Manchester High School recently launched the second staging of the Manchester Capital Run, with strong support from the business community and other organizations in the parish.
Mayor Councillor Donovan Mitchell led the charge from a long list of sponsors when he announced that his organization will contribute $500,000 towards the school's 5K Run/Walk, which is scheduled for this Sunday December 10 at 6:30 am.
Member of parliament Rhoda Moy Crawford, and track and field coach Jerry Holness, former head of the school's sports department, have also thrown their support behind the event.
The Honourable Custos Rotulorum Lt. Col. Garfield Sean Green and Mrs. Natalee Nugent-Welcome of the Ministry of Education both endorsed the event and promised to be at the start line along with some their contemporaries to go the full distance, as well as to welcome the finishers they lead home.
Manchester High school chairman, Vincent Marshall also promised to run for the cause.
Principal Jasford Gabriel expressed confidence that they could achieve the $10 million target for this edition which follows the inaugural staging in 2017. The funds will help to defray the high cost of maintaining the various sports programmes at the school.
According to Gabriel, Manchester High competes in Track and Field, Football, Cricket, Netball, Badminton, Table Tennis and several other sports, which are all costly to maintain in terms of transportation, nutrition, medical, field/court costs, coaches and other support staff fees. Importantly, he said that sports help the students in many ways including time management, behaviour and their focus at school.
Race director and coach at Manchester High Kadia Flemmings said the competitors will share in a number of prizes including cash and trophies for overall winners, male and female in walk and run, age categories, high school team categories along with corporate groups.
The fees are adults - $1,800, students - $700, and $1,500 per person in groups.
Flemmings pointed out that it was only fitting that the school hosts its own 5K run/walk, as it has a rich history of performance in the middle and long distances. He mentioned Linton McKenzie, Delroy Hayden, Norval Jones, George Turbo Powell, Winston Skinnyman Taylor, Hilda Baker, the Turners sisters, and in more recent times Olympian Natoya Goule-Toppin, who specializes in the 800 metres.
Manchester High boasts a several Olympians, most of whom endorsed the event. The Olympians, who attended the school include Elaine Thompson-Herah, Sherone Simpson, Nesta Carter, Chanice Porter, Sheri-Ann Brooks, Omar Mcleod and Lorraine Fenton-Graham.
This event will start at Ward Avenue and end at Manchester High School gate. The route reads: Ward Avenue to Andrews Memorial Church, left onto West Road out to Greenvale Rd, make a left and travel straight to Manchester High School.
Asafa Powell's absence cost Jamaica a faster 4x100m world record in 2012, suggests Gatlin
In a recent episode of the Ready, Set, Go podcast, American sprint legend Justin Gatlin delved into the hypotheticals of Jamaica's historic 4x100m relay run at the London 2012 Olympics, suggesting that the world record of 36.84 seconds could have been even faster had former world record holder Asafa Powell been part of the lineup.
Powell, renowned for his blistering speed having held the 100m world record at 9.77 and 9.74s, missed out on the opportunity to join the likes of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, and Usain Bolt in that record-breaking relay team due to a groin injury sustained during the final of the 100m.
Gatlin, reflecting on the potential of the Jamaican squad, speculated that adding Powell to the mix could have propelled them to an astonishing 36.5-second mark.
"Adding Asafa Powell to that already formidable lineup of Bolt, Blake, Carter, and Frater could have pushed the team to an even faster time," Gatlin remarked on his podcast. Powell's absence, while the team still delivered Olympic gold, left room for speculation on just how much quicker they could have been.
Gatlin, a seasoned sprinter himself, understands the unique pressure and responsibility that comes with relay events. "There is a difference between being an individual runner at the Olympics or world championships and being part of a relay team," he explained. "If you falter as an individual, it's on you; but in a relay, it's on the country's back."
Reflecting on the challenges of breaking a world record in relay events, Gatlin emphasized the need for everything to align perfectly. "36.8 is a gigantic order. 37 low is a tall order," he admitted. "Everyone needs to be in peak condition and ready to run."
Looking ahead to the future, Gatlin also weighed in on Team USA's chances of breaking the 12-year-long Jamaican 4x100m relay world record in 2024. "It's going to take a near-perfect performance from a team firing on all cylinders to surpass what Jamaica achieved in 2012," Gatlin predicted.
Coach Shaver's vision: Transforming Brianna Lyston into a sprinting 'beast' but urges patience
LSU Head Track Coach Dennis Shaver has bold aspirations for Brianna Lyston, aiming to mold her into a sprinting powerhouse akin to Jamaican legends Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah. However, he emphasizes the importance of patience as Lyston continues her journey towards greatness.
"My goal over her career here at LSU is to make her an elite 100m sprinter because I think that as a professional track and field athlete, your ability to earn money is better in the hundred than it is being a 200m," he explained.
“But it's still in the early stages. We need to get to where she's just a beast all the time because that's like Shelly Ann, that's like Elaine Thompson. Those people that are just durable and you can always count on them.”
Following Lyston's impressive performance at the Battle of the Bayou, where she clocked a blistering 10.87s (wind 2.6m/s), the fastest time ever recorded for an opener by a collegiate woman under any conditions, Coach Shaver remains optimistic about her development. Despite her recent accolades, the experienced coach stresses the importance of steady progress and physical development, underscoring Lyston's growth in strength since joining LSU.
"In the shorter sprint races, we had her pretty well prepared. She's been accelerating quite well, and her top-end speed, obviously, has always been pretty good. But I think the biggest change for her, in her development at this point, is she's just physically a little stronger than what she was when she came in August," Coach Shaver told Sportsmax.TV in an exclusive interview.
"And I think it's made a big difference this year, her second year here. I was very patient with her last year because I know how talented she is and how important it is that we take good care of her and have her prepared for summertime, too."
In discussing Lyston's aspirations for the upcoming summer, Coach Shaver revealed her goal of securing a spot on Jamaica's Olympic team for Paris. This summer is especially important, and one of Lyston’s goals is to make Jamaica’s team for the Olympic Games in Paris, he shared.
To get on the team, she will have to run faster than she has ever done before. At the Jamaican trials, she will likely face three of the fastest women of all time in Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Shericka Jackson, the latter two over 200m as well.
Coach Shaver believes in Lyston's competitive spirit, sharing that she can run lifetime bests later this summer. "I think realistically, I'm more about consistency than what the PR time is. But I think if anybody, as a collegian, can consistently line up and run 10.90 on a fairly regular basis, then when you get towards championship time, or in her case, maybe the Jamaican trials, or maybe if she makes the team with Jamaica to represent in Paris, which is obviously probably one of her goals, is to be able to do that.
“And I think if we can just get the 10.90s on consistent basis, I think we can have her ready to run faster than that when we get to late into the summer.”
Highlighting the importance of patience in Lyston's journey, Coach Shaver emphasized injury prevention and physical development. "That's kind of been our outlook with everybody that's talented like her here at LSU. You know, we've always tried to show patience and give them a chance to mature," he remarked.
"I still think she has room for growth. And I think that's where the patience and the education part of how the training helps you overcome that also, when we're talking about, you know, strength training and so forth.
“She's a little fragile and so we've tried not to do too much with her, and especially last year. And I think now she's physically a little stronger, and I think she's gained confidence about the ability to be able to consistently run fast in more than one race. But, she's got a ways to go yet and I think this is an important season for her.
“This weekend we're competing and she's only going to run a four by one. But when we go to Tom Jones Florida the following week, if the weather's good, which it usually is, I think that'll be her 200m opener. I'm anxious to see what she runs in the 200m in a couple of weeks.”
McLeod cops long jump bronze with season's best 8.21m; Alfred headlines qualifiers to women's 60m semis
Jamaica’s Carey McLeod secured bronze in the men’s long jump final on day two of the World Athletics Indoor Championships, as Saturday’s morning session yielded mostly positive results for Caribbean athletes in Glasgow, Scotland.
McLeod, who just missed a medal at last year’s World Athletic Championships in Budapest, cut the sand at a new season’s best 8.21m. He placed behind Greece’s World Champion Miltiadis Tentoglou and Italy’s Mattia Furlani, who both leapt to a mark of 8.22m.
Another Jamaican, Tajay Gayle was sixth at 7.89m, while LaQuan Nairn of the Bahamas was 15th at 7.59m.
McLeod's medal is Jamaica's second at the Championship, adding to Ackeem Blake's bronze won in the men's 60m final on Friday.
On the track, St Lucia’s in-form sprinter Julien Alfred, Bahamian Anthonique Strachan, Barbadian Tristan Evelyn, as well as Jamaicans Briana Williams and Shashalee Forbes, all progressed to the women’s 60m semi-finals, after contrasting performances in their respective heats.
Alfred, 22, comfortably won her heat in 7.02s and headlines the qualifiers, as Strachan (7.24s), Williams (7.22s) and Forbes (7.17s), all placed second in their heats, while Evelyn (7.17s) was third in heat four.
Beyonce Defreitas (7.44s) of British Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye, despite a season’s best 7.26s, failed to progress, as both placed fifth in their heats.
The women’s 60m semi-final and final is scheduled for Saturday’s evening session.
Elsewhere on the track, Jamaica’s Damion Thomas and Tyler Mason, both failed to progress in the men’s 60m hurdles, after both placed sixth in their respective heats in 7.73s and 7.86s.
Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin also missed out on a spot in the women’s 800m final, following a sixth-place finish in her semi-final race. Goule-Toppin stopped the clock in 2:01.41.
Meanwhile, Ken Mullings of the Bahamas, started the men’s Heptathlon on a positive note, as he placed third in his heat of the 60m dash in a personal best 6.83s.
Mullings also registered a new lifetime best of 7.69m when he placed fifth in the long jump, and that was followed by a heave of 14.49m in the shot pot. By virtue of those performances, the 26-year-old currently occupies third position on 2684 points, behind Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer (2800 points) and Estonia’s Johannes Erm (2739 points).
They still have the high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m to come.
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