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The Olympic Games fever still in me, I decided to raid my track and field video library this morning, with special focus on Veronica and Sherone.
The first videotape I selected was that of the first IAAF World Youth Championships, held in Poland in July, 1999. That is the oldest videotape I have of Veronica Campbell, who was then a non-smiling, slightly plump 17-year-old. What saddened me as I watched the girls 100-meter race, which Veronica won (11.48 seconds), was the fact that the silver medal winner is absent from track and field today!
Yes, I’m referring to former Edwin Allen student Lisa Sharpe! Lisa was really good, as can be seen in her performance at the Junior Pan Am earlier that year when she won the silver medal behind the top junior sprinter of that era, Aileen Bailey. Then, at the July IAAF World Youth Championships in Poland, 15-year-old Lisa grabbed the silver medal behind Veronica. The super-talented Lisa ran a PB of 11.52, and as far as I can recall, the only 15-year-old with a faster time up until then was the USA’s Angella Williams (11.37). Not even Marion Jones was running Lisa’s time at 15 years of age (at 15, Marion’s best time was 11.53).
Then, to put the icing on the cake, Lisa came back later at that IAAF World Junior Championship meet and anchored Jamaica’s 4x100-meter relay team to a gold medal, beating the second-place relay team by what seems like a mile!!
Such promise! Truly, Lisa could have been right up there today with Aileen and Veronica, but unfortunately she seemed to have dropped out of sight!
Another videotape I watched this morning the IAAF World Junior Championship in 2002, which is the earliest tape I have of Sherone Simpson. I couldn’t help but reflect on the irony that the two most prominent members of that junior girls 4x100-meter relay team, Anneisha McLaughlin and Simone Facey, were not a functional part of Jamaica’s 4x100-meter semi-final and final relay team in Beijing. In fact, Anneisha has seemingly gone downhill sinc around 2003.
At that 2002 IAAF Championships, Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, the other two members of that junior girls relay team, did not have the celebrity status that Simone and Anneisha had, yet look at Sherone and Kerron today!
Life sure is unpredictable!
The first videotape I selected was that of the first IAAF World Youth Championships, held in Poland in July, 1999. That is the oldest videotape I have of Veronica Campbell, who was then a non-smiling, slightly plump 17-year-old. What saddened me as I watched the girls 100-meter race, which Veronica won (11.48 seconds), was the fact that the silver medal winner is absent from track and field today!
Yes, I’m referring to former Edwin Allen student Lisa Sharpe! Lisa was really good, as can be seen in her performance at the Junior Pan Am earlier that year when she won the silver medal behind the top junior sprinter of that era, Aileen Bailey. Then, at the July IAAF World Youth Championships in Poland, 15-year-old Lisa grabbed the silver medal behind Veronica. The super-talented Lisa ran a PB of 11.52, and as far as I can recall, the only 15-year-old with a faster time up until then was the USA’s Angella Williams (11.37). Not even Marion Jones was running Lisa’s time at 15 years of age (at 15, Marion’s best time was 11.53).
Then, to put the icing on the cake, Lisa came back later at that IAAF World Junior Championship meet and anchored Jamaica’s 4x100-meter relay team to a gold medal, beating the second-place relay team by what seems like a mile!!
Such promise! Truly, Lisa could have been right up there today with Aileen and Veronica, but unfortunately she seemed to have dropped out of sight!
Another videotape I watched this morning the IAAF World Junior Championship in 2002, which is the earliest tape I have of Sherone Simpson. I couldn’t help but reflect on the irony that the two most prominent members of that junior girls 4x100-meter relay team, Anneisha McLaughlin and Simone Facey, were not a functional part of Jamaica’s 4x100-meter semi-final and final relay team in Beijing. In fact, Anneisha has seemingly gone downhill sinc around 2003.
At that 2002 IAAF Championships, Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, the other two members of that junior girls relay team, did not have the celebrity status that Simone and Anneisha had, yet look at Sherone and Kerron today!
Life sure is unpredictable!
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