Sha’Carri Richardson served notice that she might be ready to beat the best in the world in 2023 when she ran a world-leading 10.76 to win the 100m dash against a stacked field at the season-opening Diamond League meeting on Friday.

In the field that included Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the 2022 200m World Champion, Dina Asher Smith, Abby Steiner and Melissa Jefferson, Richardson started well and was on Jackson’s shoulder mid-way the race before pulling away to eclipse Jackson’s previous world lead of 10.82.

“I'm so blessed and thankful, I feel at peace,” said Richardson, who broke the previous meet record of 10.80 held by Tori Bowie, who died earlier this week.

“All I do is the best I do and I'm excited to do it. Like I said it before, I had to be kicked out from another 100m race, so I had to do my best no matter what. Peace, love and life.”

The Jamaican finished second in 10.85 while Asher Smith ran season-best 10.98 for third place.

Earlier, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, continued her impressive from last season when she won silver at the 2022 World Championships, winning the 400m in 50.51 ahead of American Shamier Little, who ran 50.84.

Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland ran a season best 51.64 for third place.

World Championship bronze medallist Sada Williams (52.05) and Jamaicans Candice McLeod (53.43) and Stephenie-Ann McPherson (52.93 SB) were fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

By her usually high standards Jasmine Camacho-Quinn wasn’t at her best last season but on Friday, she looked like she is getting back to her best while winning the 100m hurdles in a season-best 12.48. The USA’s Alaysha Johnson also ran a season-best of 12.66 for second place with 2019 World Champion Nia Ali finishing third in 12.69.

Jamaica’s Megan Tapper ran a season-best 12.76 for fourth.

In the 400m hurdles, Rai Benjamin held off a fast-finishing CJ Allen to win in 47.78. Allen ran a season-best 47.93 while Wilfried Happio of France finished third in 49.12.

The top seven athletes all set season bests in the men’s javelin but India’s Neeraj Chopra was the best of them all throwing a world-leading 88.67m.

Jakub Vadlejch was second with his effort of 88.63m. World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was third with an effort of 85.88m.

Fred Kerley surged late to win the 200m in 19.92, a season’s best. Kenny Bednarek of the USA was second in 20.11 with Canada’s Aaron Brown of Canada taking the final podium spot with 20.20.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) officially launched the 41st staging of the INSPORTS Primary Schools All-Island Athletics Championships in a ceremony held inside the Hospitality Room at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday.

The Championships, scheduled for May 4-27, will see competition among 130 schools with 6000 students in three regional championships leading up to the grand finale, the national championships.

“Today marks the start of what we have come to regard as our marquee sports event in Jamaica for juniors,” said Minister of Gender, Culture, Education and Sport, the Hon. Olivia “Babsy” Grange.

The Eastern Championships got underway on Thursday at Stadium East and will last until May 6.

The competition then moves to the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport for the Central Championships from May 8-10.

From there, the competition moves to St. Elizabeth Technical High School for the Western Championships between May 11 and May 13.

The National Championships, expected to showcase the best of the best in terms of Primary School athletics in the country, takes place from May 25-27 to decide the All-Island champion.

“It will be thrilling to see the youngsters out there competing. They look forward to it and are excited about it and we know we are looking at future world champions,” said Grange.

Devon Biscuits, who came on board as a major sponsor last year, will serve as title sponsors in 2023 and have committed $9 million to INSPORTS.

“We are happy to be on board,” said Brand Manager for Devon Biscuits, Sherene Bryan.

“We recognize the importance of encouraging, supporting and fostering Jamaica’s talent,” Bryan added before going into how Devon Biscuits came on board in 2022.

“We were made aware of the Championships two days before the meet began. I saw a social media post which was made by my dear friend, Trishana McGowan, and I reached out to her to ask if they had a sponsor. She then advised me that there was no sponsor on board. I then called her and requested the information for the directors of Insports and she provided it that opened the door for further conversations and now we’re here as the title sponsors.”

First Vice President of the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association, the Hon. Ian Forbes, spoke on behalf of the association.

“41 years means that something right would have been happening. This is where the seeds of greatness are sewn,” Forbes said.

 

Dina Asher-Smith is relishing the opportunity to compete in a field featuring reigning world 200 metres champion Shericka Jackson when the Diamond League begins in Doha on Friday.

Asher-Smith will line up in a 100m field featuring some of the world’s best during the opener in Qatar, after improving her British 60m record in an unbeaten indoor season.

The 27-year-old took her time to 7.03 seconds ahead of competing in Doha.

“I’m very much a competitor so I love challenging races,” said Asher-Smith. “I don’t think you improve without running against the best in the world.

“There are so many women in the sprints running fantastic times.

“Almost every Diamond League for the past three or four seasons has been super-fast with loads of depth in each race. I’m very much used to it.”

Asher-Smith became the first British woman to win a major global sprint title when she won in the 200m in Doha in 2019.

There is the prospect in Qatar of elite athletes facing off in one-on-one races.

The men’s world 100m champion Fred Kerley has said on social media that he hopes to get the chance to go up against Olympic gold medallist Lamont Marcell Jacobs.

Asked who she would like to face given the opportunity, Asher-Smith said Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce would be her ideal opponent.

She was runner-up to the Jamaican over 100m at the 2019 World Championship.

“I really like racing Shelly,” she said. ”She is an incredible athlete and an incredible competitor.

“I really enjoy racing against her, mainly because I really like her race model compared to mine. It’s like a training exercise.”

Tori Bowie, the American sprinter who won the 100m title at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London has died overnight, according to her management.

She was 32.

A source close to the development said it is believed she committed suicide.

Her management team released a statement saying, “We’re devastated to share the very sad news that Tori Bowie has passed away,” read a post from Icon Management.

“We’ve lost a client, dear friend and sister. Tori was a champion, a beacon of light that shined so bright. We are truly heartbroken and our prayers are with her family and friends.”

A talented track and field athlete, Bowie excelled at the 100m, 200m and long jump. She won a silver medal in the 100m at the 2016 Rio Olympics behind Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah and took bronze in the 200m. However, she won gold in the 4x100m relay.

  Bowie had personal best times of 10.78 in the 100m, 21.77 in the 200m and 6.91m in the long jump.

* In a previous representation of this story, we inadvertently misrepresented a quote from Miss Bowie in an interview in 2017. We apologize for the error and express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the athlete.

 

Thirty-six per cent of female athletes have ignored missed periods thinking it was normal or in some cases beneficial for an active person, a new survey has found.

The Female Athlete Health Report from Project RED-S and Kyniska Advocacy focused on responses from 769 athletes in the UK assigned female sex at birth to questions concerning their menstrual cycle and body image.

It also found 30 per cent of respondents had been told by a medical professional that period abnormalities were “normal” given their activity level.

The report stated this indicated GPs and other healthcare professionals “were not sufficiently informed about the potentially serious health implications of irregular/missed periods”.

Common reasons for menstrual dysfunction include low energy availability, polycystic ovary syndrome, an overactive thyroid or heart disease.

The absence of menstruation is also a key symptom of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). It is a condition which can affect elite and non-elite athletes, and is characterised by low energy availability due to a calorie deficit.

Pippa Woolven is a former track and field athlete and co-founder of Project RED-S, who helped to develop the Female Athlete Health Report.

Woolven struggled with fatigue, injuries and low moods during her career but was consistently given the all-clear by medics to continue competing. She was finally diagnosed with RED-S in 2017 and retired in 2021.

Woolven said: “RED-S carries widespread and often life-changing health and performance consequences to athletes of any age, gender, ability or activity. Historically, it has been misunderstood, undiagnosed and untreated. We’re here to help push for change across all levels of sport.”

RED-S can lead to irreparable damage, impairing almost every system in the body if left untreated.

The report found less than 50 per cent of respondents had heard of RED-S before taking the survey.

One athlete who completed the survey said: “My GP told me it was normal to miss my period. I had every RED-S symptom, but because none of them were ‘that bad’, my doctors and coach just let me carry on. I thought it was just part of being an athlete.”

The report also looked at athlete body image.

Seventy four per cent of the survey group agreed that they had “felt as though they did not look like an athlete”, 50 per cent said they had consciously restricted their food intake in order to improve their performance, while 52 per cent said they did so in order “to fit in or look the part in their sport”.

The report found 91 per cent agreed that they had worried about how many calories they were eating, with 19 per cent admitting these worries occurred “all the time”.

Fifty-three per cent of athletes said they had received comments about their body, with athletes receiving those comments four times more likely to restrict their food intake.

One respondent said: “When I was deep in anorexia, someone actually said to me ‘you’re looking like a real runner these days’.

“I was so unwell and so underweight, yet someone felt the need to make that comment.”

The report also looked at how athletes get health information. It found only four per cent had received specific female health support from a national sports governing body, with 49 per cent saying they had looked on the internet for information and advice.

The report recommends mandatory, centralised and comprehensive coach education on female health to be embedded within all coaching qualifications at all levels, after the survey found athletes who felt their coaches were uninformed suffered 36 per cent more RED-S symptoms.

It also called for the creation of an athlete-led female health, body image, eating disorder and RED-S support network, widespread distribution of an online female athlete health toolkit for athletes and parents to be used from an athlete’s first entry into sport.

General practitioners should be provided with a resource to better understand specific female athlete health concerns, including RED-S, the report recommended.

Seventeen-year-old Adaejah Hodge set a new national 100m record and won the 200m dash at the 2023 Corky/Crofoot Shootout in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday when Jamaica’s Demisha Roswell, Bahamian Antoine Andrews and the Virgin Islands’ Michelle Smith enjoyed victories.

It is not often that Hodge, the BVI’s sprint phenom, loses a race but even so still found a silver-lining when she finished second in the 100m behind Oklahoma’s Kennedy Blackmon, who took gold in 11.06.

Hodge’s 11.11 for second was a new personal best and a national record, eclipsing the 11.12 set in June 2011 by Tahesia Harrigan.

Success Umukoro of South Plains Junior College was third in 11.29.

Hodge would turn the tables on Blackmon in the 200m which she won in 22.31, which would have broken Harrigan’s national record of 22.98 had it not been for the five-metre-per-second trailing wind. Hodge, by the way, owns the World U20 200m indoor record of 22.33 set in Boston in March.

Blackmon finished second in 22.56 while Serena Clarke of Texas Tech was third in 23.07.

Anderson of the Bahamas ran out a comfortable winner in the 110m hurdles. The Texas Tech freshman clocked 13.46 as Justin Guy of South Plains and Taylor Rooney of Texas Tech ran 13.57 and 13.88 for second and third, respectively.

Roswell, the 2022 Big 12 100m hurdles champion Roswell was the only competitor under 13 seconds in the 100m hurdles taking the event in 12.89.

Her Texas Tech teammate Naomi Krebs, a freshman was second in 13.25. Nex Mexico’s Ese Awusa ran 13.57 for third place.

Smith, the 2023 Carifta Games U20 400m champion, had a battle on her hands but found enough to hold off Daneesha Davidson, clocking 56.66 to Davidson’s 56.69 in the blanket finish. Sylvia Schulz was third in 57.08.

Grace Obour of Western Texas College, by a wide margin, won the 400m in 52.71 over New Mexico’s Deshana Skeete, who took the runner-up spot in 54.02. Jamaica’s Rushana Dwyer who attends South Plains Junior College finished third after crossing the line in 54.43.

Zarik Brown of Oklahoma ran 45.38 for a comfortable victory in the men’s one-lap race with DeSean Bryce of Western Texas finishing in second place in 46.19. The South Plains duo of Kimar Farquharson and Jeremy Bembridge were third and fourth, respectively, in the same time of 46.28.

 

 

 

Defending NCAA 100m champion Julien Alfred stormed to victory in the 100m at the Texas Invitational at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas on Saturday when O’Brien Wasome produced a dominant performance to win the triple jump.

Alfred, the University of Texas senior, who dominated the NCAA Indoor season and was named USTFCCA Indoor Athlete of the Year, has taken her outstanding form outdoors, running 10.95 to win the blue-ribbon dash over Texas teammate Kevona Davis who edged Ashanti Moore by 0.004 to take second. Both women were credited with 11.14.

American Gabby Thomas, the Tokyo Olympics 200m bronze medallist demonstrated her strength in the 400m which she won in a personal best 49.68.

Lynna Irby-Jackson finished second in 50.40 while first-year pro Charokee Young was third in 50.64.

Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles silver medallist Shiann Salmon was fifth in 51.99.

Texas senior Johnathan Jones was third in the 400m clocking 46.50 while finishing behind Texas State’s Dominic Yancy who ran 46.39 and winner Brian Herron of Texas, who crossed the line in 46.14.

Wasome, meanwhile, was winning the triple jump with a jump of 16.80m.

Jeremiah Davies of Florida State University’s 16.01m gave him second while Jemuel Allen of the University of Texas at San Antonio jumped 15.50m for third.

 

 

Roja Stona and Akera Nugent each produced impressive wins at the LSU Invitational on Saturday. Meanwhile, Omar McLeod, who is attempting a comeback after missing out on the last two major championships, finished second in the 110m hurdles won by fellow Jamaican Phillip Lemonious.

Stona, who transferred from Clemson to Arkansas during the summer, threw a massive 67.02m to win the discus over compatriot and teammate Ralford Mullings, who hit a mark of 62.16m for second place.

Claudio Romero of LSU was a distance third with his best throw of 50.69m.

Stona’s previous best was 65.11m set in May 2022.

In the Women’s shot put, Lloydricia Cameron finished fourth with a season-best 16.90m, well below her lifetime best of 18.33m set in May 2021.

Georgia’s Anna da Silva won the event with a throw of 17.62m with Ole Miss’ Jalaan Davies the runner up with 17.51m.

Florida’s Alida Van Daalen was third with 17.45m.

Arkansas freshman Jaydon Hibbert was a winner once again in the triple with yet another effort over 17m. The NCAA and World U20 record holder, jumped 17.17m for an easy victory over the rest of the field that included his Arkansas teammates Carey McLeod and Wayne Pinnock who finished third and fourth with marks of 15.67m and 15.65m, respectively.

Alabama’s Christian Edwards was the closest to Hibbert, taking second place with 16.12m.

World championship silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts has been trying to find her best form this season. The reigning Commonwealth Games champion was well off her lifetime best of 14.98m but she didn’t need to be, winning in a season’s best of 14.06m.

No other competitor managed to soar beyond 14m as Tennessee’s Charisma Taylor’s 13.82m landed her second place while Florida’s Jasmine Moore took third with 13.77m.

On the track, Ackera Nugent celebrated her 21st birthday with confidence-boosting win over the talented American Alia Armstrong.

Nugent, the World U20 60m record holder and 2023 NCAA Indoor 60m champion, clocked a season-best 12.52 to hold off Armstrong who ran 12.59 for second place.

Michelle Harrison of Athletics Canada was third in 12.93.

Arkansas’ Lemonious won a close race with McLeod, running 13.63 to edge the 2017 World Champion, who was timed in 13.67.

Pierre Lepage of Athletics Canada took third in 13.82.

 

 

 

 

 

Hydel High had an excellent final day at the 127th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field on Saturday.

First, they comfortably won the High School Girls 4x100m title.

National Under 20 100m record holder Alana Reid, Oneika McAnuff, Shemonique Hazle and Alliah Baker combined to run 44.16, more than a second faster than runners up Bullis School (45.59). St. Jago ran 45.98 for third.

The rest of the field was rounded out by McDonogh School (46.57), St. Augustine’s (46.61), Heritage (46.75), South County (46.80) and Wolmer’s Girls (52.32). Defending champions Edwin Allen failed to finish.

Hydel also took top spot in the 4x400m final.

Aaliyah Mullings, Oneika McAnuff, Jody-Ann Daley and Danielle King combined to run 3:15.63 to win ahead of Edwin Allen (3:16.20) and Bullis School (3:36.25). Holmwood Technical (3:43.13) and St. Catherine High (3:45.03) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Edwin Allen, the region’s lone representative in the 4x800m final, finished second in a time of 8:58.83. New Jersey’s Union Catholic dominated the race to win in 8:44.98 while North Carolina’s Mount Tabor was third in 9:04.88.

 

Kingston College successfully defended their Championship of America High School Boys 4x400m title on day two of the 127th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field.

The team of Amal Glasgow, Marcinho Rose, Raheem Richards and Emmanuel Rwotomiya combined to run 3:15.62 to take the title ahead of New Jersey’s Seton Hall Prep (3:16.06) and Calabar (3:16.54).

KC also found themselves on the podium in the 4x800 where they finished second in 7:47.68, narrowly being beaten by New Jersey’s Chatham (7:47.66) while St. Elizabeth Technical were third in 7:49.45.

 

Julien Alfred’s incredible exploits on the track so far this season has reaped rich benefits.

The 21-year-old Alfred, the 2023 NCAA Indoor 60m and 200m champion and the second-fastest woman of all time over the two distances, is to be awarded a diplomatic passport by the Government of St Lucia, who will also provide her with financial assistance after she graduates from the University of Texas later this year.

Alfred, the 2022 Commonwealth Games 100m silver medalist, enjoyed a record-breaking indoor season the likes of which has never been seen before.

She broke St Lucia’s national record five times in the 60m dash running times of 7.05, 7.02, 7.05, 7.0, 7.03, 6.97, 6.96 and 6.94.

Alfred, the 2022 NCAA 100m champion, was also the first NCAA female sprinter to break seven seconds in the 60m dash and did it three times during the season culminating in a time of 6.94, which is tied for second fastest all-time with the USA’s Aleia Hobbs.

Only Russia’s Irina Privalova’s world record of 6.92 is faster.

 The St Lucian star won her second gold medal at the NCAA National Indoors when she ran 22.01 to set a new NCAA and national record, lowering the 22.09 set by the University of Kentucky’s Abby Steiner in 2022. Only Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey has run faster indoors.

Her achievements were recognized by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCA) who named her the NCAA Indoor Female Athlete of the Year.

It is against this background that her country’s government made its announcement on Saturday.
“St Lucia’s global sprint star and Olympic hopeful Julien Alfred will receive a diplomatic passport and continued financial support from the government to ensure she continues to receive the best training opportunities after her graduation from the University of Texas this year,” the government said in a Facebook post on Saturday morning.

“St Lucia and the world continues to witness the valiant feats and the breaking of records by Julien Alfred.”

Alfred has continued her impressive form outdoors running a world-leading 21.91 in the 200m at the Tom Jones Memorial on April 14 and then a day later capped the meet off running 10.72 in the 100m aided by a wind of 2.4 m/s.

 

Shiann Salmon and Ackelia Smith won their respective events on Friday’s opening day of the Texas Invitational at the Mike A Myers Stadium in Austin Texas where Ashanti Moore ran a new personal best in the 200m.

Adidas professional Salmon, the 2022 NACAC champion, ran 55.83 to easily take the 400m hurdles over University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) junior Alana Yukich, who finished second in 57.74. Texas Longhorn junior Brooke Jaworski was third in 58.78.

Smith, meanwhile, soared out to a mark of 6.69 to win the long jump. Indiana senior Paola Fernandez-Sola finished second after jumping 6.42m with Samiyah Samuels taking third with a jump of 6.32m.

Gabby Thomas of New Balance won the Women’s 200m in a smart time of 22.21. Texas senior Lanae Thomas and Texas junior Rhasidat Adeleke were second and third in 22.38 and 22.47, respectively. Moore was a close fourth in a personal best 22.49.

Moore’s Adidas camp mates Anavia Battle and Lynna Irby-Jackson, were fifth and sixth respectively in 22.62 and 22.69.

Barbados’ Johnathan Jones finished third in the Men’s 200m in 21.48. UTSA’s Dennis Phillips won the half-lap sprint in 20.82 with his teammate Logan Masters taking the runner-up spot in 21.20.

The meet concludes on Saturday.

 

Jamaica College won the Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m title at the 127th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field on Friday.

Their quartet of Daniel Beckford, Hector Benjamin, Jaiden Reid and Malique Smith-Band combined to run 40.97 to win ahead of STETHS (41.19) and Archbishop John Carroll (41.19).

The field was rounded out by Camperdown (41.34), Kingston College (41.59), Wolmer’s Boys (41.71), Mallard Creek (42.72).

IMG Academy, who were expected to challenge for top spot, had issues with their baton passes and never recovered, eventually crossing the line in 49.56 in eighth while St. Jago failed to finish.

The High School Boys International title was won by Excelsior in 41.04 over Calabar (41.12) and Herbert Morrison (41.87).

Trinidad & Tobago’s Queen’s Royal College were fourth in 41.94 while Jamaica’s St. Catherine High and Edwin Allen were fifth and sixth in 42.49 and 42.73, respectively.

The Bahamas’ St. Augustine’s were seventh in 42.78 ahead of Jamaica’s William Knibb (43.48). St. George’s College failed to finish.

Hydel High will enter Saturday’s High School Girls Championship of America 4x100m as clear favourites after advancing fastest from Friday’s heats at the Penn Relays at Franklin Field.

Hydel produced a sizzling 44.96 to win heat 14 and advance fastest ahead of heat 17 winners Bullis School (46.05) and heat six winners, Edwin Allen (46.64).

Nassau’s St. Augustine’s finished second in heat 17 in 46.80 to advance while St. Jago ran the same time to win heat five. Wolmer’s Girls advanced eighth fastest with 47.35 to finish second in heat 15, won by McDonough School (46.95).

The field is completed by Heritage (47.23) and South County (47.37).

The race is set for Saturday.

The qualifiers for the High School Girls International final, also set for Saturday, are Jamaica’s St. Catherine High (47.53), Holmwood Technical (47.61), St. Mary High (47.78), Manchester High (47.82), Excelsior High (48.00), Mount Alvernia (48.83) and Holy Childhood (49.00) as well as the Bahamas’ Queens College (48.32) and Puerto Rico’s Academia Interamericana (48.76).

Edwin Allen will be the Caribbean’s lone representative in the High School Girls Championship of America 4x800m final after running 9:17.28 to win their heat.

In the field, Jamaica secured the top three spots in the High School Girls discus. Holmwood’s Cedricka Williams took first with 57.32m ahead of St. Jago’s Abigail Martin (54.54m) and Camperdown’s Britannie Johnson (47.33).

Camperdown’s Britannia Johnson, twin sister of Britannie, took the shot put in 14.04m. Livingston’s Jessica Oji was second with 13.86m while Edwin Allen’s Rochele Solomon was third with 13.57m.

Mount Alvernia’s Aaliyah Foster jumped 5.78m for third in the long jump behind James River’s Lilly Ver Beek (5.92m) and Friend’s Central’s Avery Lewis (6.21m).

St. Jago’s Jade-Ann Dawkins produced 13.02m for victory in the triple jump ahead of Ocean City’s Sophia Curtis (12.45m) and Western Branch’s Llyric Driscoll (12.38m).

Three girls cleared 1.70m in the high jump with Howell’s Samantha Strydesky winning ahead of Shanniqua Williams of Wolmer’s Girls and Edwin Allen’s Deijanae Bruce.

 

Edwin Allen standout sprinter Serena Cole has signed a professional contract with Nike, well-placed sources have confirmed to Sportsmax.TV.  According to other sources, she will train under the guidance of world-renowned coach Stephen Francis at the MVP Track Club in Kingston.

A talented long jumper, Cole, who turns 19 in June, is the latest Jamaican female sprinter to join the professional ranks straight out of high school following on the heels of World U20 100m champion Tina Clayton, her twin sister Tia and Kerrica Hill, the World U20 100m hurdles champion.

Several calls to Edwin Allen Head Coach Michael Dyke and a call to MVP President Bruce James went unanswered on Thursday.

The two-time World U20 champion was a member of Jamaica’s 4x100m team that set three World U20 records in the Women U20 4x100m relay. She was the lead-off runner when the team ran 42.94 at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya in 2021.

Cole was also the lead-off runner in April 2022 on a team that also included the Clayton twins and Brianna Lyston that established a new record of 42.58 at the 49th edition of the Carifta Games in Kingston, Jamaica. Unfortunately, that record was not ratified by World Athletics because one member of the team, Tina Clayton, was not drug tested.

However, at the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia in August last year, Cole, the Claytons, and Kerrica Hill ran 42.59, which was later ratified as the new world record.

With personal best in the 100m of 11.13, Cole was heading towards an epic showdown with Hydel High School’s Alana Reid at the 2023 ISSA GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships in March but suffered a hamstring injury while cruising to victory in her semi-final heat in 11.17.

Reid won would go to win the final in a new ‘Champs’ record of 10.92, becoming the first Jamaican high school girl to break the 11-second barrier. Reid is reportedly matriculating to the University of Oregon in the fall.

Cole is currently with the Edwin Allen team at the Penn Relays in the United States.

 

 

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