T&T’s Machel Cedenio clocked 44.97 to win the Men’s 400m at the IAAF Diamond League meet in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday. The 19-year-old unleashed a burst of speed on the final stretch which left the crowd stunned. “That was astonishing from Cedenio,” remarked one television commentator. “It just all changed in the last 40m. It was quite incredible.”
Dominican Republic’s Luguelin Santos nabbed the silver in 45.21 while Great Britain’s Martyn Rooney was third in a season’s best of 45.41. The result bumped Cedenio up to third in the Diamond League 400m standings with four points. He is led by Grenada’s Kirani James and Russia’s Wayde Van Niekerk, who have each won two races this season.
It capped off a successful week for Cedenio, who earlier managed an individual 400m silver and anchored T&T’s gold medal winning 4x400m run at the Pan American Games in Toronto, which ended on Sunday.
Also announcing herself yesterday was Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who warmed up for the world championships with a dominant win in the women’s 100 metres. Fraser-Pryce, the world and Olympic champion, clocked 10.93 seconds in the headline race to beat Tori Bowie of the U.S. by 0.12 seconds.
“The time wasn’t what I wanted, but I’m grateful I came out here and did my best,” Fraser-Pryce said. “There’s always pressure going into a world championships, but I’m not worried about that. I’m not worried about anything.” Fraser-Pryce also reiterated her stance that she won’t defend her 200 title at the worlds, a day after hinting she may change her mind and run both distances.
“In Beijing, I’m not running the 200. I’m telling my coach he has to change my mind,” she said. “The 200 is too far, so I’m set for the 100.”