Texas junior Ackelia Smith made history at the recently concluded NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships when she became the first Longhorn to ever sweep the horizontal jumps.

Smith first defended her title in the long-jump event on Thursday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon with a mark of 6.79 meters, becoming the first Texas woman to win back-to-back titles in 18 years.

Two days later, the 22-year-old won the triple-jump title with a season’s best mark of 14.52m. 

In an interview with CITIUS MAG after her win in the triple jump, Smith, who is now a three-time NCAA Champion, expressed her joy at winning the double.

“I am so happy that I could come out there and get both of them done for my team and for myself. I was a little mopey about the long jump but I got back to the triple definitely took it out there,” she said.

“When I got to the triple jump I just told myself ‘hey, we’re here to compete.’ I was trying to get a personal best and, even though I did not get that, I was pretty consistent with my jumps,” she added.

In the long jump competition, half of Smith’s six attempts were fouls and her three legal jumps were the winning 6.79m, 5.21m and 6.77m.

She had a much better and more consistent showing in the triple jump, producing four legal jumps that all cleared 14m.

Smith says the key in the triple jump was to embrace the nervousness a bit more.

“I re-evaluated what I did for the long jump and realized that I might’ve been a bit too comfortable so I went out there trying to be more anxious and keep that edge. That’s what pushed me through out there,” she said.

Smith is a part of a golden generation of young Jamaican jumpers and sees a bright future for the island nation in the discipline.

“Growing up I used to hear about Kimberly Williams then after Kimberly came Shanieka (Ricketts). I’ve been looking up to these ladies and it’s been great to see the Jamaican jumps growing, especially the triple because not many people do the triple,” she said.

“It’s good to see actual growth and I’ve seen a lot more Jamaicans competing here at the championships. I think it’s wonderful for the future. Even on the guys side, it definitely looks good for Jamaica in the jumps,” Smith added.

Her next goal is to make it onto Jamaica’s team to the Paris Olympics and, hopefully, find herself on the podium at those Games.

The Jamaican trials are set for June 27-30 at the National Stadium in Kingston.

Lorraine Fenton’s 22-year-old Jamaican 400m record is no more as Arkansas senior Nickisha Pryce produced an excellent display to establish a new mark in a winning effort at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday.

Pryce produced a time of 48.89 to win gold and smash Fenton’s previous mark of 49.30 set back in 2002.

The 23-year-old’s time is also a collegiate record, erasing Britton Wilson’s 49.13 done in 2023.

Arkansas occupied the first four spots in Saturday’s final through Kaylyn Brown (49.13), Amber Anning (49.59) and Rosey Effiong (49.72).

In the Women’s 100m, LSU’s Brianna Lyston produced 10.89 (2.2 m/s) for second behind Ole Miss senior McKenzie Long who won in 10.82. Texas Tech senior Rosemary Chukwuma was third in 10.90.

On May 25, 2024, Ingrid Graham made history as the first ever female to be elected as President of the Jamaica Table Tennis Association.

Graham secured 14 votes compared to 10 received by her opponent Colette Palmer at the elections held at the Sports Development Foundation in Kingston.

“It’s really a great honour to be in that capacity,” Graham told Sportsmax.tv in an interview this week.

“It just tells to show our young ladies that the sky is the limit and nothing is unreachable to them as long as the interest is there and they love it and have a passion for it,” she added.

The journey to get to this point was not without its ups and downs according to the President.

“It was a strenuous journey and a tiresome one. Sometimes you think of giving up but when I look back on all the children and young ladies and the development of Table Tennis and where it really has taken them, I decided to continue,” she said.

Graham got right to work after winning the election with her immediate attention going to organizing trials to select Jamaica’s teams to the Caribbean Mini and Pre-Cadet Championships set for July 1-7 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

“In the one week that I was in office I was tasked with basically putting on a trial for the Under-11 and Under-13 Pre and Mini Cadets who should be going to the Dominican Republic from June 29.”

Graham says she has also reached out to a number of players and entities to try and send the “excellent” team of youngsters to the tournament.

“The good thing about this set is that we have five children on this team who are from the inner city and they are very talented. They love this sport and they put in their everything they have,” she said.

In addition to planning those trials, which were held at the Excelsior High School, Graham says her and her team are currently planning a one-day rally for Prep and Primary Schools.

“We have not had a proper competition since 2019. Last year, myself, Skills Unlimited Table Tennis Academy (SUTTA), the Kingston and St Andrew Table Tennis Association (KSATTA), and Supersonic Table Tennis Club and the JTTA, we all came together and hosted a one-day rally which was excellent and well supported by the schools. We even had sponsors come on board last minute to assist us,” she said.

“We’re doing the same thing this year. We’re currently planning that and I have to be seeking funding and resources for the team to leave on June 29 for the Pre and Mini cadet,” Graham added.

While admitting that a lot of work needs to be done, she remains confident that her and her team will be able to get the job done.

“It can happen and it will happen. It’s a lot of work but once the structures are in place and persons are dedicated to the cause, we will get there,” she said.

That team consists of First Vice President Andrea Murray, Second Vice President Simon Lei, General Secretary Sean Wallace and Treasurer David White. Wallace will be assisted by Konata Beluchi while White be assisted by Mark Edwards and Errol Howlett.

The Council members include former national champion Simon Tomlinson, current national champion Mark Phillips, Matthew Dawson, Kevin Peterkin and Lisette Wilson.

“We have a diverse team. We have persons in the field of media, accounting, persons who operate their own businesses. We are aiming for positive output, unity, transparency and accountability,” she said.

“We want the entire Jamaica to know that whatever we’re tasked with, we’re going to fulfil it. Each sponsor that comes on board, they will get a report of players participation as well as documentation of hos the resources were spent,” Graham added.

Arkansas senior Romaine Beckford successfully defended his NCAA Division I Outdoor high jump title on day three of the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene on Friday.

The 21-year-old cleared a height of 2.26m on his second attempt to add to his gold medal at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.

The reigning Jamaican national champion also had three unsuccessful attempts at 2.33m, a jump that would’ve secured a personal best and the Olympic qualifying standard.

Nebraska junior Tyus Wilson was second with 2.23m while Arkansas-Pine Bluff senior Caleb Snowden was third with a similar height.

Jamaican USC freshman Racquil Broderick produced 61.77m to finish second in the men’s discus behind South Alabama senior Francois Prinsloo (63.51m).

Kansas junior Dimitrios Pavlidis was third with 60.97m.

The men’s 400m final saw Jamaican Florida senior Jevaughn Powell produce a big personal best 44.54 to finish third behind Georgia sophomore Christopher Morales Williams (44.47) and Alabama freshman Samuel Ogazi (44.52).

Jamaican Clemson senior Tarees Rhoden was also in personal best form with 1:45.70 for fourth in the 800m final behind Virginia senior Shane Cohen (1:44.97), Texas A&M junior Sam Whitmarsh (1:45.10) and Iowa State junior Finley McLear (1:45.66).

Vincentian 800m record holder Shafiqua Maloney says she’s right were she needs to be ahead of the Olympics in Paris this summer.

The 25-year-old former Arkansas Razorback most recently competed at the Edwin Moses Legends Meet at Morehouse College in Atlanta on May 31 where she won the women’s 800m in 1:59.31, her fastest outdoor time of the season.

“I think I’m where I need to be,” Maloney said in an interview with Trackalerts after her race.

“Not happy with it but it could’ve been worse,” she said about her time.

“I finished healthy and ran faster than I did two weeks ago so I’m taking the positives and moving on,” she added.

This summer will be Maloney’s second experience at the Olympic Games. She failed to advance from the heats at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

She hopes to go two-rounds further in Paris.

“The goal is always Paris so when I get there I’ll take it one round at a time. Hopefully, I make the final. That’s the plan so we’ll see what happens,” she said adding that once she executes properly, anything is possible.

“I think everybody that goes to the Olympics wants a medal, that’s one of the things on my mind. The most important thing is to focus on practice and competition. When you focus on executing your races everything else will fall in place,” she added.

Jamaicans Tarees Rhoden and Kimar Farquharson both advanced to the final of the men’s 800m on day one of the 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Oregon on Wednesday.

Rhoden, a senior at Clemson, and Farquharson, a junior at Texas A&M, were both in the second of three semi-finals.

In the heat won by Farquharson’s teammate and current NCAA leader Sam Whitmarsh in 1:46.01, Rhoden ran 1:46.18 to be the second automatic qualifier for the final while Farquharson was third in 1:46.32 to advance as the fastest non-automatic qualifier.

Bahamian Florida junior Wanya McCoy ran 10.15 and 20.22 to advance to the finals of both the 100m and 200m.

Jamaican Florida senior Jevaughn Powell (45.17) and junior Reheem Hayles (45.59) both advanced to the final of the one lap event.

All those finals are set for Friday.

Elsewhere, in a massive upset, World Championship long jump silver medallist Wayne Pinnock’s best jump of 7.98m was only good enough for fifth in the men’s long jump.

USC sophomore JC Stevenson produced a personal best 8.22m to win ahead of Florida State senior Jeremiah Davis (8.07m) and Florida junior Malcolm Clemons (8.05m).

Clemson junior Courtney Lawrence threw a personal best 19.92m for fifth in the men’s shot put won by Ole Miss sophomore Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan in a personal best and collegiate-leading 20.88m.

Wisconsin’s Jason Swarens (20.38m) and South Carolina’s Dylan Taggart (20.23m) were second and third.

Bahamian national record holder and Auburn sophomore Keyshawn Strachan threw 74.95m for fifth in the men’s javelin.

Georgia’s Marc Minichello threw 80.70m to win ahead of Washington’s Chandler Ault (79.31m) and Miami’s Devoux Deysel (75.14m).

Jamaican Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight secured his third win in a row and seventh win in his last eight fights with a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian veteran Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos at UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday.

The 33-year-old Brown won two out of three rounds on all three of the judges scorecards to move his overall MMA record to 19-5.

Despite the win, Brown, in the post-fight interview, maintained that he still has work to do to get to where he needs to be to be a top contender.

“Still not happy. We got work to do. Skills pay the bills,” Brown said.

Brown then gave love to his Jamaican fans.

“You know I have to big up Jamaica. I have to big up all my people. We’re here on the biggest stage doing a lot. Big up Spanish Town, Old Harbour, the whole of St. Catherine,” Brown said.

The night could’ve gone much differently for Brown as he fought the final two rounds of the fight with a broken foot.

“I broke the foot close to the big toe knuckle at the instep,” he told SportsMax.tv on Tuesday.

“It happened one minute into the first round,” he added.

When asked about who he wants to fight next, Brown called out number 10 ranked Welterweight, Geoff Neal.

“Come on Geoff Neal, it’s my time. I didn’t get the finish tonight but I’ve got to get to the top 15. I’m on a mission right now. It’s my time and I’ll do whatever it takes,” he said.

“Geoff Neal, you are that guy right now and I need you. Come on let’s do this. You don’t have a fight so let’s go,” he added.

Neal is 2-3 in his last five fights and has an overall record of 15-6 in MMA.

Mentoring young girls and women continues to be one of Veronica Campbell-Brown's main aims even after her retirement from the sport of track and field in 2021.

The eight-time Olympic medalist spoke during an interview at the Edwin Moses Legends Meet held at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Saturday.

“It is important to me to mentor not only Jamaican track & field but females in general because, growing up, I had a lot of influential women there to support and inspire me,” she said.

“Inspiring others is one of the things that I’m passionate about because I know that a lot it’s not just about your talent or how good you are, it’s about how mentally tough and resilient you are to go towards your goals and get over the hurdles and obstacles that are in your way,” Campbell-Brown added.

Most of her motivational work is done through her foundation, Veronica Campbell-Brown Foundation.

“I’m very interested in motivating and I’m always doing that. I motivate girls through my foundation and every chance I get, I try to inspire and uplift girls and women to achieve their goals no matter the obstacles they face,” she said.

Campbell-Brown also offered her opinion on the rise of women’s sports in general.

“It’s continuing to rise and get more respect and attention which is great. It takes the entire world to come behind all of us and just motivate, push and support us because as women we have to work extra hard to achieve what we want and to break down the glass ceiling,” she stated.

The 42-year-old is the second of three women in history to win consecutive Olympic 200m titles and is also one of only nine athletes to win world championships at the youth, junior, and senior levels.

She boasts personal bests of 10.76 seconds in the 100m and 21.74 seconds in the 200m.

Campbell-Brown was the 100m gold medalist at the 2007 World Championships and the 200m gold medalist at the 2011 World Championships.

Throughout her illustrious career, she has also secured seven silver medals and one bronze medal at the World Championships.

She is also a two-time World Indoor champion over 60m.

Arnett Gardens forward Fabian Reid is excited for the chance to help the Reggae Boyz qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On the back of a Jamaica Premier League season that saw him score 13 goals in 18 appearances, the 32-year-old has been included in Head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson’s squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against The Dominican Republic and Dominica.

The team will host Dom Rep on June 6 before facing Dominica away three days later.

“It feels good to be in camp with the boys for these big games. It’s where I’ve always wanted to be,” Reid said in an interview on Monday.

“I feel excited because it is a dream for me to play in World Cup Qualifying and being my country to the World Cup,” he added.

Reid made seven appearances for the Reggae Boyz from 2017-2018, scoring three goals. All those appearances came in friendlies.

After six years out of the mix, he made his return to the Reggae Boyz squad in a pair of friendlies against the Soca Warriors at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in March, providing the assist for Kaheim Dixon’s game-winning goal in the first encounter.

“To be back is nice. We did a good job in the away games against Trinidad. If we can take it a game at a time it would be good for us,” Reid said before reiterating the importance of the upcoming games.

“This is a big one so we have to get it together because we really want to qualify. I think this is the right time now because, like I said, I’ve always dreamed to bring Jamaica to the World Cup. Now we have the chance to deliver for the country,” he added.

World Under-20 record holder Jaydon Hibbert produced a world leading 17.75m to win the triple jump at the Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

Hibbert opened his competition with 16.45m in the first round before going out to 17.14m in the second round, giving the National Stadium crowd a sign of things to come.

The third round saw him produce a then-meet record of 17.30m before, in round four, he produced a stadium record and world leading 17.75m to secure the victory.

O’Brien Wasome produced 16.64m for second while Jordan Scott was third with 16.06m.

“I was satisfied with the third and fourth jump of the series,” Hibbert said after the competition.

Oblique Seville and Julien Alfred produced a pair of scintillating performances to claim the 100m titles at the Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

Seville produced a personal best and world leading 9.82 to claim the men’s race ahead of American World champion Noah Lyles and Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala.

Lyles’s time in second was a season’s best 9.85 while Omanyala ran 10.02 in third.

“I came out here in front of my Jamaican fans looking for a personal best and to get it today means a lot to me,” Seville said after the race.

“I just came out here to deliver. You’re always going to have ups and downs with the wind but you just have to run through it,” he added.

“As long as I’m healthy, expect good things,” was Seville’s response when asked about what fans can expect from him at Jamaica’s Olympic trials set for June 27-30.

In the women’s equivalent, St. Lucian World Indoor champion Julien Alfred sped to a personal best and meet record 10.78 to win ahead of Krystal Sloley who broke 11 seconds for the first time with 10.99 in second and Shashalee Forbes who ran a season’s best 11.05 in third.

Alfred says she didn’t expect to run that fast.

“I wanted to come out here and just work on execution. I didn’t expect that time and that’s why I was smiling so much,” she said.

Reigning Jamaican national champion Traves Smikle took the win in the men’s discus throw at the Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

Smikle, a five-time national champion, produced 65.65m to win ahead of Samoa’s Alex Rose who threw 65.02m and American Reggie Jagers III who threw 64.64m.

Despite the win, Smikle admitted that his performance wasn’t up to his usual world class standards.

“I wasn’t my best today based on my standard and how I know I am but, at the same time, I’m in a competition where I have to go out there and do it, I’m competing against some of the best in the world and I am in my home town so I had to deliver,” Smikle said.

Lanae-Tava Thomas looked impressive on her way to a new personal best to win the 200m title at the Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

The 23-year-old produced 22.36, bettering her previous lifetime best 22.38 done in 2023, to win ahead of fellow Jamaicans Ashanti Moore who ran a season’s best 22.74 in second and Jodean Williams who ran 22.95, also a season’s best.

Her coach Edrick Floreal previously told SportsMax.tv earlier this season that he believes Thomas can run as fast as 21.7 this season.

“He knows. Even if I don’t believe I can do it, if he says I can do it I’m stepping on the track and I’m going to do it,” Thomas said when asked about that prediction after the race.

“All my coach told me to come here and do was execute the first 150, and I did that and I ended up finishing as strong as I could so that makes me know that, the last 50, all I needed to do was execute the last 50 to dominate the race,” she added.

The men’s equivalent saw Trinidadian World Championship bronze medallist Jereem Richards run 20.13 to take the win ahead of Nigeria’s Udodi Onwuzurike (20.27) and Jamaica’s Bryan Levell who ran a season’s best 20.48 in third.

Richards, who has competed in both the 200m and 400m this season, says he has yet to decide on which event he will focus on in Paris.

“I’m just going to run both events throughout the season and see which is the best one. As late as possible, I will make my pick,” he said.

Richards says his plan was to use his 400m strength to outlast his competitors.

“Udodi is my training partner. I know he’s very fast but I know I’m very strong right no too. I just tried my best to stay relaxed even though somebody tried to pull away from me. I could slowly see my speed getting there so I’m excited for what the rest of the season holds,” Richards added.

Jamaican Stacey-Ann Williams and Nigerian Emmanuel Bamidele emerged victorious in the women’s and men’s 400m, respectively, at the Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

Williams reeled in American Lynna Irby-Jackson in the final stages of the race to win in 50.86. Irby-Jackson’s time in second was 51.05 while Charokee Young was third in 51.86.

“It has been a season of many ups and downs so to get the win tonight, it feels pretty good. I’m excited about the time. It’s a stepping stone to national trials,” Williams said after the race.

Williams says there are still things she needs to work on before she can compete with the top runners in the world.

“There’s always things to work on. The times for the other women are way ahead and I feel like I want to be where they are so I have so many things to work on going forward,” she said.

The men’s equivalent was won by Nigeria’s Bamidele, the 2023 NCAA 400m champion, in 45.49, narrowly ahead of reigning national 400m hurdles champion Roshawn Clarke who ran a season’s best 45.57 in second and Zandrion Barnes who ran 45.62 for third.

“I think the preparation for me is the same. I have the same mindset; the same goals. I’m trying to get better every single day,” Bamidele said after the race.

“I’m trying to learn from my mistakes in every race. I’m hoping to break my personal best before the end of the season,” he added.

For the second year in a row, Shiann Salmon took top spot in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

Salmon, a silver medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, produced 55.41 to win on Saturday ahead of 2015 World Championship bronze medallist Cassandra Tate (55.60) and 2017 Jamaican national champion Ronda Whyte who ran a season’s best 56.19.

“I’m very happy. The conditions were not as I expected them but I came out here and I did the best that I could with it,” Salmon said after the race.

“It was much windier than I expected it to be but my aim was to win and I did just that so I’m pleased," Salmon added.

Heading into the Jamaican trials from June 27-30, Salmon says she is where she wants to be at this point in the season.

“I’m definitely where I’m supposed to be. I’ve already done 54.2 this season and it’s the fastest I’ve ever gone before trials. Trials are about three weeks away and I’m ready,” she said.