"I had an incredible year", summarizes the Jamaican queen of the sprint with three Olympic titles and ten world titles, including a fifth on the queen race conquered in July in Eugene (United States) - faster than ever in the world final (10.67).

"I started with a time of 10 sec 6/10e (in May in Nairobi), and I finished in 10 sec 6/10e, I couldn't ask for more", she continues.

On the Letzigrund track, forgotten the muscle alert in a thigh at the end of August, Fraser-Pryce won in 10 sec 65 (-0.8 m / s wind), eleventh time in history.

She beat her compatriot Shericka Jackson (10.81) and the Ivorian Marie-Josée Ta Lou (10.91).

She thus adds an additional line to her summer of unprecedented regularity at high speed, with a seventh and final 100 m under 10 sec 70, crowned with a burst of speed in 10 sec 62 in August in Monaco, very close to his personal best (10.60 in 2021).

Lyles' "best" season

"I'm already looking forward to next season," salivates the 35-year-old Caribbean bombshell.

She has run seven of her nine fastest 100m this year and she is determined to run until the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

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In the 200m, the two reigning world champions, Noah Lyles and Shericka Jackson, imposed their law and relegated the competition to at least half a second.

Lyles completed his half-lap in 19.52 seconds, the fourth fastest time of his career and the twelfth in history, ahead of Canadian Aaron Brown and Dominican Alexander Ogando (both 20.02).

"It's been an incredible season, the best of my career. And that's exactly what I expected," sums up the American sprinter.

Jackson won in 21 sec 80, the fourth best time of her career, like Lyles, for her who had come within eleven hundredths of the world record at the Eugene Worlds in July (21.45).

Defeated to everyone's surprise, like Fraser-Pryce in Brussels a week ago, world pole vault boss Armand Duplantis was able to bounce back and finish on a high note, as he had hoped: 18th victory in 19 competitions of 2022, including sixteen above six meters.

Duplantis returns to victory

After easily clearing bars at 5.62 m, 5.81 m and 5.91 m, "Mondo" recovered twice to pass 6.07 m and win ahead of the Norwegian Sondre Guttormsen (5, 86m, personal best).

"If I hadn't performed well here, the whole season, which has been so extraordinary, wouldn't have had the same flavor. To finish like that with a victory is the icing on the cake. It's really been a brilliant season", he appreciates.

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The reigning Olympic champion, world champion and European champion in the specialty, however, decided to stop there and not tackle his own world record, which he improved three times in 2022 until 'to raise it to 6.21 m during the Eugene Worlds.

"Being able to jump six meters so many times shows how tough I am right now," said Duplantis.

We will now have to wait until 2023 to hope to see it soar even higher.

The last great evening of athletics of the 2022 season was also punctuated by three best world performances of the year: the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen over 1,500m (3:29.02), the Dominican Marileidy Paulino over 400m (48.99) and the Kenyan Emmanuel Korir over 800m (1:43.26).

© 2022 AFP