Caribbean athletes showcased their prowess in the field on the opening day of the 128th edition of the Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Thursday. Chief among them were the Jamaicans who enjoyed podium places in the high jump and triple jump events with the Bahamas taking gold in the javelin.
Shaniqua Williams and Danielle Noble, both of Wolmer’s Girls, secured a 1-2 finish in the keenly contested high school girls high jump. Williams’ winning mark of 1.73m was also cleared by Noble and Alysa Carrigan.
However, she won on the basis of a cleaner record during the rounds.
Williams said it was cold and her muscles were lazy but she knew what she had to do to win.
“Despite that I came out here and did what I had to do which was focus on my technique,” she said. “The weather was very cold and I am not used to this kind of weather so I had to take a long time to warm up.”
The Jamaicans were not alone in their dominance as Taysha Stubbs who attends Queens College in the Bahamas showcased her incredible skill and strength in winning the high school girls javelin with an outstanding throw of 47.17m.
Stubbs was several metres better than her main rivals in Sophia Scott of Omaha Burke, who took second place with a throw of 44.79m. In a close third place was Eliana Schneider who produced a best mark of 44.78m.
Jamaicans Marla-Kay Lampart and Kimeka Smith were second and third, respectively in the high school girls shot put that was won by Jessica Oji of Livingston with an impressive throw of 14.01m.
Lampart of Claredon College threw 13.64m for second place while Smith mustered a throw of 13.46m for third place.
Jamaica’s girls won the top four places in the high school girls triple jump competition.
Jade-Ann Dawkins of St Jago finished atop the podium with a distance of 13.01m. Jadea Robinson of Immaculate Conception was in second position with her jump of 12.70m just ahead of Celine Riddle of Holmwood Technical (12.69m).
Richelle Stanley of St Elizabeth Technical (12.55m) was fourth.
Nahjahda Seymoure of Excelsior High threw an impressive 48.08m to finish in second position in the high school girls discus competition that was won by Layla Giordano of NV Old Tappan who hurled the implement out to a winning mark of 51.17m.
Able Mills of St Catherine High threw 48.01m for third place.
Mills’ teammate Rohanna Sudlow jumped 5.83m to finish in third place in the high school girls long jump.
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.
Bolt hails Shelly’s remarkable legacy; advices Jackson, Thompson-Herah not to be overburdened by milestone chase
As Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce prepares to bring the curtains down on her remarkable career, another legendary sprinter, Usain Bolt, paid tribute to his esteemed colleague, and also offered words of encouragement to Jamaica's rising stars.
Earlier this year, Fraser-Pryce, one of Jamaica’s most beloved sporting icons, announced that this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris will be her closing act, and it will mark the end of a decorated and enduring career which spanned over a decade.
Fraser-Pryce’s success on the track and consistency at major championships, not only helped to usher in the golden age of Jamaican sprinting, but her electrifying speed and unparalleled grace on the track, has resulted in her being regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time.
With 16 World Championships medal to her name, the “Pocket Rocket” is one of the most decorated athletes to grace the biennial event, and those are backed by her eight Olympic medals. She is the only sprinter to win five world titles in the 100m —2009, 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2022 –the latter coming at the age of 35, making her the oldest sprinter to achieve the feat.
The now 37-year-old Fraser-Pryce, who has won more individual medals than any other female sprinter in history, is aiming to possibly bow out on a high on what would be her fifth Olympic Games appearance in Paris. But win or lose, Bolt pointed out that her dedication, tenacity, and unwavering commitment to excellence has already left an indelible mark on the world of track and field.
“It's just outstanding. I think she's showing me up because that means I could still be running, but for me it's just outstanding to see her at this level and still going further and dominating, being in the medals always, it's just…there's no words, because I know the work that it takes,” Bolt, the ambassador for Red Stripe’s ‘Guh Fi Gold and Glory’ campaign, told journalists during the event’s launch in Half Way Tree recently.
“So, to be dedicated and to be pushing yourself, even after having a child and coming back to doing that (win a World title), just shows the level that she is at, and how determined she is. The women overall have been doing extremely well. They have really dominated the sport. I'm happy to see that,” he added.
Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medallist and the world’s fastest man over 100m and 200m, also offered words of encouragement to Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah, who along with Fraser-Pryce are the nation's brightest talents.
Jackson, 29, is the fastest woman alive over 200m at 21.41s, inching ever closer to Florence Joyner’s World Record of 21.34s, while Thompson-Herah, 31, is the fastest woman alive over 100m at 10.54s, and second fastest over 200m at 21.53s.
“I want to tell her [Jackson] to just continue. I think a lot of times, we go in (a race) and think about breaking the record, that's when it really puts a lot of pressure on us. I would tell her, just go in and run your best race. Do not think about the record. The moment you start thinking about records, that's when you might tighten up at the end because you really want to get there, or you might make simple mistakes. So just go out there, think about executing and just run your hardest,” Bolt shared.
Where Thompson-Herah is concerned, she is the first ever female sprinter, and the second sprinter after Bolt to win the sprint double at consecutive Olympics, as she captured the 100m and 200m gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She is now aiming to rewrite the history books, by repeating the feat for a third time on the trot, at the Paris Games.
“[To Elaine], I would say don't stress yourself too much because with that (the triple double) on your mind, at times, you kind of try to work too hard and push yourself over the limit. Just do what you always do. Do what you know what you need to do to get there. Do not try to do anything extra,” Bolt said.
“Just do the necessary training, necessary rest, the necessary workouts and I think you'll be fine. Because staying away from injuries...I think she's been through a lot, so staying injury free is always going to be the top priority right now, and I think that should be her focus. Just doing the right things and making sure she's ready when it matters,” he reasoned.
Finally, to those up-and-coming athletes that are on course to making their first Olympic appearance, Bolt had this to say.
“Just enjoy yourself. It’s a great experience, so just enjoy the whole thing. The Olympics is a different game because there will be so many things happening, so enjoy the moment. You might see a lot of basketball players, swimmers and everybody. So, the key thing is just to enjoy and to see what's going on, it is going to be wonderful,” he ended.
Caribbean teams miss out on men's, women's 4x400m finals; get second shot at Olympic qualifcation on Sunday
There was no fortune for Caribbean countries at the backend of Saturday’s first day of the World Athletics Relays, as the various teams failed to progress in the men’s and women’s 4x400m events at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas.
In the female qualifiers, Jamaica’s quartet of Charokee Young, Ashley Williams, Junelle Bromfield, and Roneisha McGregor placed third in heat three in 3:29.03, behind Poland and France, who clocked 3:27.11 and 3:28.06.
Earlier, Cuba (3:31.56) and Dominican Republic (3:40.93) placed third and seventh, respectively, in heat two.
Ireland headlined the team’s that progressed, as they clocked a National Record 3:24.38 in qualifying. United States (3:24.76), Great Britain (3:24.89), Italy (3:26.28), Norway (3:26.89), Poland (3:27.11), and Canada (3:27.17), also booked their spots in the final, as well as for this summer’s Paris Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, it was more of the same on the male side of action, as Trinidad and Tobago’s quartet of Asa Guevara, Timothy Frederick, Shakeem McKay, and Jereem Richards, clocking 3:04.15 for third in heat one, where Japan (3:00.98) and Germany (3:01.25) secured the coveted spots.
United States initially won the heat, but they were later disqualified for an infringement.
Jamaica’s Malik James-King, Zandrion Barnes, Assinie Wilson, and Demish Gaye, clocked 3:02.46 for third, behind Belgium (3:00.09) and Nigeria (3:01.70). Guyana (3:09.91) was eighth in that heat.
The Bahamas (3:07.45) placed sixth in heat three, which was won by Italy (3:01.68), ahead of the fast-finishing Great Britain (3:02.10).
In the last heat, Barbados (3:03.72) and Dominican Republic (3:08.15), placed third and sixth, respectively, as Botswana (2:59.73) and South Africa (2:59.76) took the top spots.
Despite missing out on this occasion, the teams will have another shot at Olympic qualification in Round 2 action on Sunday.
Jamaica books spot in Men’s 4x100m final at World Athletics Relays
Jamaica’s men booked a spot in the final of the Men’s 4x100m relay on day one of the World Athletics Relays at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau on Saturday.
Jamaica’s quartet of Bryan Levell, Kadrian Goldson, Ryiem Forde and Sandrey Davison combined to run 38.50 to finish second in the third heat behind Canada who ran 38.11 to win.
Both teams also booked spots at the Olympics in Paris later this year.
The USA (37.49), Japan (38.10), Italy (38.14), China (38.25), France (38.32) and Great Britain (38.36) also made it through to the final.
Jamaica’s women, on the other hand, failed to advance to the final after finishing fifth in their heat.
The quartet of Jodean Williams, Tia Clayton, Alana Reid and Remona Burchell combined to run 43.33.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
