With the temperature hovering around 40 degrees and a steady drizzle dampening the blue track, conditions were not ideal for the nine male sprinters competing in Saturday’s Adidas Grand Prix Dream 100 at Icahn Stadium in New York.
Gibbs’ Trayvon Bromell has conquered wind and rain before, winning the 100 meters at the Class 3A state meet. But the cold temperatures made it difficult for Bromell to loosen up before the race.
At the start of Saturday’s Dream 100, Bromell crouched into his stance, feet in the blocks, knees bent, head down, chin tucked into his chest. When the gun sounded, Bromell did not accelerate as quickly as he wanted and was forced to play catchup. Despite a strong second 50 meters, Bromell was unable to make up enough ground and finished fifth in 10.61 seconds.
Cameron Burrell, the son of former world-record holder Leroy Burrell, won in 10.40 seconds, a time that tied the meet record. Orlando Jones’ Levonte Whitfield, the defending champion, finished ninth in 10.90.
“Those were real tough conditions out there,” said Bromell, a Baylor commit. “It was cold, freezing really. It was just really hard to get warmed up.”
Bromell’s main competition coming into the race was Burrell and Whitfield. Last month, Bromell competed against Whitfield at the Florida Relays. Bromell false started.
Bromell’s disqualification in that race played a role in his slow start out of the blocks on Saturday.
“I think I was too focused on not jumping,” he said. “I think it made it hard to get ahead right away.”
Bromell was invited to the Dream 100 after winning his signature event at the 3A region meet in 10.14, the fastest non-wind-aided time in the nation this year.
He spent Friday touring and shopping in New York City. On Saturday, as he headed out of the stadium, he said he was approached by autograph seekers.
“It’s all good,” Bromell said. “I still have the fastest time in the nation. I just had a bad day. I wanted to head back to the hotel and rest because I was so drained from all this wind and rain.”