Grace Food Domestic CEO Frank James hugs a tearful Mrs Collette Pryce, Principal of St Jago High at Kingston's National Stadium on Saturday after the company donated JMD$ 1 million to a legacy project in honour of the late journalist, track and field analyst and author Hubert Lawrence, who died suddenly on February 23, at the age of 63.
GraceKennedy
The track and field community, and indeed the entire nation, was left reeling by the sudden passing of beloved journalist and broadcaster Hubert Lawrence on February 23, 2024. Lawrence, known for his encyclopedic knowledge and unparalleled passion for sports, particularly track and field, had been a fixture in the hearts of many for years. His unexpected departure just before the Gibson/McCook Relays sent shockwaves through Jamaica and beyond.
In recognition of his immense contribution to the sporting world, GraceKennedy Ltd, the title sponsors for the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships, vowed to pay tribute to Lawrence during the event. True to their word, an emotional tribute unfolded during the Championships, featuring a heartfelt video presentation from colleagues and athletes alike, including GraceKennedy Ambassadors Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Hansle Parchment, and Briana Williams. The moving tribute was complemented by a musical performance from Alaine, accompanied by the St. Jago High School chorale.
However, the tribute did not end there. Frank James, CEO of Grace Foods Domestic, stepped forward to present a symbolic gesture of support to St. Jago High School, Lawrence's alma mater. A cheque for JMD$1 million was handed over to a tearful Mrs. Collette Pryce, Principal of St. Jago High School, to fund a legacy project in honour of Lawrence.
Speaking to Sportsmax.TV following the presentation, Mrs. Pryce expressed her gratitude for the generous donation and reflected on the profound impact of Lawrence's legacy. She described Lawrence as a "walking encyclopedia" whose wealth of knowledge and dedication left an indelible mark on all who knew him.
Mrs. Pryce also emphasized the importance of preserving Lawrence's memory for future generations. She mentioned the void left by Lawrence's passing and the community's determination to honor his memory in a meaningful way.
“It is a huge loss. Personally, I was with him the Wednesday (February 21), before he died. We had plans. One of the things I wanted to see was a book for our school for first formers to know the stories of St. Jago and Hubert had all the stories about all the headmasters, about all the characters and I think we have lost a lot because most of it was not recorded and there is this void that we’re feeling right now and we are hoping that someone can step up but the community is shaken.
“He never left St Jago, so we knew him and we are speechless and tonight (Saturday) was difficult. I have been getting the messages from the Diaspora, from persons in Jamaica and they really want to thank Grace for recognizing our school in honour of Hubert, we know that he would have wanted that and we will need time to think this through but it’s a huge loss.”
Mrs. Pryce revealed plans to form a committee comprising Lawrence's friends and family to ensure that any tribute truly reflects his greatness.
“St Jago is 280 years old this year and we are doing a number of activities and Hubert’s legacy is huge. For me, it’s larger than life, heroic and so for the next 280 years Hubert’s name, his work must be in the annals of St Jago High School.
“So, a committee will have to work on this, his friends, we would love for them to be involved in this along with his family, so that whatever we so will really recognize his greatness.”
Karen Mussington, Sponsorship and Events Manager at GraceKennedy, shed light on the company's decision to honour Lawrence and the emotional significance of the tribute. She recalled Lawrence's integral role in sporting events over the years, stating, "What is Champs without Hubert? Personally, I can't remember having Champs, other than this one, without hearing his voice."
She recounted the emotional response from Mrs. Pryce upon learning of GraceKennedy's intention to donate to St. Jago High School in Lawrence's honour, underscoring the deep impact of Lawrence's legacy.
“When I called Mrs. Pryce to tell her what our intention was, she cried,” Mussington stated while recalling how the tribute came together.
“We thought we would get persons close to him to talk about him, Bruce (James), Dwayne Extol, that looked up to him, our brand ambassadors. Shelly talked about him giving her the name ‘Pocket Rocket’, so we thought we’d just put together that tribute for him. It was well received by the stadium and then, not only the tribute, but to make this meaningful donation to his beloved alma mater, St Jago and we will be working with Mrs Pryce to get a project done in his honour.”
While details of the legacy project are yet to be finalized, Mussington hinted at its focus on sports in line with Lawrence's passion and St. Jago High School's active involvement in athletics. She assured that GraceKennedy would continue to collaborate with Mrs. Pryce to ensure that Lawrence's memory is honored in a meaningful and lasting way.
“We definitely want it in line with sports because that was him and St Jago is very active in sports, especially athletics. So we want to something down that line but we have to speak with Mrs Pryce. There will definitely be a part two to this, it is a meaningful story but whatever it is it is going to be in his honour.”
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Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Economic challenges lead to cancellation of Grenada Invitational
Scores of fans anticipating this year’s staging of the Grenada Invitational were surely left disappointed after the organizing committee announced the cancellation of the meet.
The decision to cancel the 2024 Grenada Invitational and retire the brand was made at a Board of Directors meeting on Monday, May 27.
The driving force behind the decision, as put by the organizers in a statement, were significant socio-economic challenges.
The Grenada Invitational, known for showcasing world-class athletes such as Justin Gatlin, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Kirani James, has been a highlight for track and field enthusiasts since its inception in 2017.
The event successfully ran for three consecutive years from 2017-19, bringing global attention to Grenada’s athletic prowess.
This year’s event, which was officially launched on May 16 at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort in St. George’s, was set to feature prominent athletes including 2011 World champion Kirani James, two-time double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, 2022 Commonwealth 110m hurdles gold medallist Rasheed Broadbell, and 100m hurdles Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper.
They were among over 100 athletes set to participate in the international segment that promised high-quality competition.
Grenadian stars Anderson Peters and Lindon Victor, both qualified for Paris 2024, were also booked for the event, making the cancellation even more disappointing for local fans.
However, efforts to revive the event post-COVID-19 have faced numerous hurdles. The local and regional economic environment has made securing the necessary sponsorship and support exceedingly difficult.
“Despite the best efforts of the Board of Directors and the Local Organising Team of the Grenada Invitational, the synergy, the enthusiasm, the energy, and the commitment to produce a once-in-a-generation event did not materialize,” the organizers stated.
The statement continued, “With time running out, the Board of Directors of the Grenada Invitational took the painful decision at a meeting late Monday May 27 to cancel the 2024 Grenada Invitational, as well as round up, for good, the franchise and brand that is Grenada Invitational.”
“We are extremely pleased that we were able to bring to Grenada quality, world class athletic competition. We would like to commend and extend a hearty thank you to all who contributed, in one way or the other, to the 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions of the Grenada Invitational.”
Organizers then encouraged Grenadians to look back at the previous editions with pride while singling out Grenadian athletes such as Kirani James, Anderson Peters and Lindon Victor as inspirations behind the meet.
Gardiner among Olympic champions set to compete at Ostrava Golden Spike
Bahamian Steven Gardiner is among three individual men’s Olympic sprint champions set to compete at the Golden Spike, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Ostrava on Tuesday.
Italy’s Marcell Jacobs and Canada’s Andre De Grasse, the Olympic gold medallists over 100m and 200m respectively, will clash over the shorter distance, then De Grasse will double up by contesting his specialist event.
Gardiner, meanwhile, will take on world indoor champion Alexander Doom over one lap of the track.
The Bahamian, who has a season’s best of 44.45, could be pushed by the Belgian, who won in Marrakesh last week with a lifetime best of 44.51.
Not including the few races where he has pulled up injured, Gardiner has been undefeated over 400m since the 2017 World Championships.
Elsewhere, Jacobs has had just two individual outings this year, the latest being a 10.07 season’s best to win in Rome last weekend.
That makes the Italian the fastest of the Ostrava field this year on season’s bests, though he’s also one of four men in the line-up with a sub-10-second PB.
De Grasse, meanwhile, has a best this year of 10.11 and recently finished second at the Diamond League meeting in Marrakesh.
Britain’s Reece Prescod, who set his PB of 9.93 in Ostrava when winning in the Czech city two years ago, will be one to watch, as will Jamaica’s Ryiem Forde.
Later in the evening, De Grasse will take on Jamaica’s Andrew Hudson and Britain's Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake in the 200m.
In the men’s javelin, home favourite Jakub Vadlejch will take on European champion Julian Weber and two-time world champion Anderson Peters.
Four-time global medallist Vadlejch recently won in Doha with 88.38m, which puts him just one centimeter ahead of Weber on this year’s world list. Peters is close behind with a best of 86.62m.
“Journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”: Thompson-Herah encouraged despite last-place finish at Prefontaine Classic to open season
Two-time Olympic sprint double champion Elaine Thompson-Herah had a far from ideal start to her 2024 season at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday.
The 31-year-old lined up in the 100m at the fifth meet on this season’s Diamond League calendar and had a race to forget, running 11.30 for a ninth-place finish as hometown hero Sha’Carri Richardson sped away to a season’s best 10.83 for victory.
“Definitely not what I expected today but grateful,” Thompson-Herah said after the race on Instagram.
“Journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step,” she added.
Thompson-Herah, who is now being coached by Reynaldo Walcott at Elite Performance Track Club, is looking to rediscover the form that led her to Olympic glory in 2016 and 2021.
She endured an injury-riddled 2023 season that saw her fail to make the team for any individual event at the World Championships in Budapest. She did leave those championships with a silver medal, however, as part of the 4x100m quartet.
Thompson-Herah had much better returns in the second half of the 2023 season.
She ran times of 10.92 and 10.84 on September 4 and 8 to win at the Gala dei Castelli and the Brussels Diamond League, respectively, before closing out her season with 10.79 for third at the Prefontaine Classic on September 16.
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