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  • Williams strikes gold

    Sport

    Williams strikes gold
    As Jamaica make fast start at Pan-Am
    BY PAUL A REID, Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
    Saturday, August 01, 2009
    Shermaine Williams and Rosemarie Carty got Jamaica off to a fast start at the 15th Pan-American Junior Track and Field Championships at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad, after taking gold and silver in the 100m hurdles on the first day of the three-day meet.

    Jamaica won a total of five medals, including two bronze medals by Jura Levy in the women's 100m and Jodi-Ann Muir in the 400m to be second in the medals table to the US, who had won 15, including seven gold with a number of finals still to be announced last night.

    Meanwhile, IAAF World Youth Championships bronze medallist Traves Smikle broke his three-month-old National Junior Record (NJR) in the discus throw when he had a personal best 57.18m to take bronze, Jamaica's first discus medal at the Pan-Am Juniors.

    Smikle, who set a National Youth Record 61.22m with the 1.50kilo disc at the WYC in Italy last month, improved the NJR with the 1.75kilo implement on his second attempt to beat the 54.42m he set at the CARIFTA Games in April.

    WILLIAMS. won the silver medal at last year's IAAF World Junior Championships in Poland, and who also took the silver at the World Youth Championships the previous year in Ostrava, Czech Republic. (Photo: Paul Reid)
    The 17-year-old went over the old record again on his third attempt with a throw of 54.74m, but had two fouls in his next three attempts.

    In the 100m hurdles, the one-two finish by Williams and Carty, equalled the result at the 2005 meet held in Windsor, Canada, when Latoya Greaves and Natasha Ruddock took the gold and the silver medals, respectively.

    The 100m hurdles was run as a straight final with only seven entrants and Williams, who won the silver medal at last year's IAAF World Junior Championships in Poland, and who also took the silver at the World Youth Championships the previous year in Ostrava, Czech Republic, ran a wind-aided 13.22 seconds (2.2 m/s).

    Carty ran 13.34 seconds for her first major medal, while the USA's Raven Clay was third in 13.44 seconds.

    Muir took third in the 400m in 53.93 seconds as teammate Amoy Blake finished fifth in 54.96 seconds.

    Colombia's Jenifer Padilla won in 53.60 seconds with Mexico's Alejandro Cherizola second in 53.81 seconds.
    Darrion Bent was seventh in the men's 400m in 47.85 seconds as the event was won by Granada's World Youth Championships double gold medallists Kirani James in 45.43 seconds.

    Bent, the winner of the one lap event at Junior trials, had run faster in the preliminaries after taking third in 47.21 seconds and advancing as one of the fastest losers.

    Jamaica's second entry Adolphus Nevers failed to complete his 400m heat limping off the track and reports were that he was holding the back of one of his legs.

    Levy was third in the 100m in 11.51 seconds behind two Americans - Chalonda Goodman, who ran a Championships record 11.22 seconds and Amber Purvis, who posted 11.38 seconds.

    Gayon Evans was sixth in 11.71 seconds.

    Dexter Lee, who was the only Jamaican male to advance to the final of the 100m, was fourth in 11.33 seconds, the first time he was failing to win a medal in the sprint at an international meet.

    Lee had won his preliminary round heat in a wind-aided 10.24 seconds (31. m/s), while Sheldon Mitchell finished fifth in his heat in 10.61 seconds and failed to advance.

    America had another one-two finish with Marcus Rowland in another Championship record 10.03 seconds and D'Angelo Cherry in a personal best 10.17 seconds finishing ahead of Brazilian Diego Henriq Cavalcanti, who timed 10.30 seconds.

    Deuce Carter was also fourth in the 110m hurdles final in 13.71 seconds after qualifying with the seventh fastest time (13.90 seconds).

    Top schoolboy middle distance runner and national junior record holder Kemoy Campbell finished fifth in the 1,500m in 3 minutes 51.40 seconds.
    Micara Vassell was ninth in the women's shot put with 13.11m, while Candicea Bernard was 11th with 12.85m.

    Meanwhile, on today's second day of the three-day meet, the Jamaicans will be involved in the preliminary rounds of both sprint relays in the morning session and will have an eye on the finals set for later in the day.
    There will also be the preliminaries and finals of the 200m for men and women, the women's discus throw, the preliminaries of the 400m hurdles as well as the men's pole vault.

    LEVY. was third in the 100m in 11.51 seconds behind two Americans. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)
    Calabar High schoolboy Ramone McKenzie, who seems set to run the individual 200m at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin later this month, and Central American and Caribbean Senior Championships gold medal winner Nickel Ashmeade will make up a formidable Jamaican presence in the 200m.

    They will, however, come up against Grenada's James, who will be seeking to complete his second major double this month after winning both in Italy at the WYC.

    Despite losing to McKenzie at the National Senior Trials in June, Ashmeade should start favourite to win the half lap event after a string of good showings this season.

    IAAF World Junior Championships finalist Levy will lead the female charge for Jamaica along with Audra Segree.

    Nikita Tracey and WYC silver medallist Daniel Dowie will line up in the 400m hurdles and are expected to easily advance to the final set for tomorrow's final day.

    National junior record holder K'Don Samuels is the only entry in the men's pole vault, while Candicea Bernard will take part in the discus throw.
    Solidarity is not a matter of well wishing, but is sharing the very same fate whether in victory or in death.
    Che Guevara.
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