Israel Allen, Rihanna Gayle and Sabrina Lyn all won awards at the 2022 RJR Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards held on January 20, 2023.
Contributed
The three awards won at the recent 2022 RJRGLEANER Sports Foundation National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards have come as a boon of motivation for both athletes and members of the coaching staff of the Tornadoes Swim Club.
On Friday, January 20, three swimmers of the Kingston-based club were recipients of a national award for their successes in both swimming and triathlon over the past year.
Leading the pack in swimming is the now overseas-based,18 -year-old Sabrina Lyn, former Tornadoes Swim Club member, who copped the 2022 Female Swimmer of the Year Award following gold medal performances at the 2022 Carifta Swimming Championships where she also set a personal best time the 100m Butterfly and set a meet record in the relay.
Lyn also won gold and other medals at the inaugural Caribbean Games held in Guadeloupe and set the 200m record in the butterfly at the CCAN Swimming Championship in Barbados.
The talented young swimmer, who was recently accepted to Louisiana State University (LSU) said that receiving the award has been a “very honouring experience”. She said that she felt inspired to walk in the footsteps of Jamaica’s swimming doyenne Alia Atkinson who also received the national honour.
“This makes me feel like I am on track to represent Jamaica and my club and to walk in her footsteps on the Olympic stage,” she said.
Female Triathlete of the Year is Rihanna Gayle copped first place at the the Jamaica National Championship Triathlon and was a silver medalist in the CARIFTA Aquathlon in Bermuda last November.
Gayle also secured silver in the World Triathlon Development Regional Cup hosted in Santa Domingo in October 2022.
“It was a big motivation for me to be there at the ceremony and to be recognized among all the great athletes in Jamaica,” said the 17-year-old, who is a student at the St. Andrew High School for Girls.
“Triathlon is a unique sport, and it takes a lot of work, but I am also willing to work hard to accomplish more and to go further in the Triathlon.”
Sixteen-year-old Israel Allen, a student at Jamaica College and National Triathlon Champion, was elated to receive the Male award and is proud of his achievements in the sport.
Allen has represented Jamaica on various occasions in both competitive swimming and triathlon and has won several awards including a bronze medal for Jamaica at the 2022 CARIFTA Aquathlon.
Head Coach of the Tornadoes, Wendy Lee was in a jubilant mood following last Friday’s announcements and hailed the success of the three awardees who she says, “Have been striving towards excellence since they were eight years old.”
“These awards are indeed a physical manifestation of the hard work that we continue put in to producing Jamaica’s best aquatics athletes and as head coach, I am extremely proud of the strides that all our athletes are taking led of course by Sabrina, Rihanna, and Israel,” Lee said.
She credits the round of successes the club secured in 2022 to the holistic approach that the club takes to athlete development.
“All of our swimmers are actively pursuing big goals both in and outside of the pool,” Lee said.
“We are committed to age-appropriate training of the highest standards for all our swimmers, and we are truly honoured to continue to facilitate and nurture this tradition of excellence.”
In 2022, the Tornadoes secured victory in seven of nine local meets and are already preparing for what is expected to be continued success in 2023.
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.
JAAA blames late withdrawals, 'unforeseen' challenges for World Relays failures
Following Jamaica's underwhelming showing at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas, the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association (JAAA) has released a statement addressing the significant hurdles that impacted the team's performance, including unexpected athlete withdrawals and other challenges leading up to the event.
Only Jamaica's men's 4x100m relay team qualified for a final and an automatic spot in Paris this summer. However, the mixed 4x400m relay team, women's 4x100m relay team and the women's 4x400m relay team were forced to qualify through a second-round of heats that got them into the 14 teams that automatically qualified for the Summer Games.
In their official statement Wednesday, the JAAA acknowledged the concerns of Jamaican track and field supporters and highlighted the challenges faced leading up to the event.
"We share the consternation of the Jamaican Track and Field supporters at the showing of our athletes at the recently concluded World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas," expressed the JAAA.
They emphasized the standard procedure of contacting athletes, coaches, and agents to confirm availability before selection, with a specific deadline in place. Despite meticulous planning, the team encountered significant withdrawals, compelling them to proceed with the athletes who were available.
"After selection and team entry, we were plagued with withdrawals and had to continue with those available," stated the JAAA.
While Jamaica eventually managed to qualify all other teams, the men's 4x400m relay team has been left with the daunting task of running a time fast enough by the June 30 deadline to get into Paris.
The JAAA acknowledged that the team faced unforeseen challenges that impacted their usual level of performance.
However, specific details regarding these challenges will be forthcoming once the JAAA receives comprehensive reports from the management team, including medical and technical assessments from the ground.
"Heartiest congratulations to those who represented us as we strive to keep Jamaica's flag high," concluded the JAAA in their statement, recognizing the efforts of the athletes who competed under challenging circumstances.
Butler, Cooper take positives from U-17 friendly series; eye improvements ahead of qualifiers
Jamaica’s Under-17 men's Head coach Altimont Butler and his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart Shawn Cooper, took heart from their teams’ performances in the recent two-match friendly series, as they welcomed the early preparations for next year’s World Cup qualifiers.
The teams shared the series one win apiece, as Trinidad and Tobago won the first encounter 1-0, before the Jamaicans replied with a 2-1 victory in the second contest at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence last weekend.
Both Butler and Cooper believe their objectives for this, the early stages of their preparations, were met as both anticipate significant improvements along the way in their build up to the 2025 Concacaf Men’s Under-17 Championships, which will serve as the qualifier to that age group’s World Cup in Qatar, also scheduled for next year.
“The objective was to see how we could connect as a group. It wasn’t about the results as we are still trying to learn the characteristics of the players. It was good for me to see them in an international game, and I think we can get it together soon,” Butler said.
Earlier this year, FIFA, announced that the Under-17 World Cup will be expanded from 24 to 48 teams, this Butler said increases their chances of making the final cut for the global showpiece, as he is expecting to unearth some talented overseas-based players to strengthen the team.
“That means more spots for Concacaf, and that gives us even a greater opportunity to qualify for the next World Cup. However, in order to qualify, we have to fix a few things,” he noted.
For Cooper, not losing the series away was a positive in and of itself, as it represents a solid platform on which his young Soca Warriors outfit can build going forward.
“For me, leaving here one-all in the series, I think I am on top. We took the first rubber. They had to come hard to equalise, so we are leaving Jamaica with our heads held high. It is always beneficial in playing Jamaica. This game was played like a proper international game and not like a training game or a friendly. Some of our guys saw what it takes to play at the international level and it is all well for their development,” Copper shared.
“We are hoping to go foreign and see what guys we have that can fill in. We have a number of guys at Inter Miami who played against Olympic Lyon, so we have about three of them. We are looking to broaden our horizons so that when we go back to Trinidad, with the exposure these guys have, it will only do well for us in going forward,” he added.
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