The Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay arrived in Jamaica on Friday, April 15, reaching the 51st destination out of the 72 Commonwealth nations and territories it will be visiting.
The Queen’s Baton Relay is a Games tradition that celebrates, connects and excites communities from across the Commonwealth during the build up to the Games.
Birmingham 2022 is staging the 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay – an epic journey across the Commonwealth, with The Queen’s Baton visiting all 72 nations and territories, reaching Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and the Americas.
Arriving from Caymans Islands, the Baton has officially touched down at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
The Queen’s Baton, which carries a message from Her Majesty the Queen, arrived in Jamaica as part of its journey to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will be held in England from July 28 until 8 August 2022.
It will be in Jamaica for three days and during it’s time here, it will be carried by baton bearers, including current and legacy athletes, and will visit landmarks such as the Usain Bolt Track, Emancipation Park and the Donald Quarrie High School.
"Jamaica welcomes the Queen's Baton which symbolizes the spirit of goodwill and brotherhood among Commonwealth nations and as we look towards Birmingham our people will embrace the rich experience of being a part of the Queen's Baton Relay," said the President of the Jamaica Olympic Association Christopher Samuda.
The Queen’s Baton will be carried by various sporting federations such as Track and Field, Cycling, Para-taekwondo and the legend Mr Donald Quarrie, CD, who is a Jamaican former track and field athlete, one of the world's top sprinters during the 1970s.
Below is the schedule for the Queen's Baton:
The Queen’s Baton Relay activities in Jamaica include:
● Baton Receival Ceremony at the Norman Manley International Airport on Friday,
April 15, 2022 @ 7:00P.M.
● Baton Presentation Ceremony at the UWI Regional Headquarters on Saturday,
April 16, 2022 @ 8:30 am
● A mock relay at the Usain Bolt Track on Saturday, April 16, 2022, 10:30 am
● University of Technology to mark the partnership between the UTECH and the
The University of Birmingham on Saturday, April 17, 2022, @ 12:00 p.m.
● The Emancipation Park on Saturday, April 16, 2022 @ 1:00 p.m.
● Netball House Ceremony on Saturday, April 16, 2022, @ 2:00 p.m.
● Spanish Town Cathedral Church Service on Sunday, April 17, 2022, @ 8:30 a.m.
● Donald Quarrie High School on Sunday, April 17, 2022, @ 11:00 am.
● Ceremony with the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard in Port Royal on Sunday,
April 17, 2022 @ 12:30 p.m.
Since its inaugural appearance at the Cardiff 1958 Commonwealth Games, the Queen’s
Baton Relay has been a tradition for the Commonwealth Games.
The Relay started at Buckingham Palace on 7 October 2021, when Her Majesty The Queen
placed her Message to the Commonwealth into the Baton and passed it to four-time
Paralympic gold medallist and Team England athlete Kadeena Cox, who had the honour of
being the first of thousands of Baton bearers to carry the Baton through the Commonwealth.
The 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay is an epic journey covering the entirety of the
Commonwealth as it will travel to all 72 nations and territories, covering a distance of 140,000
kilometres. For 269 days, the Baton will travel to Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean
and the Americas, before it embarks on the final stretch of its journey across England for 25
days.
The Queen’s Baton Relay will complete its journey at the Opening Ceremony of the
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on 28 July 2022. This is a traditional and
fundamental part of the Games and the Opening Ceremony, as the final Baton bearer will
pass the Baton back to The Queen. The Queen’s message to the Commonwealth will then be
removed from the Baton and read aloud, marking the official start of the Birmingham 2022
Commonwealth Games.
Ricketts opens season with 14.50m to win triple jump at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts provided her home fans with a solid performance to win the women’s triple jump at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
The two-time World Championships silver medallist produced a best jump of 14.50m on her first attempt that proved to be enough to win in the end.
American Jasmine Moore had a best jump of 14.28m for second while Dominican World Indoor Champion Thea Lafond jumped 14.22m in the sixth and final round to clinch third.
“I feel exceptional. I usually get started with my season much earlier but this year we decided to get a few things corrected before coming into competition,” Ricketts said following the competition.
“Competing with world class athletes who have been doing well indoors as well really pushed me and gave me a good implication of where I’m at this season,” she added.
The 2022 Commonwealth Champion also spoke on competing in Jamaica.
“It’s always a pleasure to compete in Kingston. Usually, I try to do a meet here before going overseas to compete in the Diamond League. The crowd has warmed up to the jumps because of how well I’ve been doing overseas over the years. I’m always grateful for the support,” she said.
Great Britain’s Hughes, Asher-Smith get 200m victories at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith took victories in the men’s and women’s 200m events at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
Hughes, a bronze medallist in the 100m at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, produced a season’s best 19.96 to win ahead of American Fred Kerley (20.17) and France’s Pablo Mateo (20.20).
“I feel really good. I think this is my second 200m race of the season. When I opened up I wasn’t ready so tonight I was just testing out the waters. We’re starting to sharpen up but not as much because it’s a long season,” Hughes said after the race.
“To run 19.96 now, I’m very happy. I just need to stay healthy and continue to execute my races accordingly and everything will be okay,” he added.
2019 World Champion Asher-Smith narrowly won the women’s event in 22.51 ahead of the Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai (22.53) with Jamaica’s Lanae-Tava Thomas running 22.84 for third.
Asher-Smith says she was hoping for a quicker time and has some things to work on.
“I’m in really good shape so I was hoping to get a quicker time today. Clearly, I’ve got some stuff that I’ve got to work on so I’m going to go back to Austin and work on them but I’m happy to have won here in Jamaica,” she said.
NBA legend Patrick Ewing pays homage to Jamaica with Ewing Rogue “Jamrock”
Jamaican basketball fans around the world will now have access to a shoe that represents them to the fullest thanks to NBA Hall of Famer, Patrick Ewing.
The Kingston-born Ewing, through his Ewing Athletics brand, oversaw the creation of the Ewing Rogue “Jamrock.”
Ewing Athletics is an American basketball shoe brand founded by Ewing and his former agent, David Falk.
This shoe draws inspiration from the flag of Jamaica, featuring a black and green leather upper and yellow leather straps to represent the saltire (diagonal cross) on the flag.
A description on the brand’s website explained the inspiration behind the shoe.
“Hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, Pat has never shied away from representing his homeland. While we're no strangers to telling the story of his heritage through sneakers, we felt it was time for a refresh. After all, Pat did put the Jam in Jamrock.”
Ewing, who was born in Kingston a day before Jamaica gained independence, moved to the US in 1975.
After shining in High School, he had a decorated career at Georgetown University before being the first overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.
Ewing then had a seventeen-year NBA career, predominantly playing for the New York Knicks, where he was an eleven-time all-star and named to seven All-NBA teams. The Knicks appeared in the NBA Finals twice (1994 and 1999) during his tenure. He won Olympic gold medals as a member of the 1984 and 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball teams.
Ewing was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and as one of the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History in 2021.
He is a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts (in 2008 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympic team). Additionally, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame as a member of the "Dream Team" in 2009. His number 33 was retired by the Knicks in 2003.
The Ewing Rogue “Jamrock” is now available on ewingathletics.com.
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