Ackelia Smith (left) and Lamara Distin
Jamaican jumpers Lamara Distin and Ackelia Smith are among those on The Bowerman Women’s Preseason Watch List in 2024, which was unveiled by the United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), on Tuesday.
Distin of Texas A&M and Smith of Texas are joined by three other athletes - the LSU pair of Alia Armstrong and Michaela Rose, as well as Roisin Willis of Stanford –who have been on the list at least once before, while the rest of the Women’s Preseason Watch List is completed by five first timers.
Addy Wiley of Huntington (Ind) is the first athlete – male or female – from an NAIA institution to be included on a Watch List for The Bowerman, and she is joined by other debutants Axelina Johansson of Nebraska, Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame, Stephanie Ratcliffe of Georgia and Parker Valby of Florida.
Distin, a prolific high jumper who hails from Hanover, has won three NCAA DI high jump titles – twice indoors in 2022 and 2023, and once outdoors in 2022. She has cleared 1.97m (6-5½) both indoors and outdoors, which has ranked her number three all-time indoors and number four all-time outdoors.
The 23-year-old's accolades also includes additional clearances at 1.96m (6-5) outdoors once for a share at the number six all-time performance, plus three times indoors, all equal to number 10 all-time indoor performance. This is the Commonwealth Games gold medallist's seventh career Watch List appearance.
Meanwhile, Smith, a long and triple jump specialist, who hails from Clarendon, won the 2023 NCAA DI Outdoor long jump title with the number two collegiate performance all-time at 7.08m (23-2¾). She registered another memorable performance in the same meet, when she placed second in the triple jump at 14.54m (47-8 ½), which positioned her at number two on the all-time collegiate list.
Indoors, the 21-year-old was second in the long jump and third in the triple jump at the NCAA Championships, and those performances moved her to number six and number five collegiately all-time, respectively. This is her third career Watch List appearance.
The next Watch List will be released on Wednesday, February 7.
The Bowerman 2024 will be awarded in December at the USTFCCCA Convention in Orlando, Florida.
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.
Gardiner among Olympic champions set to compete at Ostrava Golden Spike
Bahamian Steven Gardiner is among three individual men’s Olympic sprint champions set to compete at the Golden Spike, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Ostrava on Tuesday.
Italy’s Marcell Jacobs and Canada’s Andre De Grasse, the Olympic gold medallists over 100m and 200m respectively, will clash over the shorter distance, then De Grasse will double up by contesting his specialist event.
Gardiner, meanwhile, will take on world indoor champion Alexander Doom over one lap of the track.
The Bahamian, who has a season’s best of 44.45, could be pushed by the Belgian, who won in Marrakesh last week with a lifetime best of 44.51.
Not including the few races where he has pulled up injured, Gardiner has been undefeated over 400m since the 2017 World Championships.
Elsewhere, Jacobs has had just two individual outings this year, the latest being a 10.07 season’s best to win in Rome last weekend.
That makes the Italian the fastest of the Ostrava field this year on season’s bests, though he’s also one of four men in the line-up with a sub-10-second PB.
De Grasse, meanwhile, has a best this year of 10.11 and recently finished second at the Diamond League meeting in Marrakesh.
Britain’s Reece Prescod, who set his PB of 9.93 in Ostrava when winning in the Czech city two years ago, will be one to watch, as will Jamaica’s Ryiem Forde.
Later in the evening, De Grasse will take on Jamaica’s Andrew Hudson and Britain's Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake in the 200m.
In the men’s javelin, home favourite Jakub Vadlejch will take on European champion Julian Weber and two-time world champion Anderson Peters.
Four-time global medallist Vadlejch recently won in Doha with 88.38m, which puts him just one centimeter ahead of Weber on this year’s world list. Peters is close behind with a best of 86.62m.
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