Jamaica’s Olympic-bound gymnast Danusia Francis believes her inclusion in Simone Biles’ Gold Over America Tour is another opportunity for her to highlight Jamaica’s gymnastics on an international stage.
Francis, who will be Jamaica’s lone representative in Tokyo this summer, is part of a group of world-class gymnasts set to tour 35 cities across the USA from September through November this year. Biles, considered by many to be the greatest gymnast in history, recently announced that the tour will feature “some of the most exciting female athletes in the world right now in a way you’ve never seen before.”
“My friends Laurie Hernandez, Katelyn Ohashi, Peng Peng Lee, Danusia Francis, Morgan Hurd, and an all-star team of gymnasts will share our favourite moves and stories and hope to inspire a whole new generation of superstars,” Biles said on the Gold Over America Tour Instagram account.
For Francis, this presents an exciting opportunity for both her and the country she represents.
“It is such a huge deal for me, especially to be able to put Jamaica on the map like that with literally the world’s best gymnasts,” she told Sportsmax.TV.
“I am so excited and just to keep proving and showing and highlighting Jamaica in the gymnastics world. So it’s not only a big deal for me but it is a big deal for Jamaica to keep showing that we are here in the gymnastics world and just stamping our place. I am excited to represent Jamaica on such an amazing stage.”
Valorie Kondos-Field, her coach at UCLA where she was a six-time All American gymnast, made it possible to be part of the tour.
“My coach recommended me and then the people in charge showed a bit of interest and reached out to me initially just to say they were interested and eventually it all went through,” Francis told Sportsmax.TV this week.
“Obviously, because I don’t live in the US, they had to sort out visas and stuff so it was kind of up in the air for a bit so I was all excited when all went through.”
The beautiful and talented Francis, whose father is Jamaican, came to global prominence in March 2019 on the back of her electrifying routines at the Superstars of Gymnastics showcase at the O2 Arena in London. Biles, who also performed, was among the many who were enthralled by how engaging and entertaining her performances were.
She guessed that those performances might have been a deciding factor in the organizers selecting her to on the tour.
“I imagine that the performances that I did in the O2 Arena; obviously Simone got to see me in that way where it was not a competition but you really had to engage the audience. So, this tour is headlined by her so I am sure she had some sort of input as to who was on the tour, so I think it helped,” she said.
“It definitely didn’t do any harm as I think it really showed me in my element doing gymnastics and performing to a crowd and really enjoying it.”
She anticipates she will have a really good time in the USA during the tour after hopefully landing Jamaica’s first-ever Olympic medal in gymnastics in Tokyo.
“I think the experience will be so exciting getting to enjoy gymnastics with so many talented gymnasts rather than competing against each other or competing in general,” she said.
“It’s just going to be a celebration and a huge performance so we will just get to enjoy each other’s gymnastics and cheer each other on and perform for the audiences. I think it will be so good.”
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
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.
Caribbean players occupy top positions on Suncorp Stats Leaderboards
Following another series of top-notch performances over the weekend, it comes as no surprise that Caribbean players continue to line the statistics leaderboards in the early exchanges of the 2024 Suncorp Super Netball League campaign.
Jamaica's Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Shanice Beckford, assisted West Coast Fever to a thumping 75-59 win over New South Wales Swifts, the team of Trinidad and Tobago stalwart Samantha Wallace-Joseph, while other Jamaicans, Romelda Aiken-George, Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, and Latanya Wilson, were instrumental in Adelaide Thunderbirds’ 69-49 win over Jodi-Ann Ward’s GIANTS.
Fowler-Nembhard, an imposing figure in the shooting circle, scored 61 goals from 62 attempts in the Fever’s latest win, and remains top of the tables in several categories – namely, Nissan Net Points (490.5), goals (243) and attempts (248). Aiken-George (148 goals and 171 attempts) and Wallace-Joseph (138 goals and 148 attempts) are fourth and fifth in the goals and attempts categories respectively.
Beckford has been finding her footing at the two-point Super Shot line in her debut season, but it is the 86 centre passes received that has her atop that category, jointly with Fever’s teammate Alice Teague-Neeld and Liz Watson of the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
Samantha Wallace-Joseph (second right) prepares to receive the ball, while under pressure from Kadie-Ann Dehaney.
Aiken-George retains top spot for offensive rebounds with 22 to her name, with Fowler-Nembhard (13) fifth in that category, while Sterling-Humphrey (8) has slipped third in the defensive rebound category, behind Remi Kamo (10) and Sarah Klau (8).
However, Sterling-Humphrey is not to be beaten elsewhere though, as she maintains a strangle hold atop the deflections and intercepts tallies with 27 and 15 to her name. Her teammate Wilson sits fourth and second on the deflections and intercepts lists with 22 and 14.
Meanwhile, Sunday Aryang and Ash Ervin have taken second and third for deflections with 26 and 25 respectively.
Teague-Neeld remains on top of the goal assists leaderboard with 107 to her name, followed closely by Liz Watson (96).
Sophie Dwyer and Kiera Austin have not shied away from the Suncorp Super Shot, sitting equal first with 32 attempts apiece, and both within the top five for successful attempts. Helen Housby sits top of the table for successful shots with 22 to her name from 29 attempts.
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