Golden leap - Trecia Smith wins triple jump gold; Michael Frater bags 100m silver at World Champs

Elton Tucker, Assistant Editor - Sport

TRIPLE JUMPER Trecia Smith and sprinter Michael Frater produced two magnificent performances in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium last night, to give Jamaica gold and silver respectively on the second night of competition at the 10th IAAF World Championships.

Smith, a pre-meet favourite for a medal, produced an outstanding sequence of three jumps to outclass her opponents and claim Jamaica's first medal of any colour in the triple jump at the World Championships.

The biggest leap, 15.11m was achieved on her fifth attempt but Smith was so dominant she had the three best jumps of the competition. She went in front on her fourth attempt with 14.91m and from then on was never in danger of losing top spot.

TATYANA LEBEBEVA SIDELINED

Cuba's Yargelis Savigne got silver with 14.82m and Anna Pyatykh was third with 14.78m. Pre-championships favourite and defending champion, Russia's Tatyana Lebebeva, withdrew from the final because of injury.

Frater emerged from the shadow of his training partner, world 100 metres record holder Asafa Powell, to claim his first individual medal at a major championships in grand style.

In a thrilling men's 100 metres final American Justin Gatlin added world championships gold to the Olympic title he won last year in Athens, clocking an excellent season-best 9.88 seconds. Only four-hundredths of a second separated the next four places. Frater and bronze medallist Kim Collins both hit the tape in 10.05 with the Jamaican getting the nod over the defending champion from St. Kitts and Nevis. Dwight Thomas of Jamaica was fifth in 10.09.

Both Jamaican medallists were overwhelmed by their achievements.

"It still has not sunk it yet," said the usually subdued Smith, a graduate of Mannings High and the University of Pittsburgh in the United States.

"I knew before the meet that I would have been on the podium but I was not sure whether it would be gold, silver or bronze," said Smith, who was determined at this meet to erase the huge disappointment of last year's fourth place finish at the Athens Olympics.

Frater, while paying tribute to his coach Stephen Francis and his friends and family for believing in him, said he felt very confident here.

"I felt very good in the early rounds and I knew that I could do well if I got to the final," said Frater, who had been running with a big smile since the opening round of the 100m on Saturday morning.

Among the first to congratulate him was Powell, who withdrew from the 100 metres days before the championships because of injury.

"I felt real excited for him," Powell said. "Tears of joy filled my eyes when I saw that he had won the silver medal."

Francis said he always believed Frater was capable of winning a medal at the highest level.

"I have been coaching him, first at Wolmer's Boys, since he was 12 years old and he takes instructions very well. I knew that Gatlin was going to win but once Michael got the first race out of the way and then advanced to the final he would do very well," Francis said.