Nigel Ellis sent a clear message to his competition that he is ready to battle for a place on Jamaica’s team at the Olympic Games in Paris, France, this summer.

In the heats of the Men’s 100m at the Gibson-McCook Relays at the National Stadium in Kingston on February 24, he ran a controlled race in what was then a season’s best time of 10.15s to advance to the final.

Just about 2 hours later, Ellis powered to a second season’s best time of 10.09s to win the General Accident-sponsored Men’s 100m Final run in wet and rainy conditions.

He defeated the likes of other Olympic hopefuls, Javorne Dunkley, who was second in 10.17s and Jazeel Murphy, who was third in 10.23s.

Ellis’s time was just .05 seconds outside of his personal best of 10.04 seconds and was a really good time for him to be running in February, especially considering the conditions.

His control of the final from start to finish and his acceleration over the last 20 meters to power away from the field was reminiscent of what he did as a schoolboy while at St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and will rekindle hope among his fans that this may be the year that he does something special.

To close out his performance, Ellis, alongside second and third-place winners Dunkley and Murphy, walked away with gift baskets chock-full of sporting goods courtesy of race sponsor General Accident.

The first-time race sponsors were glad to support the efforts of the next generation of Olympic Games hopefuls.

“A staple event on the track calendar, the Gibson McCook Relays showcases the brightest track stars of the future, true assets to the sport. At GenAc, safeguarding your most valuable assets is our business, and we are proud to sponsor a competition geared towards protecting Jamaica’s athletic future,” Chief Operating Officer Gregory Foster shared.

Ellis, a former Carifta Games 100m champion and Commonwealth Games 4x100m bronze medallist from the 2018 Games held in Gold Coast, Australia, has yet to make a real mark, on an individual level, in the senior ranks.

At 26 years old, Ellis now has the experience required to become one of the top sprinters in the world and must be looking at the Paris Games as his chance at real stardom. 

An overwhelming feeling of gratitude was palpable as athletes, organizers and sponsors came together at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Thursday to celebrate a successful staging of the 50^th Gibson McCook Relays.

The 50^th Anniversary Awards Banquet was held to recognize the outstanding schools who dominated this year’s edition of the meet, which was held on May 8 at the National Stadium in Kingston, as well as honor some of the longest serving officials, committee members and sponsors.

Founded by the late Neville "Teddy" McCook in 1973, the meet has served as the premier relay carnival on Jamaican soil for half a century, which is not something to overlook.

“50 years in the life of any individual or organization is an achievement,” said Chairman of the Gibson McCook Relays organizing committee, Professor Rainford Wilks.

“Organizing and executing a relay carnival with multiple participants requires more than dreams and values. To consistently execute the event on schedule is no mean achievement. These are some of the characteristics of the Gibson McCook Relays that have made it famous and a staple in the Jamaican track & field diet,” Wilks added.

Former Jamaica Olympic Association President, The Hon. Mike Fennell, was the guest speaker for the evening and used his time at the podium to encourage people to understand the value of sport to the country.

“We should never undervalue the contribution of sports to brand Jamaica,” he said.

“In Jamaica, and in many other parts of the world, sport is recognized mainly because of an event, whether it’s Champs, the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth Games but sport is far more than that. Sport is something that contributes to the economy; sport is something that contributes to both physical and mental health; sports contributes to tourism and so on,” he added.

Fennell also relayed a message to the athletes themselves, encouraging them to “never lose your values.”

Now, onto the honorees of the evening, starting with Hydel High who took home the biggest prize as the best overall performing school.

Hydel, who also went on to claim their first ever Girls Champs title a few weeks later, also took home the best performing girls school and the championship events record breaker awards.

Jamaica College took home the prize as the top performing school on the boys side.

Some of the evening’s other honorees included Custos of St. Andrew, Ian Forbes, as well as Audley Hewett, who has been on the organizing committee since inception. The meet’s two longest serving sponsors, Child’s Play and Nestle, were also recognized.

Akeem Blake and Tina Clayton won the respective 60m titles at the Gibson/McCook Relays at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

Clayton, a two-time World Junior 100m champion and in her first professional season, ran a personal best 7.02 to win the Women’s section ahead of Sashalee Forbes (7.03) and Kerrica Hill (7.10).

Remona Burchell won a windy B final in 7.04 ahead of Tia Clayton (7.05) and Jodean Williams (7.16).

Blake, a semi-finalist in the 100m at the 2022 World Championships, ran a personal best 6.42 to win the Men’s section ahead of Oblique Seville (6.42) and Zharnel Hughes (6.45). 2011 World 100m Champion Yohan Blake was fourth in 6.45.

The 2023 Gibson McCook Relays will take place at the National Stadium in Kingston on February 25.

The meet is celebrating 50 years of existence and will return with 43 events in a 12-hour extravaganza.  

PUMA, Television Jamaica, Wisynco and Digicel are the major sponsors along with 28 other business partners which have covered all 45 events for the meet. 

Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Prof Rainford Wilks in expressing his delight is excited about two new events.

“The 60 meters open for Elite Men and Women should add to the thrill of the meet. We are also pleased with the planning for the milestone event.” 

Back to its original schedule, which sees the meet starting at 9:00 am the morning session will have 20 heats and five finals up to 2:30; while in the afternoon session 40 finals are set to start from 4:00 pm. 

The meet, known for its on time running, sees the last event the 4 X 400 meters High School Boys go off at 9pm. 

The World’s fastest man, Dr the Hon Usain Bolt is the patron for the meet. At a press briefing, Bolt expressed his undying love for Jamaica and reflected on his own performances at the meet. Bolt last competed at that event in 2017 for the Racers Track Club en route to the World Championship in London the same year. 

This year's staging continues with a full week of activities including a Church Service on February 19, the Howard Aris Memorial Lecture at UTECH on February 21 and an Awards Banquet at the Jamaica Pegasus on February 23 before the meet on February 25 at the National Stadium.

Tickets go on sale on Monday, February 20 at the ticket office at the National Stadium. Two categories are available for the grandstand: Finish Line - $5,000, Regular Grandstand - $3,500, Bleachers - $500. 

Chairman Wilks would like to remind fans “this Gibson McCook Relays is where athletes from all ages compete.”

The man at the centre of a JMD$3 billion fraud investigation involving investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited, eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt on Friday declared his loyalty to Jamaica and that he is not broke despite the potential loss of an estimated US$12 million or about JMD$2 billion.

The 2021 Gibson/McCook Relays that was scheduled for March 27, have been cancelled.

The decision to cancel this year’s event was made at a meeting of the Gibson Relays Organizing Committee on Wednesday. They cited the “catastrophic rise” in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country in recent weeks.

Since its inaugural staging in 1973, the Relays were previously cancelled on four occasions - 1983, 1997, 1999 and 2002.

The news will be a blow to Jamaica’s track and field athletes many of whom are preparing for the Olympic Games in July as well as the Carifta Games and World U20 Championships in August as it follows on the heels of the Jamaican government’s decision to withdraw approval for the hosting of the Central Athletics Championships and Eastern Athletics Champions in the past few days.

The organizers said they are optimistic the Relays will resume next year.

“We look forward to hosting this event in 2022. Thanks to our many sponsors and other stakeholders for their continued support of this 48-year-old event which was planning its 45th staging.  Since its inaugural staging in 1973, the Relays were previously cancelled on four occasions (1983, 1997, 1999 and 2002).

“The Gibson McCook Relays Organizing Committee regret this decision but feel certain that fans of track and field in general and GMR fans will understand and support this decision.

“We would like to extend our condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones and we empathize with those who are suffering from COVID-19. We implore all Jamaicans to follow the necessary protocols in order to stay safe and finally, we encourage the taking of the vaccine which will help to prevent further spread and hasten our return to a level of normality.”