Nickisha Pryce has broken Jamaica’s national 400m record, becoming the first woman from the country to go sub-49 seconds.

Pryce ran a blistering 48.89secs to eclipse the national record time of 49.30 set by Lorraine Fenton in 2002 while running in the 400m final of the 2024 National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Championships held at Hayward Field in Eugene Oregon in the US.

Her time also became the new standard at the collegiate level.

Lining up in lane seven for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, the Jamaican ran at aneven pace over the first 200 metres before making her move. Pryce led her teammates to a 1-2-3-4 sweep with Kaylyn Brown (49.13), Amber Anning (49.59) and Rosie Effiong (49.72) finishing behind her.

Pryce later ran the third leg on the 4x400m winning team that finished in a collegiate record of 3:17.96.

Last month Pryce ran world-leading 49.32secs at the NCAA South Eastern Conference final in Florida. That performance made her then the joint second-fastest Jamaican woman alongside Shericka Williams, who ran the same time in the 400m final of the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Pryce will now turn her attention to the Jamaica National Trials at the National Stadium later this month.