Jamaica’s Megan Tapper claimed the country’s first bronze medal in the women’s 100m hurdles after battling to the line in Tokyo on Saturday.
Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who is unbeaten this season, followed up an Olympic record of 12.26 in the semi-finals by running 12.36 to win her first Olympic gold medal, five years after hitting a hurdle and crashing out at the semi-final stage in Rio.
Tapper ran 12.55 to win the bronze medal. The world record holder, Keni Harrison of the USA, won silver in 12.52 to also secure her first Olympic medal.
Bahamian Devynne Charlton finished 6th in 12.74 and Jamaica’s Brittany Anderson finished 8th in 13.24.
Men’s Long Jump
The Caribbean secured two medals in the men’s long jump after Cuba’s Juan Miguel Echevarria and Maykel Masso finished second and third with jumps of 8.41 and 8.21 respectively.
The gold medalist, Miltiadis Tentoglu of Greece, also jumped 8.41 but was determined as the outright winner on countback because his second-longest jump of 8.15 was longer than Echevarria’s second-longest of 8.09.
Jamaica’s reigning world champion, Tajay Gayle, valiantly made an attempt to compete after picking up a left knee injury in qualifying. Jumping with heavy strapping on that knee, Gayle fouled his first two attempts before registering 7.69 on his third to finish 11th overall.
Women’s Triple Jump
Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica narrowly missed out on a medal. Ricketts finished fourth after leaping out to 14.84 on her fourth-round attempt.
The Jamaican was in third place going into the fifth round until Spain’s Ana Peleteiro produced a national record of 14.87 to overtake Ricketts and secure the bronze medal.
The competition also saw Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas win her first Olympic gold medal by jumping to a new world record of 15.67 metres, breaking the previous mark of 15.50 set at the 1995 World Championships by Ukrainian Inessa Kravets.
The other Jamaican in the final, Kimberly Williams, finished eighth with a jump of 14.51.
Men’s 400 metres Hurdles
Only one Caribbean athlete advanced to the final. Both Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands and Jaheel Hyde of Jamaica lined up in semi-final 3 and with 100 metres to go, they both looked in good shape to get to the final.
Unfortunately, Hyde hit the eighth hurdle badly and fell, taking him out of contention.
He ended up jogging to the finish in a time of 1:27.38.
McMaster went on to win the semi-final in 48.26 and advance to his first Olympic final.
Men’s 100m
No Caribbean men advanced to the final of the men’s 100 metres as Jamaica’s Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville both came up short in their semi-final races.
Blake finished sixth in semi-final 1 in 10.14 and Seville finished fourth in semi-final 2 in 10.09.
The final eventually saw Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs take gold in 9.80 ahead of the USA’s Fred Kerley who ran 9.84 for second and Canada’s Andre DeGrasse who ran 9.89 for third, his second successive Olympic 100 metres bronze medal.
All three men recorded personal bests in the race.
Women’s 1500 Metres
Jamaica’s Aisha Praught-Leer competed in heat 2 of the women’s 1500 metres despite injury and finished 13th in a time of 4:15.31.
Women’s 200 Metres
Four Caribbean women advanced to the semi-finals of the 200 metres.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas finished second in heat 1 with a time of 22.40 to advance.
100 metres silver medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was next to confirm her spot in the next round, comfortably winning heat 2 in 22.22.
Heat 5 was won by Bahamian Anthonique Strachan in 22.76 but the biggest story from that race was Shericka Jackson of Jamaica.
The 100 metres bronze medalist failed to advance after easing up at the line and being passed Italy’s Dalia Kaddari.
100 metres gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica was very conservative in heat 6, finishing third in 22.86 to secure her spot in the semi-finals.
Gardiner produces season’s best 44.39 to win at Ostrava Golden Spike; Forde, Hudson and Peters produce top three finishes
Bahamian Olympic champion Steven Gardiner produced his best run of the season to hold off a fast finishing Alexander Doom and take top spot in the 400m at the 63rd Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
Gardiner’s time of 44.39 was just ahead of the Belgian’s personal best 44.44 in second. Reigning Jamaican national champion Sean Bailey was third in a season’s best 44.93.
Jamaican 2023 World Championship finalists Ryiem Forde and Andrew Hudson finished second in the 100m and 200m, respectively.
Forde’s time in second was 10.17 while Hudson ran 20.56. Both races were won by Canadian Olympic champion Andre De Grasse. He ran 10.10 in the 100m before returning to the track to run a season’s best 20.09 in the 200m.
Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs ran 10.19 for third in the 100m while Great Britain's Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake ran 20.63 for third in the 200m.
In the field, two-time World champion Anderson Peters was third in the javelin.
The Grenadian battled windy conditions to produce a best throw of 78.60m, far behind Germany’s Julian Weber and the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch who produced 87.26m and 86.06m for first and second, respectively.
Broadbell returns home for season opener at Racers Grand Prix
One of Jamaica's premier hurdlers, Rasheed Broadbell, is set to electrify the track once again as he competes on home soil at the highly anticipated Racers Grand Prix scheduled for Saturday.
Broadbell, whose exceptional performances have made waves on the international stage, is returning with renewed vigour and determination following his spectacular victory at the Commonwealth Games. That triumph at the Commonwealth Games marked a significant milestone in his career, as the gold medal in the 110m hurdles not only demonstrated his exceptional talent, but also cemented his status as one of the leading hurdlers in the world.
That victory fuelled his ambitions and set the stage for a promising season ahead. Broadbell revealed that he has been undergoing an intensive training regimen in preparation for his season opener at the Racers Grand Prix.
“Every year my season opener surprises me. I may not know what to expect. It's the first race of the season and the first race since I fell at the world championships so for me I’m just trying to get in race rhythm and execute what I have been practising at training. Preparations have been going great and I pray it remains that way," he said.
The 23-year-old, who is no doubt targeting a spot on Jamaica's team to this summer's Paris Olympic Games, will be up against compatriot and reigning Olympic champion Hansle Parchment, as well as American standout Trey Cunningham and rising star Tyler Mason in what is expected to be one of a several explosive events at the National Stadium.
“It has been a roller coaster journey thus far; grateful for every part of it, most of all I just give God the thanks for bringing me through every bit of it," Broadbell shared.
“My preparation for the Grand Prix is just a part of the bigger preparation which is the Olympics and to get myself into race shape for the upcoming Olympic trials also my mindset towards this competition is to just get out there, execute, finish healthy and give some excitement to the home crowd," he added.
As Broadbell gears up for the Racers Grand Prix, the nation is eager to witness one of their own in action. Broadbell's presence at the Racers Grand Prix promises to be among the highlights of the night, as he is poised to deliver unforgettable moments and inspire the next generation of Jamaican hurdlers.
The event is set to begin at 6:00pm.
Tickets are available for purchase online at racersgrandprix.com and mysticonlinetix.com, while physical tickets are available at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
Economic challenges lead to cancellation of Grenada Invitational
Scores of fans anticipating this year’s staging of the Grenada Invitational were surely left disappointed after the organizing committee announced the cancellation of the meet.
The decision to cancel the 2024 Grenada Invitational and retire the brand was made at a Board of Directors meeting on Monday, May 27.
The driving force behind the decision, as put by the organizers in a statement, were significant socio-economic challenges.
The Grenada Invitational, known for showcasing world-class athletes such as Justin Gatlin, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Kirani James, has been a highlight for track and field enthusiasts since its inception in 2017.
The event successfully ran for three consecutive years from 2017-19, bringing global attention to Grenada’s athletic prowess.
This year’s event, which was officially launched on May 16 at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort in St. George’s, was set to feature prominent athletes including 2011 World champion Kirani James, two-time double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, 2022 Commonwealth 110m hurdles gold medallist Rasheed Broadbell, and 100m hurdles Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper.
They were among over 100 athletes set to participate in the international segment that promised high-quality competition.
Grenadian stars Anderson Peters and Lindon Victor, both qualified for Paris 2024, were also booked for the event, making the cancellation even more disappointing for local fans.
However, efforts to revive the event post-COVID-19 have faced numerous hurdles. The local and regional economic environment has made securing the necessary sponsorship and support exceedingly difficult.
“Despite the best efforts of the Board of Directors and the Local Organising Team of the Grenada Invitational, the synergy, the enthusiasm, the energy, and the commitment to produce a once-in-a-generation event did not materialize,” the organizers stated.
The statement continued, “With time running out, the Board of Directors of the Grenada Invitational took the painful decision at a meeting late Monday May 27 to cancel the 2024 Grenada Invitational, as well as round up, for good, the franchise and brand that is Grenada Invitational.”
“We are extremely pleased that we were able to bring to Grenada quality, world class athletic competition. We would like to commend and extend a hearty thank you to all who contributed, in one way or the other, to the 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions of the Grenada Invitational.”
Organizers then encouraged Grenadians to look back at the previous editions with pride while singling out Grenadian athletes such as Kirani James, Anderson Peters and Lindon Victor as inspirations behind the meet.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
