.@usainbolt makes his grand entrance into press conference. #athletics pic.twitter.com/eODlri7CmB — Rio 2016 (@Rio2016_en) August 8, 2016 Bolt @usainbolt #JAM on #Olympics prep #Athletics @JamaicaOlympics @ESPN_Caribbean #CANOC2016 #RioESPN #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/69t2J6b78Y — CANOC Broadcasting (@CANOCBroadcast) August 9, 2016 Usain Bolt press conference at #Rio2016. He’s loose, joking, confident, while being broadcast live in Jamaica. (photo by Jesse Washington) “One more of Usain Bolt doing his thing with samba dancers at conclusion of his press conference in Rio ” (photo by Rick Maese) This is how the Usain Bolt press conference ended. That's him in the middle. Tell me he ain't winning in #Rio2016. pic.twitter.com/Cac9NjOyaT — Jesse Washington (@jessewashington) August 8, 2016 Track and Field events commence on Friday August 12, 2016. A Samba send-off for @usainbolt at his press conference #RioOlympics2016 #usainbolt pic.twitter.com/dQRCWvhpNB — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 8, 2016
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Born in the United States, both her parents moved from Jamaica to the United states in the early 1990s. “”When I first started, everyone had told me, ‘You’re the first gymnast to compete for Jamaica,’ and I never realised – you’re the first gymnast for an entire country. I never realised how big that was. I never allowed myself to think that highly of myself before, but I do recognise it now. It helps me stay humble and keeps me going through this crazy journey.” (olympics.nbcsports.com, 23 Oct 2015) She suffers from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis that sometimes flares up during competition. She was diagnosed with the condition at age 14. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 23 Oct 2015; umms.org, 20 Sep 2015) Toni-Ann finished 54th in Individual All-Round with 50.966 points. Toni-Ann Williams: “Today, I became the first Jamaican Gymnast to compete at the Olympic Games. There are no words to describe the mix of emotions that I am feeling right now. I had some mistakes in my performances but I am happy that I was able to show the kids of Jamaica that there isn’t a barrier that can’t be broken. I appreciate all of the love and support from the […]
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Three-time Olympic gold medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown and 2015 World Championships bronze medalist O’Dayne Richards named captains of Team Jamaica. Track and Field events commence on Friday August 12, 2016.
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Jamaica’s medal prospects may have taken a serious blow before the start of the Rio Olympics scheduled for August 5-21. The 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist Hansle Parchment has seemingly lost his race against time to be fit for the Rio Olympics which gets underway on this Friday (August 5). Reports from the Team Jamaica are that the 26 year old Parchment is on his way from the pre-Olympic training camp at the Linx Hotel in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Parchment who won Silver at the 2015 IAAF World Championship was a strong medal contender over the 110m Hurdles prior to sustaining an injury at the Prefontaine Classic in late May. At the time of his injury, Parchment was the 3rd ranked sprint hurdler in 2016. He was granted a medical exemption from competing at the Jamaica National Senior Championships with a requirement to prove form and fitness ahead of the Rio Olympics. Parchment who was sidelined for close to two months tested himself at a low key meet at the end of July where he reportedly ran 13.53 seconds. Even though that run was well below his season’s best 13.10, hopes were raised in some quarters that he […]
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World Record Holder Usain Bolt sporting Team Jamaica kit by Puma for Rio 2016 Olympics. Long-time coach Glenn Mills has offered the comforting reassurance Bolt still craves. “My coach always tells me that the older you get, it’s going to get harder, and you have to push yourself.” “My coach always says ‘Usain you can always go on to the 2020 Olympics if you want,'” Bolt said. “So this is why he tells me to stop talking about retirement and just take it a year at a time.” When Bolt eventually hangs up his running shoes, there is no doubt that the power of athletics to attract huge worldwide audiences will be more difficult without its global superstar. “People always say to me, ‘Usain when you leave the sport, the sport is going to go down. “But I’m not going to look at it like that. There are a lot of athletes stepping up.” Photos by Tom Oldham for Puma Excerpts from www.rio2016.com
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Eight medals…two more than the 2014 tally at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Oregon, USA. When the 40 strong team left Jamaica about two weeks ago for the IAAF U20 World Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, that would have been one of the targets. The 2016 haul of 8 medals at the IAAF U20 World Championships (2 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze) was the joint 4th best by Jamaica in 16 editions of the premier championships for U20 athletes. In terms of medal quality it was also Team Jamaica’s 4th best showing behind the 2000 (3,4,1), 1992 (3,3,3) and 2002 (2,5,4) teams. Jamaica finished 5th overall behind traditional powerhouses USA, Kenya, Ethiopia and Cuba. The USA dominated with 21 medals including 11 Gold. Overall it was a very good showing by Team Jamaica as many of those who were considered as live medal contenders before the championships started delivered on those expectations. The very progressive Tiffany James created history on Thursday (July 21) producing the performance of a lifetime to win the Women’s 400m final. James, 19 displayed true grit and determination to hold off the challenge of American Lynn Kirby […]
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Team Jamaica had mixed results on day one of the IAAF U20 World Championships 2016 at the Zawisza Stadium, Bydgoszcz, Poland on Tuesday (July 19). Only five of the ten Jamaican athletes who saw action on day one were able to progress to the next round. Devia Brown was not fancied to make the finals of the Women’s Discus but defied the odds with a personal best 49.56 to finish 6th in Group B to make the last 12 who will contest the final on day 2. Many expected Shanice Love to advance to the final but the national junior record holder had a wretched day, failing to register a mark. Top medal contenders in the Women’s 400m Tiffany James and Junelle Bromfield won their respective heats to advance to the semi-finals. James was the fastest qualifier and only athlete to register a sub 53 time after easily winning in 52.98. She will run out of heat 3 in the semi-finals. Bromfield looked well within herself as she cruised home in 53.21 for a comfortable win. The 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games champion will face the starter in Heat 2. The top two from each of the […]
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The IAAF U20 World Championships 2016 gets under way at the Zawisza Stadium, Bydgoszcz, Poland on Tuesday (July 19). Team Jamaica will be represented by a 40-member contingent and expectations are that the team will surpass its 2014 tally of six medals (1 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze). National U20 champion Tiffany James and Junelle Bromfield are two of the leading contenders in the women’s 400m with the heats scheduled to be run on day one. On times the Jamaicans occupy the top two positions going into the event. Bromfield (51.74) is the number one ranked athlete with James (52.09) at number two. Both should comfortably progress to the next round. Shanice Love enters the U20 Championships with high hopes of creating history. Love, the national record holder and U20 champion will be looking to give Jamaica its first medal of any kind in a throwing event for women when she contests the Discus event. The preliminaries are scheduled to start on day one with Love down to compete in Group A and Jamaica’s other representative Devia Brown (48.34m) in Group B. Love (54.72m) is ranked at number 4 in the world and at the championships. The Team […]
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