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Wonderful weekend of action
published: Saturday | July 5, 2008
Photos by Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
(1) Kerron Stewart (right) congratulates Veronica Campbell-Brown after the latter won the 200m.
(2) Veronica Campbell-Brown (second right), Sherone Simpson (right), Peta-Gaye Dowdie (second left) and Schillonie Calvert race toward the finish line during their women's 200m semi-final.
(3) Veteran Michael Blackwood (left) clips Ricardo Chambers (right) and Sanjay Ayre on the line in a thrilling finish to the men's 400 metres final on Sunday. Blackwood won in 45.21 seconds with Chambers, second, and third place Ayre, both crossing the line in 45.24.
(4) Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Olivia Grange (left), has fun with Asafa Powell at last weekend's National Chamnpionships.
Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
THE JUST-completed National Senior Track and Field Championships, or Olympic Trials, were the best in recent memory.
They were the best not only because the world's two fastest men, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell faced off, but because of a few other surprises and the turn out of Jamaica's track and field fans.
The much ballyhooed men's 100 metre showdown turned out to be a joke battle as Bolt, the world's record holder at 9.72, ran 9.85 to beat Powell, who was second in 9.97.
Powell got off to a very fast start, but as soon as the fast-finishing Bolt covered the field at about the 60m mark, the former eased, so too the latter, who looked behind with a huge smile on his face.
After the race the crowd was disappointed, but though Bolt understood how they felt, he reiterated: "We are good friends; we just went out there to qualify."
About five minutes earlier, the fans were given a rare treat in the women's event as, according to world-renowned track and field statistician Charles Fuller, the women's 100m final, was the fastest by any nation ever.
All top four women, Kerron Stewart (10.80), Shelly-Ann Fraser (10.85), Sherone Simpson (10.87) and Veronica Campbell-Brown (10.88), went below 10.9 seconds.
The event also shocked the more than 10,000 fans in attendance as the popular Campbell-Brown was fourth and will not be a part of Jamaica's 100m trio in Beijing.
She produced her season best and her second fastest time ever, but Fraser shocked the world when she ran a life-time best 10.85, to become the fifth fastest Jamaican woman ever.
That was one of the biggest surprises of the weekend.
The weekend's other major one came in the women's 400m and many believe Rosemarie Whyte's effort was the performance of the meet.
Five-year absence
Whyte, a member of Jamaica's 2002 Carifta Games Under-17 4x400m gold medal winning team, returned to the one-lap event after a five-year absence, during which time she did long jump, triple jump and the heptathlon.
Whyte, who started the season with a personal best of 53.47, improved to 51.71, then 50.05 to surprise many by taking the national 400m title.
The performance of Whyte, a former Holmwood student, along with that of Fraser, could be considered as the meet's best.
Bobby-Gaye Wilkins and Anastasia Le-Roy, with personal best of 50.87 and 51.09, were also outstanding and showed Holmwood girls are breaking through the ranks.
After a glittering weekend of action, 30 athletes were named to make their Olympic debuts when Jamaica take on the world, on the track, between August 15-24.
published: Saturday | July 5, 2008
Photos by Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
(1) Kerron Stewart (right) congratulates Veronica Campbell-Brown after the latter won the 200m.
(2) Veronica Campbell-Brown (second right), Sherone Simpson (right), Peta-Gaye Dowdie (second left) and Schillonie Calvert race toward the finish line during their women's 200m semi-final.
(3) Veteran Michael Blackwood (left) clips Ricardo Chambers (right) and Sanjay Ayre on the line in a thrilling finish to the men's 400 metres final on Sunday. Blackwood won in 45.21 seconds with Chambers, second, and third place Ayre, both crossing the line in 45.24.
(4) Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, Olivia Grange (left), has fun with Asafa Powell at last weekend's National Chamnpionships.
Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
THE JUST-completed National Senior Track and Field Championships, or Olympic Trials, were the best in recent memory.
They were the best not only because the world's two fastest men, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell faced off, but because of a few other surprises and the turn out of Jamaica's track and field fans.
The much ballyhooed men's 100 metre showdown turned out to be a joke battle as Bolt, the world's record holder at 9.72, ran 9.85 to beat Powell, who was second in 9.97.
Powell got off to a very fast start, but as soon as the fast-finishing Bolt covered the field at about the 60m mark, the former eased, so too the latter, who looked behind with a huge smile on his face.
After the race the crowd was disappointed, but though Bolt understood how they felt, he reiterated: "We are good friends; we just went out there to qualify."
About five minutes earlier, the fans were given a rare treat in the women's event as, according to world-renowned track and field statistician Charles Fuller, the women's 100m final, was the fastest by any nation ever.
All top four women, Kerron Stewart (10.80), Shelly-Ann Fraser (10.85), Sherone Simpson (10.87) and Veronica Campbell-Brown (10.88), went below 10.9 seconds.
The event also shocked the more than 10,000 fans in attendance as the popular Campbell-Brown was fourth and will not be a part of Jamaica's 100m trio in Beijing.
She produced her season best and her second fastest time ever, but Fraser shocked the world when she ran a life-time best 10.85, to become the fifth fastest Jamaican woman ever.
That was one of the biggest surprises of the weekend.
The weekend's other major one came in the women's 400m and many believe Rosemarie Whyte's effort was the performance of the meet.
Five-year absence
Whyte, a member of Jamaica's 2002 Carifta Games Under-17 4x400m gold medal winning team, returned to the one-lap event after a five-year absence, during which time she did long jump, triple jump and the heptathlon.
Whyte, who started the season with a personal best of 53.47, improved to 51.71, then 50.05 to surprise many by taking the national 400m title.
The performance of Whyte, a former Holmwood student, along with that of Fraser, could be considered as the meet's best.
Bobby-Gaye Wilkins and Anastasia Le-Roy, with personal best of 50.87 and 51.09, were also outstanding and showed Holmwood girls are breaking through the ranks.
After a glittering weekend of action, 30 athletes were named to make their Olympic debuts when Jamaica take on the world, on the track, between August 15-24.
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