Pryce becomes first Jamaican woman to run 400m under 49 seconds

National champion Nickisha Pryce became the first ever Jamaican woman to go below 49 seconds in the 400 metres, clocking a superlative 48.89 seconds to retain the NCAA Division 1 outdoor title on Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

She smashed the previous national record of 49.30 seconds held by Lorraine Fenton since 2002. Pryce's time was also an NCAA record and saw her lead home an Arkansas University sweep of the top 4 places.

Meanwhile, Jamaica's Romaine Beckford, representing the University of Arkansas, retained his high jump title on Friday.

Beckford cleared a season's best 2.26 metres on his second attempt to win the competition, but failed his 3 attempts at 2.33.