Bahamian superstar sprinter Shaunae Miller-Uibo has her sights set on establishing a new world record in the women’s 400 metres.
Elaine Thompson-Herah, the fastest woman alive and a triple Olympic gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been named among 10 women contending for World Athletics’ Female Athlete of the Year.
The 29-year-old Jamaica, who became the first woman to successfully win 100 and 200m titles at consecutive Olympic Games, stunned the world this past summer in Tokyo when she ran an Olympic record of 10.61 to win gold in the 100m and then followed up with a 21.53-second run to take a second gold medal in the 200m. The 21.53 was also a Jamaican national record and, is the second-fastest time ever by a woman in the 200m.
She added a third gold medal when she ran the second leg of Jamaica’s victorious 4x100m relay team that ran a national record of 41.02, the third-fastest in history
Following the Olympics, Thompson-Herah ran times of 10.54, 10.64 and 10.65 to win the 100m Diamond League title and which made her the first woman in history to run faster than 10.70 on four separate occasions.
However, notwithstanding her record-breaking performances, Thompson-Herah will not have things her own way because the nine other candidates also had incredible seasons.
Valarie Allman, USA of the USA is the Olympic discus champion and Diamond League champion and set a North American discus record of 71.16m.
Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ran unbeaten during the season winning the Olympic title with a new Olympic and National record of 12.26, equaling fourth on the world all-time list.
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won Olympic titles in the 5000m and 10,000m champion and was the silver medalist in the 1500m. She also broke the 10,000m world record during the season.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon is the Olympic and Diamond League 1500m champion and set the Kenyan 1500m record of 3:51.07 in Monaco.
Mariya Lasitskene won the Olympic high jump and the Diamond League and set a world-leading 2.05m.
Sydney McLaughlin of the USA set two world records in the 400m hurdles on her to win her first Olympic title in Tokyo where she also won gold as a member of the USA’s 4x400m relay team.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas won her second Olympic title in an area and national record 48.36. She joined Marie Jose Perec as the only woman to win 400m gold medals at consecutive Olympic Games.
She also set a North American Indoor 400m record of 50.21 in April.
Athing Mu of the USA won gold medals in the 800m and 4x400m relay in Tokyo. She also set a World U20 indoor 800m record and North American U20 records at 400m and 800m.
Yulimar Rojas set a new World and Olympic record of 15.67m while winning the gold medal in the triple jump in Tokyo. She was also the Diamond League champion.
A three-way voting process will determine the finalists.
The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the World Athletics social media platforms. Individual graphics for each nominee will be posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram this week; a 'like' on Facebook and Instagram or a retweet on Twitter will count as one vote.
The World Athletics Council’s vote will count for 50 per cent of the result, while the World Athletics Family’s votes and the public votes will each count for 25 per cent of the final result.
Voting for the World Athletes of the Year closes at midnight on Saturday 6 November. At the conclusion of the voting process, five women and five men finalists will be announced by World Athletics.
The female and male World Athletes of the Year will be announced live at the World Athletics Awards 2021 in December.
West Indies bowler Hayden Walsh Jr has paid tribute to the female athletes of the Caribbean, following a number of dominant performances in the recently concluded Tokyo 2020 Games.
In total, women from the Caribbean region snapped up a total of 18 medals, with the region claiming 34 overall.
There were outstanding performances from Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah who successfully defended her Olympic titles after repeating the sprint double, and was, along with her two compatriots Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, part of a clean sweep of the 100m podium places.
Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo also put in a commanding performance after dismissing the field to defend her 400m Olympic crown in a new personal best.
“I’ve enjoyed all the successes of the Caribbean, especially the women,” Walsh Jr told SportsMax.Tv’s InCaseYouMissedIT.
“Seeing the women from Jamaica perform and bring home the medals, normally you would hear about the men from Jamaica but this I’m proud the women pulled through for us,” he added.
The win by the Jamaica team in the 4x100m was the first for the country’s women’s team since 2000.
Men’s 4x400 Metres Relay
Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago both advanced to the final.
The Trinidadian team consisting of Deon Lendore, Jereem Richards, Machel Cedenio and Dwight St. Hillaire ran a season’s best of 2:58.60 to finish 3rd in heat 1 and progress.
Jamaica fielded a team of Demish Gaye, Jaheel Hyde, Karayme Bartley and Nathon Allen to finish 2nd in heat 2 with a season’s best time of 2:59.29 to advance.
Women’s 400 Metres
The Caribbean secured two medals in the women’s 400 metres.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas successfully defended her title from the 2016 Games by winning gold in a personal best 48.36, the 6th fastest time ever in the event.
She was followed by Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic who took silver in a national record 49.20.
Allyson Felix of the USA became the most decorated female track athlete in Olympic history by finishing 3rd and securing her 10th Olympic medal, one more than Jamaican legend Merlene Ottey.
Jamaicans Stephenie-Ann McPherson and Candice McLeod finished 4th and 5th in 49.61 and 49.87 respectively.
Cuba’s Roxana Gomez started the final but unfortunately failed to finish, pulling up injured about 100 metres into the race.
Women’s 4x100 Metres
The Jamaican quartet of Briana Williams, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson celebrated Jamaica’s Independence Day by running a national record of 41.02 to secure the gold medal.
This marks Jamaica’s first time winning Olympic gold in women’s 4x100 metres relay since Athens 2004.
Javianne Oliver, Teahna Daniels, Jenna Prandini and Gabby Thomas combined to run 41.45 to secure the silver medal for the USA, while Great Britain with Asha Phillip, Imani Lansiquot, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita ran 41.88 for bronze.
Men’s 4x100 Metres
Jamaica finished 5th in the final of the men’s 4x100 metres relay.
Jevaughn Minzie, Julian Forte, Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville combined to run 37.84 to finish behind Italy, Great Britain, Canada and China.
The Italian team of Lorenzo Patta, Lamont Marcell Jacobs, Fostine Desalu and Filippo Tortu ran a national record 37.50 to secure gold and continue the country’s impressive track & field showing in Tokyo.
The British team comprising of CJ Ujah, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake ran 37.51 to finish just behind the Italians in 2nd.
Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse combined to run 37.70 and secure the bronze for Canada.
Women’s 4x400 Metres
Cuba and Jamaica both advanced to the final.
The Cuban team of Zurian Hechevarria, Rose Mary Almanza, Sahily Diago and Lisneidy Veitia ran 3:24.04 to finish second in heat 1.
Junelle Bromfield, Roniesha McGregor, Janieve Russell and Stacey Ann Williams formed the Jamaican quartet that finished second in heat 2 to advance with 3:21.95.
The Bahamas quartet of Doneisha Anderson
Megan Moss, Brianne Bethel and Anthonique Strachan also competed in heat 1 but did not finish the race.
Men’s 400 Metres
The Caribbean secured two more medals in the men’s 400 metres.
Bahamian Steven Gardiner won gold in a time of 43.85 and Grenada’s Kirani James secured bronze in 44.19.
This is Gardiner’s second straight global gold medal after winning at the 2019 Doha World Championships.
James has now won 400 metres medals at the last three Olympics after winning gold in London in 2012 and silver in Rio 2016.
Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor was also in the final and finished sixth in a new personal best 44.79.
Women’s 400 Metres
Five Caribbean women advanced to the final.
Marileidy Paulino of The Dominican Republic won semi-final 1 in a national record of 49.38 to advance.
Jamaica’s Candice McLeod and Cuba’s Roxana Gomez also progressed from semi-final 1.
McLeod ran a personal best of 49.51 to finish second and advance automatically while Gomez finished third in a personal best 49.71 and advanced in a fastest loser spot.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo advanced by running 49.60 to win the second semi-final.
Jamaica’s Roniesha McGregor and Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams were also in semi-final 2 but failed to advance, finishing third in 50.34 and seventh in 51.46 respectively.
Stephenie Ann McPherson won semi-final 3 in a personal best 49.34 to qualify.
Sada Williams finished third in that race in a national record of 50.11 but that wasn’t enough to get her into the final.
Men’s 200 Metres
Canadian Andre DeGrasse ran a Canadian record 19.62 to take gold.
DeGrasse, silver medalist behind Usain Bolt at the 2016 Rio games, will be joined on the podium by Americans Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles.
Bednarek ran a personal best 19.68 for silver and Lyles ran a season’s best 19.74 for bronze.
Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer finished 7th in 20.21 and Jereem Richards of Trinidad & Tobago finished 8th in 20.39.
Women’s High Jump
St. Lucian Levern Spencer finished 22nd in qualifying.
Women’s 4x100 Metres Relay
The Jamaican team consisting of Briana Williams, Natasha Morrison, Remona Burchell and Shericka Jackson ran 42.15 to finish third in heat 1 and advance to the final.
Men’s 4x100 Metres Relay
Jamaica qualified for the final after running the fastest time in the heats.
The team of Jevaughn Minzie, Julian Forte, Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville ran a time of 37.82 to win heat 1.
Trinidad & Tobago were also in heat 1 and finished 6th with a time of 38.63.
Their team consisted of Kion Benjamin, Eric Harrison, Akanni Hislop and Richard Thompson, silver medalist from the 2008 Beijing games.
Men’s 110 Metres Hurdles
Jamaica secured two medals in the final of the men’s 110 metres hurdles.
Hansle Parchment, a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, ran a season’s best of 13.04 to win gold ahead of the prohibitive favourite, Grant Holloway of the USA, who took silver in 13.09.
Ronald Levy ran 13.10 for bronze, his first Olympic medal.
Men’s 110 Metres Hurdles
Two Caribbean men advanced to the final. Jamaica’s Ronald Levy advanced after winning semi-final 1 in 13.23.
Levy’s teammate, 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Hansle Parchment, also advanced to the final after finishing second in semi-final 3 in 13.23.
Jamaica’s third participant in the semis, Damion Thomas, narrowly missed out on a place in the final after finishing third in semi-final 2 in 13.39.
Shane Brathwaite of Barbados and Eddie Lovett were the other Caribbean competitors in the discipline but both men failed to progress from the heats.
Men’s 200 Metres
Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer and Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards will both contest the final.
Dwyer advanced by finishing second in semi-final 1 in a time of 20.13, while Richards finished third in semi-final 2 with 20.10 to advance as one of the two fastest losers.
Women’s 800 Metres
Jamaica’s Natoya Goule was the Caribbean’s lone competitor in the final.
Goule attempted to go with the early pace set by outstanding American teenager Athing Mu and unfortunately faded towards the end of the race, eventually finishing eighth in 1:58.26.
The race was won by Mu in an American record of 1:55.21 and she was followed by Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, also only 19 years old, who ran a British record 1:55.88 for silver and American Raevyn Rodgers who ran a personal best 1:56.81 for bronze.
Women’s 200 Metres
Elaine Thompson-Herah created history by becoming the second person to win the 100-200 double at back-to-back Olympics, the first being the great Usain Bolt who did it at three straight games from 2008-2016.
She crossed the line first in a new personal best of 21.53 to become the second-fastest woman of all time over the distance.
Namibian Christine Mboma won silver in a world junior record of 21.81 and American Gabby Thomas won bronze in 21.87.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran 21.94 to finish fourth and Shaunae Miller-Uibo, evidently saving her legs for the 400 metres, jogged home to finish 8th in 24.00.
Men’s Javelin
No Caribbean men advanced to the final.
Grenada’s Anderson Peters, a 2019 World Championship gold medalist, finished 15th in qualifying with a best distance of 80.42.
Trinidadian 2012 Olympic Champion, Keshorn Walcott, finished 16th in qualifying with 79.33.
Walcott was aiming to win javelin medals at three straight Olympics after winning gold in London in 2012 and bronze in Rio in 2016.
Women’s 400 Metres Hurdles
The running theme of spectacular 400-metre hurdling at the Tokyo Olympics continued as the women’s equivalent also saw a new world record being established.
American Sydney McLaughlin won gold in a new world record of 51.46, breaking her own previous world record of 51.90 which she set at the US trials.
Her teammate Dalilah Muhammad, the defending champion in the event, finished second in 51.58, a new personal best.
Dutch rising star Femke Bol won bronze by setting a new European record 52.03.
Jamaica’s Janieve Russell finished a distant fourth but came away with an outstanding new personal best of 53.03 in the process.
Jamaica’s bold ambitions of chasing a double sprint sweep evaporated in unexpected fashion after 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson failed to advance from the heats.
It was, however, the way in which Jackson saw her bid for another individual medal slip away that left onlookers slack-jawed. Competing in heat 5, the athlete, one of the fastest women in the event this year, seemed well in control of the race early on but began to cruise closer to the line.
The Jamaican was passed by Portugal’s Lorène Bazolo and also Italy’s Dalia Kaddari at the finish. Kaddari finished third in 23.26, the same time as Jackson but advanced when the times were rounded down further. With the heat being one of the slower events Jackson was also unable to advance as one of the fastest losers. Jackson’s heat was won by the Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan.
There was no such trouble for Jackson’s compatriot, defending Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah who advanced from heat 6 after finishing in third position. The heat was won by Canada’s Crystal Emmanuel with Great Britain’s Beth Dobbin second.
100m silver medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also advanced in comfortable fashion after winning heat 2 in 22.22. Namibia’s Beatrice Masilingi was second in 22.63, with the Netherland’s Dafne Schippers also securing qualification with her third-place finish of 23.13.
The women’s semi-finals will take place on Monday at 5:25 am.
The British Virgin Islands Chantel Malone and Trinidad and Tobago’s Tyra Gittens will represent the Caribbean in the women’s long jump final after finishing 5th and 9th in qualifying on Saturday.
The other regional athletes in competition, Jamaicans Chanice Porter and Tissanna Hickling finished 24th and 25th respectively in qualifying with distances of 6.22 and 6.19.
Elsewhere, Trinidad & Tobago’s Portious Warren could not manage to get among the medals after finishing 10th in the final of the women’s shot put.
Men's 400m
Nine Caribbean men advanced to the next round of the men’s 400 metres. Heat 1 of the event saw Grenada’s 2012 Olympic Champion, Kirani James, finish second in 45.09 to advance.
Demish Gaye of Jamaica and Alonzo Russell of the Bahamas also advanced to the semi-finals from heat 1 as two of the six fastest losers, after finishing 4th and 5th in 45.49 and 45.51 respectively.
The third heat also saw three Caribbean men advance to the semi-finals as Jonathan Jones of Barbados, Christopher Taylor of Jamaica and Dwight St. Hillaire of Trinidad & Tobago all made it through.
Jones and Taylor finished second and third with times of 45.04 and 45.20 to advance automatically and St. Hillaire finished fourth in 45.41 to advance as a fastest loser.
Steven Gardiner, the reigning world champion, easily won heat 5 in 45.05 to advance to the semi-finals.
Trinidadian Deon Lendore also advanced from heat 5 after finishing second behind Gardiner in 45.14.
Jamaica’s Nathon Allen was also in heat 5 but failed to advance after finishing fourth in 46.12.
Machel Cedenio, the Trinidadian who narrowly missed out on a medal five years ago in Rio, also advanced to the semi-finals after finishing third in the 6th and final heat in 45.56.
Men's Lomg Jump
Earlier, Tajay Gayle qualified for the final of the men’s long jump, despite picking up an apparent left knee injury.
The Jamaican fouled his first attempt and picked up the injury while jumping 6.72 in his second attempt. He jumped out to 8.14 in his third, with heavy strapping around his left knee.
Juan Miguel Echevarria of Cuba had the longest jump in qualifying after leaping out to 8.50 in his first attempt.
The men’s long jump final will get underway at 8:20pm today.
Natoya Goule won her semi-final to advance to the final of the women’s 800 metres.
Goule took the lead early and never looked back, running 1:59.57 to get to her first Olympic final.
Jamaica’s Chad Wright, in the meantime, finished ninth in the men’s discus final with a throw of 62.56.
Elsewhere, the Dominican Republic mixed 4x400m team of Andres Feliz, Marileidy Paulino, Anabel Medina, and Alexander Ogando ran 3:10.21 to finish second in the final and secure the silver medal.
Sean Bailey, Stacy Ann-Williams, Tovea Jenkins, and Karayme Bartley ran for Jamaica and finished 7th in 3:14.95.
Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson continues to send clear signals that she will be a force to be reckoned with in the sprints this Olympics, after registering a convincing win over the Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo, at the Gyulai István Memorial meet, on Tuesday.
Jackson, who was formerly a 400m specialist, stepped down to the shorter distances this year and has had impressive results. The sprinter clocked new personal bests of 10.77 and 21.82 last month at her country’s national championships.
In Hungary, on Tuesday, the runner continued in that vein, dismissing the field to finish first in 21.96. Jackson seized control of the race early and comfortably held off a typically fast-finishing Miller-Uibo, who took second in 22.15. Dafne Schippers, the 2017 World Champion, was third in 22.70.
In other action, both Caribbean athletes in the men’s 110m hurdles failed to secure a podium spot. Jamaica’s Ronald Levy finished fourth with a time of 13.25 and Shane Brathwaite was 7th in 14.10. The race was won by the United States’ Grant Halloway who took the top spot with a time of 13.08.
In the women’s 400m hurdles, Jamaica’s Janieve Russell took third in a season’s best 53.68. The race was won by Netherland’s Femke Bol in a meet record 52.81.
Shaunae-Miller-Uibo, the 2016 Olympic 400m champion has been registered to run both the 200m and 400m this summer, despite an unfriendly schedule.
Bahamian Olympic Champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo has admitted to having minor injury setbacks over the last few weeks but insists her Olympic preparations remain on track.
At the weekend, Miller-Uibo looked in great shape as she cruised to victory at the Adidas Boost Boston Games, in the women’s 200m straight. In the rarely contested event, the athlete led wire to wire before cruising to the line in 22.08, which was 0.32 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Kortnei Johnson.
The time was a personal best for Johnson, who was closely followed by compatriot Wadeline Jonathas in her personal best of 22.57.
Trinidad & Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye was also in the mix with a season’s best 22.62 and fellow Miller compatriot Tynia Gaither next in 22.96.
“It was a bouncy track, and I love a bouncy track. It was a pretty easy and comfortable run,” Miller-Uibo said following the event.
“The last few weeks, we’ve been dealing with a few minor injuries, but we’re getting through it and just taking everything one step at a time,” she added.
The athlete could contest either the 400m, which she won at the Rio Olympics or the 200m where she has the fastest time in the world this season.
For the second year running the CARIFTA Games have been cancelled.
The 49th edition of the games that were scheduled to be held in Bermuda in August, was cancelled because the host country was not willing to amend its Covid-19 regulations to accommodate athletes arriving for competition.
According to the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC), they arrived at the decision to cancel as the Government of Bermuda maintained that the 14-day quarantine for unvaccinated visitors is non-negotiable, making it highly impractical for there to be an Under-17 category as is the norm and for NACAC to stage the region’s premier junior track and field meet.
Carifta 2020 was not staged because of the global pandemic and Bermuda transferred its hosting responsibilities to 2021. Originally scheduled for Easter weekend, this year’s edition was first postponed to July 2-4 and then to August 13-15. Now, Carifta 2021 has been struck from the NACAC calendar.
“The NACAC Council regrets the decision to cancel Carifta 2021. For the second year running, young, hard-working athletes have been denied the opportunity to represent their respective territories at the world’s premier junior track and field competition,” said a statement from the association.
“To the region’s young athletes, keep training. For those who are eligible for the July 9-11 NACAC U18 & U23 Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica, we encourage you to maintain focus on this competition.”
The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) has confirmed that it will not send a team to World Athletic Relays, set to take place in Chorzow, Poland, next month.
According to reports, the association like many has been affected adversely by the COVID-19 pandemic and was forced to give up on having a team at the event due to a lack of athletes able to participate.
Bahamian superstars Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Steven Gardiner, through their representatives, indicated that they would not be willing to travel outside of the United States due to ongoing coronavirus pandemic and travel protocols.
“We didn’t have athletes who are available to compete,” President of the BAAA Drumeco Archer told The Bahamas Tribune.
“Shaunae (Miller-Uibo) and Steven (Gardiner) camp indicated that they have decided not to travel outside of the US because of COVID-19,” he added.
“And a lot of our elite athletes are still in university and college, who are not going to be released from their duties. So, we thought it would be prudent for us not just to take a team for the team’s sake. If we’re going to take a team, we will take a team that will have an impact.”
Earlier this week, another top Caribbean sprint nation, Jamaica, announced that it would not participate in the event due to the difficulty of travel and COVID-19 restrictions.
The Bahamas were hosts to the first three editions of the tournament.
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