The disappointment was there for all to see. Jamaica’s formidable 4x100m quartet even without Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Nickel Ashmeade, three members of the Gold medal winning team from the Rio Olympics, still packed enough firepower to dethrone the USA at the third IAAF World Relays. Expectations were high, from the legions of supporters over the world to the four men who lined up in the heats. Get the baton around and qualify for the final. Pretty simple right? But that is why they run the races. Just ask Team USA. After all they have been there own worst enemies in sprint relays at global championships in recent years. The well oiled Jamaican machine was just there to rub salt into the wound. The script was rewritten this time around and it was Jamaica’s turn to suffer from the malady that had been afflicting the USA in recent times. After a very good opening leg by newcomer Everton Clarke, Team Jamaica appeared well on the way to taking the heat and with it a place in the final. A smooth exchange between Clarke and Kemar Bailey-Cole running the backstretch leg seemed to suggest easy qualification. But, […]
Read More
The world is used to the melodic sounds of Jamaica’s National Anthem being played in stadia around the globe as our ambassadors scorch the track with gold medal winning performances and the first day of the 3rd IAAF World Relays was the perfect occasion for another rendition. This time it was the Women’s 4x200m who turned in a scintillating performance to win Gold in front of a crowd with a large Jamaican contingent at the Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas. The quartet of Jura Levy, Shericka Jackson, Sashalee Forbes and double Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson on anchor dismissed their rivals to win with consummate ease, in the process smashing the previous championship record of 1.29.45 with a time of 1.29.04. So dominant was the display that the Black, Green and Gold standard-bearers were well over a second clear of Germany (1.30.68) and the USA (1.30.87). The Jamaicans were like poetry in motion on all legs with brilliant running and smooth exchanges. The ever reliable Anastasia Le-Roy ran the anchor leg in the heats. It was Jamaica’s first win in the event after Bronze in 2014 and Silver in 2015. It wasn’t all smooth sailing for […]
Read More
Team Jamaica will be led into battle at the 3rd IAAF World Relays by 2011 World Champion Yohan Blake and 2016 Olympic Relay Silver medalist Anneisha McLaughlin-Whilby who were named team captains. Both athletes have represented Jamaica with distinction for many years. Blake, 27 was a member of the 4x200m team which set the world record of 1.18.63 at the inaugural staging of the IAAF World Relays in 2014 but missed the 2015 edition due to injury. Blake is scheduled to run the 4x100m as Jamaica seeks to dethrone champions, the USA. McLaughlin-Whilby also represented Jamaica at the 2014 World Relays where she was a member of the 4x200m team which won the Bronze medal in a national record 1.30.04. She is slated to run the 4x400m relay, an event where the Jamaicans are expected to provide a strong challenge to defending champions, the USA. Written by J. Dario Chin
Read More
World and Olympic sprint relay gold medalist Asafa ‘Sub 10 King’ Powell joined the list of notable absentees from the Jamaican contingent to the 3rd IAAF World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas. The former world record holder was initially selected to the squad and was expected to be key to Jamaica’s chances of dethroning 2015 IAAF World Relay champions the U.S.A. before news emerged late Wednesday (April 19) that he had withdrawn. Julian Forte who was a member of the team which won Gold at the inaugural staging of the World Relays in 2014 will also be absent. Forte, like Powell was seen as integral to Jamaica’s push to reclaim the 4x100m title. National Record holder over 400m, the enigmatic Rusheen McDonald will also not be making the trip to the World Relays. McDonald who ran in the heats of the mile relay at the Rio Olympics and helped the team to advance to the final where it won a surprise Silver Medal was one of the most experienced athletes named to the squad. He had been showing reasonably good form this season albeit over the shorter sprints. Team Jamaica was already missing the firepower of the likes of sprint […]
Read More
The cast may be missing stellar attractions such as ‘world boss’ Usain Bolt, the ‘pocket rocket’ Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Asafa ‘Sub 10 King’ Powell, the venerable Veronica Campbell-Brown (VCB) and the inspirational Novlene Williams-Mills, however Jamaica’s contingent to the 3rd IAAF/BTC World Relays still possesses some of the biggest names in world athletics. In box office draws like double Olympic Champion and current sprint queen Elaine Thompson and 2011 World Champion Yohan Blake Team Jamaica has an ensemble with enough star power to light up the big screens at the relay championships in Nassau, Bahamas from April 22-23. The well rehearsed cast which will participate in seven events, is a palatable blend of experience and potential scene stealers transitioning to the senior ranks as the Caribbean powerhouse seeks to wrest the Golden Baton from arch rivals Team USA. Thompson who blazed a wind-aided 10.75 seconds on Saturday has opted to run the 4x200m relays. She is expected to be joined by MVP teammate Shericka Jackson who clocked a personal best 22.57 at the UTech Classics recently and the useful veteran Samantha Henry-Robinson. The 4x200m relay squad should be completed by the the Sprint-Tec trio of Anastacia Le-Roy, Juray Levy and […]
Read More
Jamaica’s Christopher Henry Gayle further confirmed his legendary status in cricket’s shortest format Twenty/Twenty (T20). The self-styled ‘Universe Boss’ crossed yet another frontier in a career decorated with T20 firsts when he became the first cricketer to score 10,000 or more runs in the fast-paced made for television format of the ‘gentleman’s game’. The swash-buckling Jamaican who has endeared himself to millions worldwide as well as flirted with controversy (think don’t blush baby) has been enduring a lean spell with the bat for sometime. He was however at his belligerent best today (April 18) in scoring 77 runs to lead his struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team to only its 2nd win in the 2017 edition of the world’s largest T20 franchise tournament, the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Jamaican who started the game three shy of 10,000 runs, reached the milestone with a less than convincing shot before gradually opening his broad bat and equally broad shoulders to add a further 74 runs to his landmark achievement. He has some 2,478 more than the next best aggregate performer, New Zealand’s Brendan McCallum who has played a mere 18 matches fewer. Gayle also has the most T-20 […]
Read More
Jamaica recaptured the team title at the 6th staging of the CARIFTA Chess Championships held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston. When the points were tallied after the final round, Jamaica was declared the champion over Barbados with Trinidad and Tobago taking 3rd place. It was Team Jamaica’s first win since 2013 when they last hosted the tournament. Leading the way for Team Jamaica were category winners David Thomas, Johmoi Blake, Adani Clarke and Sheanel Gardner. Number one seed Thomas (Candidate Master) triumphed in the Boys U-12 (Absolute) Category after defeating fellow Jamaican Coy Wilson in his final round encounter to top the standings with 6.5 points from seven games. Jamaica’s Nathan Walsh finished 3rd with 6 points. Blake was declared champion in the U-12 Girls Category in a tiebreak over Vanessa Greenidge of Barbados. Both players were tied on 6 points at the end of the final round. Adani Clarke (Jamaica’s Woman Candidate Master) won the U-16 Girls title with 6 points. Teammate Ashanti Blackwood and Nulani Kidd shared 3rd place with 4.5 points. Category favourite Sheanel Gardner confirmed her top billing among the U-20 Girls after overcoming a poor start to […]
Read More
Each year our U20 and U18 Track and Field ambassadors proudly don the Black, Green and Gold as they compete against regional rivals at the CARIFTA Games. There is the expectation of dominance with successive contingents eager to emulate if not surpass the previous year’s medal haul. The 84 member team to the 46th edition in Curacao was no different and from day one went all out to stamp their class on proceedings. Led by the indomitable lion Christopher Taylor and lady knight Junelle Bromfield Team Jamaica flexed its muscles to once again ‘Jaminate’, its medal chest adorned with 39 Gold, 28 Silver and 19 Bronze for 86 medals overall. The athletes often competed in conditions that were not conducive to optimal performances but there were several who distinguished themselves with record breaking performances. Daniel Cope was the only athlete to leave with two records. The 17 year old secured Gold in the U18 Boys Discus Throw with a mark of 61.25m to erase the one year old mark set by compatriot Phillipe Barnett in 2016. Cope’s record throw is the 3rd best in the world this year in the Youth (U18) Category. Cope also set a new standard […]
Read More