No world records were set at Wednesday’s Harry Jerome Track Classic that was held at Coquitlam’s Percy Perry Stadium.
In fact, there weren’t even many personal bests.
But the athletes put on a show that got the capacity crowd of more than 3,000 people cheering for favourites like Canadian Olympian Damian Warner and sent hundreds of them streaming onto the track to engulf sprinter Andre De Grasse in a reverential scrum.
Organizer Doug Clement, of the Achilles Track and Field Society, said weather conditions might have played a role in the tepid performances. He said swirling breezes made it difficult for the jumpers at the long and high jump pits and certainly contributed to De Grasse’s 10.17 amble in the showcase men’s 100m race. Just two weeks ago the Olympic bronze medalist scorched a Spanish track in 9.69 seconds, the fourth-fastest time every recorded. But he had a gale-force wind at this back, which also rendered the record moot.
Wednesday, De Grasse and the rest of the sprinters ran into a slight headwind, said Clement. That made any kind of record run almost impossible.
“They have to have good conditions to break records,” Clement said. “Sprinters running into headwinds can make a difference of two or three-tenths of a second. That’s huge.”
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