Usain Bolt may have got out of the starting blocks much faster than Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as far as their respective track and field careers are concerned. He is also a giant when compared to the diminutive “Pocket Rocket”, his 6ft 5in towering over her 5ft frame. They do have a few things in common though. Bolt defies his height and the supposed disadvantages while Fraser-Pryce defies her lack of inches to beat back their fiercest competition to deliver time and time again. The parallel in their careers especially over 100m is remarkable (of course ignoring the mind boggling world records of Bolt). The Bird’s Nest Stadium was the place where both won their first senior global title over 100m. Bolt’s win was expected, Fraser-Pryce’s triumph somewhat of a surprise. The IAAF’s poster boy won the 100m at the Berlin World Championships and of course, the Pocket Rocket followed with a sensational win of her own. In 2011 both saw their stranglehold on track and field’s blue ribband event being released. Fraser-Pryce, coming back from injury and a brief suspension was 4th behind Carmelita Jeter, compatriot Veronica Campbell-Brown and Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago. Bolt lost his title after […]
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Jamaicans use the expression ‘likkle but wi tallawah’ to describe our beloved country which has always punched above its weight in many areas including track and field. One athlete has over the last 7 years embodied on an individual level the concept of ‘Likkle but wi tallawah’….literally. The flashy green braids and sunflower garland which adorned her hair was an indication that she meant business. History beckoned. No woman had ever won three world titles in the 100m at the IAAF World Championships now in its 15th edition. One woman, a pint-sized ever smiling young lady known the world over as the ‘The Pocket Rocket’ was standing on the threshold of history. Many expected her to win and claim an unprecedented third world championship crown. When the dust settled, the diminutive Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continued to sit on her throne as the queen of women’s sprinting. The 28 year old Jamaican may be just 5 feet tall but to her rivals, she must be looking more like her 6 feet 5 inches tall compatriot Usain Bolt who just a day before also etched his name in the annals of history (again) with his 3rd 100m World Championship title. Fraser-Pryce won […]
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He won in 2009 in Berlin dismantling a strong field and obliterating his own world record set a year earlier in Beijing with a new mark of 9.58. In 2011 he false-started when seemingly poised to retain his title in the South Korean city of Daegu. In 2013 normal service was restored as he won his 2nd world title without much drama. Amid lingering doubts and questions surrounding his form and fitness, the IAAF’s poster boy who celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday returned to Beijing for the 15th edition of Track and Field’s showpiece event. The script for the 100m finals at the 2015 IAAF World Championships was written as the ultimate showdown between Track and Field’s lovable leading man Usain Bolt and its much maligned villain Justin Gatlin. The final scene of the blockbuster was a well kept secret with many predicting the demise of Bolt after the rampaging exploits of Gatlin. The lanky Jamaican had in the eyes of many lost his aura of invincibility first carved in the picturesque Bird’s Nest Stadium in 2008 after a season marked by relative inactivity and niggling injuries. He looked vulnerable and after the semi-finals the whispers regarding the […]
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Medals, bragging rights, individual and country glory will be among the incentives driving the thousands of athletes who will be on show at the 15th edition of Track and Field’s showpiece event. But that is not all that will be pushing many. Check out the cash prizes that will be up for grabs for the finalists. Finalists will receive the following (Relays in bracket). All amounts in USD: 1st – $60,000 ($80,000) 2nd – $30,000 ($40,000) 3rd – $20,000 ($20,000) 4th – $15,000 ($16,000) 5th – $10,000 ($12,000) 6th – $6,000 ($8,000) 7th – $5,000 ($6,000) 8th – $4,000 ($4,000) Athletes or relay teams achieving a new World Record at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China will have the added incentive of winning USD 100,000.
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O’Dayne Richards was a man on a mission. That was mission Beijing and the chance to create history with Jamaica’s first ever medal in a throwing event at a senior global championship. Mission accomplished as the gentle giant, affectionately called ‘Fred’ secured the historic Bronze medal and got Team Jamaica’s medal count off and running at the 15th IAAF World Championships inside the iconic Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, China. For a while it seemed the Gold was within his grasp after his massive Jamaica National Record equaling throw of 21.69M in the 3rd round of the men’s Shot Put final. His lead lasted until the 5th round when the world’s top 2 ranked throwers cranked it up another level. World number one Joe Kovacs of the USA who was out of medal contention summoned from deep within and came up with 21.93M to take the lead, a mark that turned out to be the Gold medal throw. World number two and the defending champion David Storl of Germany also responded hurling 21.74M to relegate Richards to the Bronze medal position. The former St. George’s College athlete has been making his name as a big meet performer and the […]
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Kimberly Williams and Shanieka Thomas have already created history at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China. Williams and Thomas carried Team Jamaica into uncharted waters after qualifying for the finals of the Triple Jump. Jamaica has never had more than one representative in the finals of the Triple Jump at the World Championships. The former Vere Technical High School standouts hopped, skipped and jumped their way into the Jamaican Track and Field history books during qualifying on Day 1 of the Championships. By qualifying for the finals, Williams the 2014 Commonwealth Games Champion, gave herself the opportunity to challenge for a medal after a 4th place finish in Moscow two years ago. She will be looking to join 2005 World Champion Trecia Kaye Smith as the only Jamaicans to medal in the event. Williams qualified 6th best overall and 3rd in Group A with a mark of 14.23M on her 2nd attempt. For the 2015 Jamaican Intercollegiate Champion Thomas, today’s qualification was the continuation of what has been somewhat of a fairy-tale last fortnight or so. Thomas who finished 4th at the 2014 Commonwealth Games has been plagued by injuries all season and only gained automatic qualification for […]
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Elaine ‘Slimmaz’ Thompson makes her World Championships debut as one of the favourites to win the Women’s 200m title and for many Jamaican fans, its a forgone conclusion. The 23 year old’s meteoric rise in 2015 was on display at the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games (London Diamond League) where she ran a sensational 22.10 (-0.3 m/s) to beat a very good field. The new belle of the ball had turned heads and appears set to star at the big dance. A win by Thompson would give Jamaica its 3rd straight Gold medal in the 200m following wins by Veronica Campbell-Brown (2011) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (2013). Among the big scalps she claimed that day was Candyce McGrone who was beaten out of sight. McGrone has the fastest time on the season of the women who will contest the event in Beijing with 22.08 ahead of the flying Dutchwoman Dafne Schippers with 22.09. Thompson’s coach, the controversial Stephen Francis was very surprised with his charge’s fast time run and believes she is poised to go much faster in Beijing. A somewhat frightening prospect but the 2015 National Champion knows it will not be a walk in the park. Thompson dismissed McGrone with such […]
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It has been 7 years since Shelly-Ann Fraser (now Fraser-Pryce) shocked the world to win the Olympic Gold medal in the 100m at the the architectural masterpiece known as the ‘Birds Nest’ Stadium in Beijing, China. Fraser-Pryce returns to Beijing, not as a 21 year old fresh-faced unknown but as the bookmaker’s choice to win an unprecedented 3rd IAAF World championship title over 100m after winning in Berlin in 2009 and in Moscow in 2013 where she won by the widest margin ever in the history of the event. The diminutive 28 year old has developed the enviable reputation as a championship performer having won five Gold medals and a Silver medal in seven finals contested over 100m and 200m at global championships. The Pocket Rocket as she is known has the 2015 World leading time of 10.74 and looks the one to beat when the athletes face the starter in what could be one of the most hotly contested women’s 100m finals in several years. The Stephen Francis-coached athlete has beaten most of her main rivals convincingly this season and has three of the five fastest times in 2015. Her last outing was at the Stockholm Diamond League meeting […]
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Alia Atkinson of Jamaica competes in the 50m Women’s Breaststroke finals on day two of the FINA Swimming World Cup 2015 on August 16, 2015 in Chartres, France. (Aug. 15, 2015 – Source: Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images Europe) Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson out touches USA’s Katie Meili to claim women’s 50-meter breast title at the FINA World Cup in Paris, France. Atkinson clocked a time of 30.85 for the win, well off her third-ranked season best of 30.11 from Worlds. That’s Atkinson’s 11th gold medal ever in the women’s 50-meter breast on the FINA World Cup circuit. She last lost this event in 2014 when Ruta Meilutyte won in Tokyo. source: http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com photos: Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images Europe
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Jaheel Hyde cemented his pro status by signing a shoe/apparel deal with sports giant PUMA brokered by his management company (GCMC). This association will directly benefit his pursuits as a student athlete who balances academics and sports. Jaheel will be pursuing tertiary studies at the University of the West Indies and will continue training under the watchful eyes of his coaches who have led him to three (3) global titles, as he aims at Rio 2016. He is looking forward to the continued support of all his sponsors, management team and fans as he commits to excellence on and off the track as a professional athlete. Garfield Coke Athletes Manager
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