One of the world’s most highly decorated female sprinters, Veronica Campbell-Brown and former world record holder Asafa Powell named Team Jamaica captains Veronica Campbell-Brown has a competitive record that is the envy of athletes and track fans alike, with a cabinet full of medals from Olympics and World Championships. Twice Olympic 200m Champion, World Champion at 100m and 200m and twice at 60m (indoors), as well as numerous victories and medals at World Athletic Finals, Continental Cups, etc. Actually Veronica Campbell-Brown is one of the few athletes to claim victories in all IAAF events – World Youth, World Junior and World Championships – at 100M. Asafa K. Powell aka The Sub 10 King currently 4th fastest man in history. Asafa held the 100 metres world record between June 2005 and May 2008, with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds respectively. He brought new life to sprinting in Jamaica & is the reason it became known as the home of the fastest man on earth. He also led the movement of world class athletes living and training in Jamaica vs leaving to train/run abroad. Asafa has consistently broken the 10-second barrier 88 times in competition; with his personal best of […]
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Photo via Goodyear “In every Jamaican there is an ‘I can'” – Lennox Christie, Coach of the Jamaican Special Olympics Unified Football Team said shortly after the Jamaica Special Olympics team returned home.Those sentiments were demonstrated for the world to see by the Jamaica Special Olympics Team to the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles, California. It was bling, bling and even more bling as the team’s medal count at the end of Games stood at a whopping 29 across 5 team and individual disciplines. There were 10 gold, 11 silver and 8 bronze medals with Track and Field accounting for 13 of the total medals won. Bocce was next with 8 medals followed by Aquatics with 6 and one each for Basketball and Badminton. The Jamaicans narrowly missed out on a medal in Unified Football after being edged by South Korea in the the third place playoff. The women’s Futsal Team was 6th while the Volleyball representatives gave a strong showing in finishing 5th. Photo via Los Angeles County Fire Department Among the standout performers in a delegation that was the toast of the Games were Nicholas McBean, Leon Barclay, Vincent Evans, Helena Thomas and Kirk Wint […]
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2013 World Youth Champion and 2014 World Junior Bronze medalist Michael O’Hara has signed a long term professional contract with world leading sportswear company Puma. O’Hara will be represented by agent Ricky Simms of PACE Sports Management and managed by Nugent Walker, members of the team that has guided the professional career of sprint legend and multiple world record holder Usain Bolt as well as British long distance star Mo Farah to name a few. Like Bolt and other Jamaican stars Warren Weir, Kemar Bailey-Cole and Yohan Blake, the ultra talented and versatile O’Hara who has had multiple successes across various events including the 100m/200m sprints and the 110m Hurdles will be under the guidance of world renowned Glen Mills at the RACERS Track Club. O’Hara’s other sponsors include DIGICEL and Grace Kennedy Limited. The 19 year old Calabar High School phenom, one of the most successful ‘Champs’ athletes ever, was widely expected by many to forgo his final year in high school to join the professional ranks. He is confident that his best interests will be looked after allowing him to concentrate on running fast times and winning many medals in the years to come.
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Photo via MRT Health Team After an impressive performance in all the disciplines, Jamaica won a total of 29 individual and team medals at the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles, United States. The Jamaican contingent claimed 10 gold medals | 11 silver medals | 8 bronze medals with Track and field accounting for 13 of the 29 medals. Photo via Special Olympics Photo via LAPD Training Division Medal count: Athletics: 5 individual gold | 1 female 4x100M gold | 2 individual silver | 4 individual bronze | 1 male 4x100M bronze Aquatics: 2 individual gold, three individual silver, and one 4×50 relay bronze Badminton: individual silver Basketball: 1 silver Bocce: 1 team gold | 1 mixed doubles gold | 1 individual silver | 1 female doubles bronze | 1 male doubles bronze. Photo via Ben Katz Written by Sanjay Myers for Jamaica Observer
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With her bronze medal performance in the 100m breaststroke Tuesday night at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Alia Atkinson became the first Jamaican swimmer to medal at a long course World Championships. Atkinson touched the wall third behind eventual winner Yuliya Efimova of Russia and 100m breaststroke world record holder Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania. Atkinson put up a time of 1:06.42, just six one-hundredths of a second behind Meuilutyte. With her time, Atkinson was also just shy of the Jamaican national record she set in the semifinals. The swim for Atkinson marks her best international showing in a long course pool to date. Prior to this meet, she took silver in the 100m breaststroke at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. In 2014, she was third in the 100m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games. Being the first Jamaican swimmer to win a long course worlds medal isn’t the only first Atkinson and Jamaica have had this year. Earlier in the season, Atkinson became the first Jamaican swimmer to ever win a world championship title. She was also the fist black woman to ever win a swimming world title. Atkinson came in strong on the back-half in […]
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Photo Caption: L- R *Natalie Neita -Headley M.P. – Minister of Sports, Jamaican athletes Janoi McDonald, Chad Wright, Anastasia Le-Roy, Leford Green, Salcia Slack and Stephen Miller, sponsorship and event manager representing the combined FLOW & LIME pose for the camera after the telecoms firm announced a two-year $28M sponsorship of the JAAA and the Jamaica Track & Field Team. Designated the Official Telecommunications Partner of the JAAA and Jamaica’s Track & Field Team Kingston, Jamaica: August 4, 2015 Combined telecommunications firms LIME & Flow have inked a deal valued at J$28 million with the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) that will see the merged entity contributing to the development of track & field and the national teams. The timely announcement comes as Jamaica prepares for the 15th IAAF World Athletics Championship later this month in Beijing China. Stephen Miller, Sponsorship & Events Manager representing the combined LIME & Flow operations in Jamaica, made the announcement at Tuesday’s (August 4) press briefing held at the Terra Nova Hotel saying “LIME and Flow are coming on board as the exclusive telecoms partners in a big way. The sponsorship of the JAAAs represents for us the first major Jamaican sponsorship for the […]
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Usain Bolt says he is “ready to win” at next month’s World Championships after securing 100m victory at the Anniversary Games in 9.87 seconds. American Justin Gatlin has run the four fastest 100m times this year, setting a personal best of 9.74 in May. But Bolt twice ran under 10 seconds at the Olympic Stadium on Friday to show he is coming back to form after injury. “I was never number two, I am still number one. Until I retire that’s the plan,” said the double world champion. “I was happy with what I did,” added the six-time Olympic champion who has struggled with a pelvic problem this year. “I’m ready to go and I’m ready to win.” “I don’t fear anyone,” he told BBC Radio 5 live sport. “It’s all about hard work and dedication and pushing myself.” The pelvic problem which forced him to withdraw from Diamond League meetings in Paris and Lausanne this month did not hinder him as he ran twice in 80 minutes on the first of a two-day Diamond League meeting in London. “Anything is possible in Beijing – it’s all about the effort you put in,” he added. “I’ve been running fast in […]
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ATLANTA — As delighted as Jamaica was with its stunning victory over the United States on Wednesday, the Reggae Boyz’s historic journey through the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup is not quite done. And no one is happier to continue on than head coach Winfried Schafer. The Reggae Boyz will face Mexico on Sunday in Philadelphia, and they will hope to become just their second team—after Canada in 2000—to break the dominance of the U.S. and Mexico in the confederation’s biggest international tournament. If they do so, a good amount of credit will go to coach Winfried Schafer, who has made all the right moves while managing his side marvelously this summer. It’s been a long road for the 65-year-old German and his players, who began their summer of football in the Southern Hemisphere as one of the two non-CONMEBOL teams invited to the Copa America in Chile. Like Mexico, Jamaica departed the competition at the group stage, but unlike Mexico, Jamaica used the same players in both the Copa America and Gold Cup. So despite losing all three games in Chile, Jamaica’s players had time to mesh. In addition, Schafer had further opportunity to instill his style and principles into […]
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Elaine ‘Slimmaz’ Thompson obliterated Merlene Ottey’s 24 year old Meet Record of 22.24 and issued a warning of her own on Day 2 of the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games (London Diamond League). Thompson running out of lane 6 ran a sensational 22.10 (-0.3 m/s) to smash her previous personal best of 22.37 set in Kingston, Jamaica. The 2015 Jamaica National Champion moved away impressively from rivals to register the 4th fastest time of the year. Among the big scalps she claimed were the American duo of 2nd place Torie Bowie (22.32) and 3rd place Candyce McGrone (22.70). The University of Technology/MVP athlete has been the subject of much controversy after the surprise decision of her world-renowned coach Stephen ‘Franno’ Francis to pull her from the 100m at last month’s Jamaica ‘Trials’ after many were anticipating a marquee clash between the rising star and her training partner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. That led to widespread criticisms from many quarters and suggestions that the decision was a move to shield Fraser-Pryce from the red hot former Manchester High athlete who at the time was seen as a legitimate threat to the National Record Holder after her season best 10.84 clocking in the ‘B’ race at […]
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Jamaica’s Giles Barnes (9) celebrates after Jamaica defeated the United States 2-1 in a CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer semifinal, Wednesday, July 22, 2015, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) In a stunning semifinal encounter, the current Caribbean champion absorbed significant amounts of initial U.S. pressure to strike twice before halftime through Darren Mattocks and Giles Barnes. Michael Bradley scored the Americans’ only goal shortly after the interval, but the Jamaicans managed to hold on for a historic victory. Mattocks, the joint-top scorer in the 2014 Caribbean Cup finals with three goals, returned from a one-match suspension to demonstrate why he merited a place in the starting lineup. In the 31st minute, a left-sided throw-in by Kemar Lawrence deep within the U.S. end found Mattocks, who was stationed eight yards from the goal. His looping header was directed off the right post and over the line to give Jamaica a 1-0 lead. Goal JAM by No.11 Darren Mattocks #GoldCup2015 Five minutes later, Giles Barnes doubled that advantage with his second goal of the competition. Jamaica was awarded a free kick after it was ruled that goalkeeper Brad Guzan handled the ball outside the box as he was about to distribute it […]
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