Leighton Levy

Leighton Levy

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.

US Ambassador to Jamaica Noah Nickolas Perry was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame during a brief ceremony at the Melbourne Cricket Club in Kingston on Friday.

Established in the United States in 1981, the Cricket Hall of Fame was set up to honour individuals who have contributed to the sustained growth and development of cricket in the United States and Canada and for individuals who have played at the international level who have had distinguished careers in the sport.

Ambassador Perry, who was born in Jamaica and attended Kingston College, through his work as a New York State Assemblyman, helped promote and sustain the growth of cricket in the USA during his illustrious career in that capacity.

The ambassador was gracious in acceptance of the recognition.

“I want to thank Ruby Harris-Singh, a neighbour and supporter in New York in my previous life as a politician and as a member of the New York State Assembly where I served for 30 years and honed a lot of public skills to support and work for the people, passing laws that impacted lives and with the intent to improve the quality of life but not forgetting that a part of the quality of life is the pleasure of being able to play sports you like,” he said, “and the game of cricket; I did everything I could to make sure that New York’s government recognized the importance of cricket to the Caribbean-American Diaspora and that we are given rights and privileges to use the public parks and public sites to play the game we love.”

He also thanked the Mayor of Kingston Delroy Williams and Melbourne Cricket Club President Mark Neita and Mike Chambers Executive Director of the Cricket Hall of Fame, and others who made the occasion possible.

“I am really honoured to be here and I want to thank the Cricket Hall of Fame for this recognition.”

 

 

 

 

After her loss on Friday to Shericka Jackson in the 100m at the Allianz Memorial van Damme Diamond League meeting in Brussels, 2022 World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is taking a wait-and-see approach as to whether she will compete at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich in four days’ time.

Fraser-Pryce, who complained of a tight hamstring prior to withdrawing from the 100m in Lausanne two weeks ago, ran 10.74 for second after she was edged at the line by Jackson who clocked a meet-record 10.73 for victory.

Afterwards, Fraser-Pryce, who admitted at the pre-race press conference on Thursday that she was not 100 per cent, said she did not suffer an injury during the race but was being cautious regarding her participation in Diamond League final next week.

“I feel okay about today´s race. It wasn´t anything spectacular but I felt good I do not have any injury so that is the most important part,” she said.

“I am not sure about Zurich I will have to wait and listen to my body but today was really amazing. I love running in Brussels.”

Meanwhile, Jackson was obviously pleased to be the only woman to defeat her imperious compatriot.

“It takes a lot of hard work to beat Shelley-Ann. She's a tough cookie to beat,” Jackson declared.

 “So you need to keep working hard if you want to win. Tonight I had a good execution of my race, so I'm happy with that.”

 

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ran a new meet record to win the 100m hurdles at the Allianz Memorial van Damme Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Friday.

Shericka Jackson ran a meet record to hand Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce her first defeat over 100m this season at the Allianz Memorial van Damme Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Friday.

Jackson, 28, the 2022 200m world champion ran 10.73 to edge Fraser-Pryce at the line.  The 2022 100m world champion clocked 10.74 for second place.

Marie Josee Ta Lou from the Ivory Coast was third in 10.78.

Aleia Hobbs of the United States, who ran 10.81 to beat Jackson in Lausanne, two weeks ago, clocked 10.91 for fourth.

American Sha’carri Richardson who ran 11.29 to defeat Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah in Luzern, Switzerland on Tuesday was fifth in 10.93.

 

 

Rushell Clayton’s good run of form continued on Tuesday when she won the 400m hurdles at the Palio Città della Quercia, Stadio Quercia in Rovereto, Italy.

After years of coming up short, an insatiable hunger drove Ashley Khalil to her first ever Caribbean Senior Squash Singles title in Jamaica last week.

When Chris Binnie won his 10th Caribbean Senior Squash singles title last week, it felt a little more special than the nine others he had won. When the 33-year-old Jamaican dispatched Khamal Cumberbatch of Barbados 14-12, 11-5, 11-5 to win the 2022 title, it was the first time he was winning a singles title on home soil.

It is a feeling he will not forget.

“This is definitely up there for me because I haven’t won a title in Jamaica at the Caribbean level. I have always been winning them abroad,” he told Sportsmax.TV following his record-extending victory.

“All those times I had crowds cheering against me, my followers have just been watching through screens, so it’s great to actually win one here and to have the home support not matter what else was going on, they were so loud and getting behind me. It was great.

“I was super-excited about winning this 10th title. I am just grateful to everyone and this great support system I’ve had throughout the years to actually get 10 titles. It’s been a long journey. When you start, you just think about winning one at a time and then all of a sudden as the years have gone on they have just accumulated so being able to show up every year, play at a high level still I am just thankful for all of that.”

That said, Binnie revealed that playing at home did not make it any easier as the quality of his opponents has been consistent over the years.

“Every year it’s difficult. I don’t think this was any different. You have players who come through always ready to challenge you, ready to keep you on your toes and so,” he said.

 “I was always ready. I was getting ready to play, getting ready to win and treat every game as if it was difficult and as a result, I was prepared and ready to get some good results.”

His opponents were tough from the get-go and it speaks to the depth of talent across the region.

“From the quarter-finals on, there were always difficult matches. Playing Chase McQuan from Trinidad and Tobago, a very good player; Alex Arjoon from Guyana in the semis and Khamal Cumberbatch from Barbados in the final, it shows that there is talent all over the Caribbean,” he said.

“In each of those matches, I had to do different things to win. I was happy to get through them.

“This is a strong region. We missed a couple of players this year due to different things but this was like a stronger semis of players that you would get. We continue to see young players come through like Khamal. He is one to watch for the future. I just hope I can hold him off for another year.”

 

 

 

 

Jamaican Olympian Simone Facey is now a certified coach of athletics.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots will face the Trinbago Knight Riders in the final of the inaugural 6IXTY Men’s competition following victories over the Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Royals, respectively at Warner Park in St Kitts on Sunday.

Guyana won the overall team title at the 2022 Caribbean Senior Squash Championships that concluded at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Saturday.

On Sunday, Yohan Blake and Kimberly Williams won the 100m dash and triple jump competitions, respectively, at the 2022 TrueAthletes Classic in Leverkusen, Germany.

Blake, who in June signalled a return to form this year following a 9.85 clocking at the Jamaica National Championships, his fastest time in a decade, sped to a 9.96 timing to miss out on the meet record of 9.93 set in July 2019 by Arthur Cisse of the Ivory Coast.

Nonetheless, the time was good enough for the 2011 world 100m champion to win comfortably ahead of the USA’s Cravont Charleston, who finished in second place in a time of 10.12.

Jeremiah Azu of Great Britain picked up the other podium spot after finishing third in 10.16.

Williams, meanwhile, won the triple jump with a mark of 13.92m.

The 33-year-old Jamaican has been well off her best this season. She has only managed a best of 14.29m this season, well below her lifetime best of 14.69m.

However, against a less than a stellar field, she proved to be imperious.

Mariko Morimoto of Japan leapt out to a lifetime best of 13.82m to claim second place while Nesa Filipic of Slovenia mustered her best effort of 13.78m for third.

Jamaican Olympic finalist Damion Thomas was second in the 110m hurdles running 13.46 to finish runner-up to the USA’s Eric Edwards, who ran 13.40 for the victory.

Norway’s Vladimir Vukicevic finished third in 13.61.

 

Marileidy Paulino held off a strong challenge from Sada Williams to win the 400m at the Athletissima Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday.

The fates conspired against Jamaica’s 100m women and the USA’s Aleia Hobbs took full advantage to win in the blue-ribbon sprint in 10.87 at the Athletissima Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has pulled out of the women´s 100m final due to a muscle sprain she experienced during her warm-up earlier this evening, meet organisers have announced.

The 35-year-old Fraser-Pryce was expected to line up against fellow Jamaicans Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shericka Jackson as well as Marie Josee Ta Lou in the 100m that would also have Americans Aleia Hobbs, Twanisha Terry and Tamari Davis.

The severity of the injury is unknown and it is still too early to tell whether she will be fit in time for the Diamond League final in Zurich in two weeks.

Fraser-Pryce subsequently confirmed her withdrawal on her Facebook account.

"Had some discomfort in my hamstring a couple of days now and unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. As a precaution, my coach decided not to risk it at this point," she said. "Will have a few days to get some treatment before Brussels. I’m extremely disappointed that I won’t be able to compete tonight and I’m sure you all are as well. Thanks again for the support and encouragement. No matter how hard we prepare sometimes things just don’t go as planned. The last thing I want to do is gain an injury/ injure myself." 

 

Rasheed Broadbell ran a new lifetime best and took a few big scalps along the way to victory in the 110m hurdles at the Athletissima Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday.

Broadbell, the Commonwealth Games champion, stormed from behind and surged to victory in 12.99, which equalled the season-best time by Grant Holloway, who led early but faded to third in 13.11. Trey Cunningham of the USA was second in 13.10.

Olympic champion Hansle Parchment finished fourth in 13.13.

Broadbell was overwhelmed by the achievement.

"I´m thanking God right now, I will never forget this race, it's my first time under 13 seconds and I´m very happy for it," he declared.

"Everyone comes here to do their best, so I just focus on my own race and try to execute what I have practised in training. I started my season with injuries but as you can see, as the season is progressing, it's getting better and better. New training camp, much better results, the proof is there. I am happy with how things are going right now."

 

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.