tight 60m final
According to the IAAF statisticians, it was the closest finish since 2014, with just 0.09 seconds separating first and eight place.
St Kitts’ Kim Collins was eighth in 6.56.
Official 60m results, after an age of waiting, are:
1 Bromell USA 6.47
2 Powell JAM 6.50
3 Gittens BAR 6.51#Portland2016
It would also count as a new indoor record when Barbados begins to officially compile those statistics.
Gittens says he made a few mistakes, but was still pleased his hard work was paying off.
This capped a truly exciting day of athletics for Barbados where Sada Williams clocked 22.61 seconds in the 200 metres at the Powerade Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships, setting a new junior and senior national record in that event.
The old record was 22.91 seconds, set by Jade Bailey in 2008. (SAT)
