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Disappointing end for Jamaica at World Youth Champs
...Bell tumbles near finish as Ja look set to take 2nd in relay
BY PAUL A REID, Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, July 13, 2009
BRIXEN/BRESSANONE, Italy - Jamaica failed to add to their two medals as the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships ended under cloudy skies and cool conditions here at the Brixen/Bressanone Sports Arena.
Jamaica's Javere Bell sprawled out on the tracks after he fell just a few short metres from the finish line in the boys' medley relay at the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships at the Brixen/Bressanone Sports Arena yesterday. (Photos: Paul Reid)
Traves Smikle's bronze medal on Wednesday's first day and Danielle Dowie's silver in the 400m hurdles on Saturday were the only medal success for Jamaica after five days of competition which marked the worst performance for the team in the 10-year history of the championships.
The previous lowest was three medals won in Marrakesh, Morocco in 2005.
Jamaica finished joint 24th of the 46 countries that managed a medal after 180 countries took part. Hungary and South Africa also tied for 24th.
Kenya topped the medals tables with 14 (six gold, seven silver and one bronze); the United States was next with a total of 16 medals (six gold, five silvers and five bronze) while Great Britain was third with six.
While expressing his disappointment that the team did not win more medals, head coach Danny Hawthorne said the youngsters tried their best. "Given the inexperience of the athletes, they tried their best," he told reporters yesterday.
Exposure, he said, was crucial if they were to do better. "I have been saying we need to expose these athletes more and I must commend them for the effort here."
Rochelle Farquharson in action where she produced a personal best 6.03m effort for fourth place in her long jump event at the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships at the Brixen/Bressanone Sports Arena yesterday.
Hawthorne admitted things could have been better, but pointed out that several of the team members achieved personal bests.
The highlights, he noted, were the two medals won saying it showed the "focus and tenacity".
The failure of the relay teams to win medals, he said, was the low point. "I thought we would have done a lot better, but inexperience once again messed us up."
The highlight of yesterday's performance came in the women's long jump finals where Rochelle Farquharson produced a personal best 6.03m effort for fourth place, missing a medal by .02m as the American Jennifer Clayton took the bronze behind China's Minjia Lu (6.22m) and Romania's Alina Rotaru (6.09m).
Farquharson, who won both the long and triple jump events at Junior Trials at GC Foster College a month ago, achieved her best on her fifth and penultimate jump moving up from seventh spot.
Janieve Russell was ninth with a best jump of 5.86m, well below her personal best 6.06m.
Celia Walters was eighth and last in the 200m final in a disappointing 24.09 seconds after running 24.05 seconds in Saturday's semi-finals and coming into the meet with a personal best 23.84 seconds set in March this year.
Both medley relay teams disappointed by failing to finish in the medals, while the boys team did not finish after anchor leg runner Javere Bell fell metres from the line after fading from second to fifth place.
The United States won both relay races.
Two changes were made to the girls' team bringing in 400m hurdles finalists Danielle Dowie and Ristananna Tracey for the 300m and 400m legs, respectively.
The move did not produce the expected result, as despite a good start from Deandre Whitehorn on the 100m lead off leg, Walters failed to make any impression on the 200m.
Dowie, who had won silver the day before, managed to get into medal contention but faded in the last 20m before handing over to Tracey.
The Edwin Allen student, who wowed with two brilliant anchor legs at the Penn Relays in April, fizzled here as she was passed by several teams and eventually finished fifth in 2:09.79 seconds.
The time run in the final was marginally better than Saturday's qualifying heats' 2:10.12 seconds when Russell and Chantal Duncan ran the last two legs.
After good legs from Kemar Bailey-Cole, Waynee Hyman and A-Shawni Mitchell, Jamaica were well-placed in second place, well behind the Americans when 400m finalist Bell took off like a rocket.
Despite the other teams gaining, he managed to maintain his position until he turned into the straightaway for home when his form went to pieces.
First he grabbed at his leg hamstring twice, then after being passed by three other runners, fell to the turf where he laid for several minutes before storming off before the medical personnel could get to him.
...Bell tumbles near finish as Ja look set to take 2nd in relay
BY PAUL A REID, Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, July 13, 2009
BRIXEN/BRESSANONE, Italy - Jamaica failed to add to their two medals as the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships ended under cloudy skies and cool conditions here at the Brixen/Bressanone Sports Arena.
Jamaica's Javere Bell sprawled out on the tracks after he fell just a few short metres from the finish line in the boys' medley relay at the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships at the Brixen/Bressanone Sports Arena yesterday. (Photos: Paul Reid)Traves Smikle's bronze medal on Wednesday's first day and Danielle Dowie's silver in the 400m hurdles on Saturday were the only medal success for Jamaica after five days of competition which marked the worst performance for the team in the 10-year history of the championships.
The previous lowest was three medals won in Marrakesh, Morocco in 2005.
Jamaica finished joint 24th of the 46 countries that managed a medal after 180 countries took part. Hungary and South Africa also tied for 24th.
Kenya topped the medals tables with 14 (six gold, seven silver and one bronze); the United States was next with a total of 16 medals (six gold, five silvers and five bronze) while Great Britain was third with six.
While expressing his disappointment that the team did not win more medals, head coach Danny Hawthorne said the youngsters tried their best. "Given the inexperience of the athletes, they tried their best," he told reporters yesterday.
Exposure, he said, was crucial if they were to do better. "I have been saying we need to expose these athletes more and I must commend them for the effort here."
Rochelle Farquharson in action where she produced a personal best 6.03m effort for fourth place in her long jump event at the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships at the Brixen/Bressanone Sports Arena yesterday.Hawthorne admitted things could have been better, but pointed out that several of the team members achieved personal bests.
The highlights, he noted, were the two medals won saying it showed the "focus and tenacity".
The failure of the relay teams to win medals, he said, was the low point. "I thought we would have done a lot better, but inexperience once again messed us up."
The highlight of yesterday's performance came in the women's long jump finals where Rochelle Farquharson produced a personal best 6.03m effort for fourth place, missing a medal by .02m as the American Jennifer Clayton took the bronze behind China's Minjia Lu (6.22m) and Romania's Alina Rotaru (6.09m).
Farquharson, who won both the long and triple jump events at Junior Trials at GC Foster College a month ago, achieved her best on her fifth and penultimate jump moving up from seventh spot.
Janieve Russell was ninth with a best jump of 5.86m, well below her personal best 6.06m.
Celia Walters was eighth and last in the 200m final in a disappointing 24.09 seconds after running 24.05 seconds in Saturday's semi-finals and coming into the meet with a personal best 23.84 seconds set in March this year.
Both medley relay teams disappointed by failing to finish in the medals, while the boys team did not finish after anchor leg runner Javere Bell fell metres from the line after fading from second to fifth place.
The United States won both relay races.
Two changes were made to the girls' team bringing in 400m hurdles finalists Danielle Dowie and Ristananna Tracey for the 300m and 400m legs, respectively.
The move did not produce the expected result, as despite a good start from Deandre Whitehorn on the 100m lead off leg, Walters failed to make any impression on the 200m.
Dowie, who had won silver the day before, managed to get into medal contention but faded in the last 20m before handing over to Tracey.
The Edwin Allen student, who wowed with two brilliant anchor legs at the Penn Relays in April, fizzled here as she was passed by several teams and eventually finished fifth in 2:09.79 seconds.
The time run in the final was marginally better than Saturday's qualifying heats' 2:10.12 seconds when Russell and Chantal Duncan ran the last two legs.
After good legs from Kemar Bailey-Cole, Waynee Hyman and A-Shawni Mitchell, Jamaica were well-placed in second place, well behind the Americans when 400m finalist Bell took off like a rocket.
Despite the other teams gaining, he managed to maintain his position until he turned into the straightaway for home when his form went to pieces.
First he grabbed at his leg hamstring twice, then after being passed by three other runners, fell to the turf where he laid for several minutes before storming off before the medical personnel could get to him.
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