Barbadian Olympic bronze medalist Obadele Thompson believes Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the fastest woman alive, must be considered favourite for100m gold in Tokyo but has warned against overlooking her compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah.
Fraser-Pryce will be on familiar ground, looking to make history, this time as the first woman to claim three gold medals in the event. She would also become only the second person to win three gold medals in the 100m, behind illustrious compatriot Usain Bolt who won three in a row.
Heading into the event, Fraser-Pryce certainly seems set to accomplish the feat. First off, there’s her record, in 8 major championships (Olympics/World Championships) finals the athlete has only failed to win the gold medal on two occasions. Then, there's also the fact that the athlete has two of the top five fastest times heading into the event this year. They include, of course, the fastest time run this year, 10.63, which is also the second-fastest ever run over the distance.
Despite that, however, Thompson insists he will be keeping a close eye on Thompson-Herah. Thompson-Herah is the reigning Olympic champion, having claimed the sprint double in 2016 and also beat Fraser-Pryce this month in Hungary where she ran her best time this season (10.71) and second fastest this year.
“Shelly has run tremendously this year with a 10.63, winning the Jamaica National trials and when we look at her record it’s unparalleled. Two Olympic golds, Olympic bronze, four World Championships, so she definitely to me would start as favourite,” Thompson told SportsMax.Tv’s InCaseYouMissedIT.
“Elaine with her recent victory and near personal best a couple of weeks ago cannot be overlooked. She is a double Olympic champion, she has not had the same success at the global level at World Championships since her victories in Rio but she’s an Olympic champion.”
Naggo Head top INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Central Championships
Naggo Head Primary dethroned Spanish Town as champions of the INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Central Championship, as they easily romped the event at GC Foster College, on Wednesday.
They amassed an impressive 313 points to pocket the $350,000 winning prize, while Spanish Town (236.5 points) had to settle for second position at the $250,000 runner-up prize, while third-placed Greater Portmore (229 points) received $200,000. The surprise package St John’s Primary (155 points) and Southborough (100 points) completed the top five.
The fourth to 10th-placed teams received $100,000 each for their efforts.
It was another day of record-breaking feats, with Nichkolet Brown of St John’s taking down the first of the day in the Girls’ Long Jump Open with a record leap of 4.57m. She won ahead of Shamielia Anderson (4.35m) of Friendship Primary.
Keneisha Robinson of Naggo Head captured the Girls’ 70m Hurdles in 12.16, with her teammate Shenell Coleman (12.92) finishing third. Afharia Anderson of Spanish Town was second in 23.23.
Donte Barrett and Kaydon Henry secured another 15 points for Naggo Head in the Boys’ 70m Hurdles. Barrett won in a new record 10.77, lowering his own mark of 11.36 set on Tuesday, while Greater Portmore's Dwayne Oakley (11.39) and Henry (11.57) were second and third respectively.
In arguably the race of the championship, Spanish Town’s Katalia Sterling outlasted favourite Waivany Walker of Naggo Head in the Girls’ Class one 400m, winning in a record 1:01.04, just ahead of Walker (1:01.11), who established the previous record on Tuesday.
The outstanding Robinson of Naggo Head returned to claim her second gold capturing the Class Two 300m in a record 43.55.
St John’s Primary controlled the Boys’ Class One 400m and Class Two 300m, which were won by Iandre Brown (58.93) and D’Andre Gobern (43.79).
The sprints turned up some impressive displays, but none more than Kashmer Gunther of Southborough Primary, who stopped the clock at 12.08 in the Boys’ Class One 100m. He erased Jevaney Findley’s 12.13 set last year. Renardo McCalla of Naggo Head took the Class Two event in 12.95, the same time as second-placed Jaden Reid of Southborough.
In the girls’ section, Shamara Chin of Greater Portmore took the Class One 100m with a record run of 12.93, while Allia Royal of Davis Primary captured the Class Two in Na13.91.
There were record runs in the Class Four 60m sprints as Azaria Williams of Naggo Head won in 9.15, ahead of Jada-Kaye Brown (9.45) of Greater Portmore. Vaughn Chambers of Crescent Primary won the boys’ equivalent in a record 8.76, just ahead of Jamair Dixon (8.77) of Kensington Primary.
Perez Pearson of St John’s leapt 5.15m to better his previous record of 4.91m in the Boys’ Long Jump Open. Jaydon Allen (4.97m) of Greater Portmore and Friendship’s Damarion Crooks (4.93) were second and third, respectively.
Pearson returned to anchor his team to Medley relay victory in a record 1:54.32. They won ahead of Kensington (2:00.45) and Naggo Head (2:02.77).
In the Girls Medley Open, Kensington won in 2:00.69, ahead of St John’s (2:06.31) and Naggo Head (2:06.35).
Naggo Head topped the Girls’ 4x200m relay in a record 1:49.12, erasing the old mark of 1:52.31 held by Greater Portmore. Spanish Town (1:52.66) and Greater Portmore (1:54.44) were the runners-up.
Southborough closed the day’s proceeding in style. They won the Boy’ 4x200m relay in 1:46.55, ahead of Naggo Head (1:48.18) and St John’s (1:50.92).
Naggo Head and Eastern Champions Lysson of St Thomas lead the top eight teams into the Grand finale set for May 20-22 to decide the all-island champion.
The Western Championship starts on Thursday.
Top 10 -Naggo Head (313), Greater Portmore (236.5), Spanish Town (229), St John’s Primary (155), Southborough (100), Davis Primary (95), St Catherine (76), Kensington (69), Ascot (56), Homestead (48.5)
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.
Barbados to welcome Oman early for preparation camp ahead of T20 World Cup
As the much-anticipated ICC Men’s T20 World Cup draws closer, Barbados will welcome West Asian team Oman to the island for their pre-tournament camp ahead of the global showpiece to be hosted jointly in the Caribbean and United States.
While in Barbados, Oman’s camp, scheduled for May 14-24, will also include three T20 matches – two against a Barbados Select XI, and one match against University of the West Indies –as they fine tune preparations for the June 1-29 World Cup.
The camp is being organised by former England batsman and West Indies Senior Men’s Selector Roland Butcher, who saw it fit to assist Oman in getting acclimatised to the Eastern Caribbean Island, which will host a number of games throughout the tournament, including the final.
“It is great that the Oman team will be coming out to Barbados early for their pre-tournament camp. They will use the period to get acclimatised to the conditions, as quick as possible. We are delighted to have them in Barbados – this country is the ideal place to start their preparations,” Butcher said.
“We believe the time spent here will be hugely beneficial towards them putting on a good showing in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024,” he added.
Duleep Mendis, the former Sri Lanka captain and Oman’s Head Coach expressed his team’s delight and anticipation ahead of their arrival in Barbados.
“It is one of the cricket locations which we all dream of visiting and we want to make the most of our time as we prepare. We have high ambitions in this tournament, and we want to focus on our plans from the moment we touch down in a country which is known for its cricket culture and heroes,” Mendis shared.
Oman recently named their World Cup squad, which will be led by all-rounder Aqib Ilyas, who takes the reins from Zeeshan Maqsood. This year’s World Cup will mark Oman’s third appearance in the last four editions of the tournament, which underlines their success and consistency in performing at the global level.
Oman enjoyed a dazzling 2023 campaign, as they copped the Gulf Cricket Cup, followed by an unbeaten run in the ICC T20 World Cup Asia qualifiers, which secured their spot in the upcoming tournament. They were also runners-up in this year’s ACC Premier Cup.
The West Asian team, drawn in Group B alongside Australia, England, Scotland, and Namibia, will open their T20 World Cup campaign against the latter, in Barbados, on June 2.
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