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• Corinaldi Avenue Primary race to 13-point lead on penultimate day of INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Western Athletics Championships

  Defending champion Corinaldi Avenue Primary of St James raced to a 13-point lead on the penultimate day of the INSPORTs/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Western Athletics Championships on Friday.

  After 11 finals, Corinaldi surged to 86.5 points ahead of Black River Primary of St Elizabeth on 73.5 and Howard Cooke Primary of St James sitting in third spot on 54 points. Brompton Primary of St Elizabeth are fourth with 50 points while Glen Stuart Primary completed the top five on 48 points.

  The records continued to tumble but the star of the day was Santana Brown of Brompton who won two events the Girls Cricketball Open with 42.04m and returned later to capture the high jump with a record leap of 1.37m.

  Her teammate Keneek Grove won the Boys’ Cricket ball Open with a record 64.67m ahead of Corinaldi’s Al-Jay Levy with 63.50m.

  Brompton won three events and took an early while Howard Cooke won three relays all in record fashion. In fact, seven of the eight relay records were broken.  

  Howard Cooke won the Girls’ Class Four 4x100 in 1:02.49 and the Girls’ Class Two in 54.75, both in record fashion. They also won Boys’ Class One in 52.85 just outside the record of 52.19 held by Barracks Road since 2023.

  Corinaldi Avenue won two relays in record style, the Boys’ Class Four in a record 58.05 and the Boys’ Class Three in 55.35.

  Glen Stuart also won two relays in record fashion capturing the Girls’ Class Three 4x100 in 58.29 and the Boys’ Class Two in 55.25. Barracks Road Primary won the Girls Class One in a record 53.55.

  There will be 29 finals tomorrow as teams fight to book their spots in the all-island finals dubbed the Nationals on May 20-22. Lyssons of St Thomas won the Eastern Championship and Naggo Head of St Catherine won the Central Championship.

  The National champion will walk away with $600,000. Lyssons are the defending champions.

• Gardiner opens outdoor season with 31.99s-clocking in 300m win

  Reigning Olympic 400m champion Steven Gardiner continues to demonstrate strength, resilience and dazzling form in his push towards the 2024 Paris Games, as he opened his outdoor season with a tidy 31.99s-clocking to win the men’s 300m at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami on Friday.

  The Bahamian won ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Asa Guevara, who finished in 32.78s and Barbadian Jonathan Jones (33.02s).

  Though some ways off his 31.52s personal best in the event, Gardiner, has signalled that he is much stronger and better on return from last year’s injury, and is no doubt looking forward to repeating his 400m at this summer’s Olympic Games.

  Last month, the 28-year-old clocked a world-leading 31.78s to win the men’s 300m at the Carolina Invitational indoor meet at the University of South Carolina. That time was the second fastest ever indoors, trialing his own 31.56s done at the same venue in 2022.

  Gardiner, who is also the 2019 World Championships 400m gold medallist, was on his way to another undefeated season last year, but pulled up with an injury in the semifinals at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

  While heartbroken by the injury at the time, Gardiner promised not to give up and his recent performances reaffirms his determination to defend his 400m title in Paris with a clean bill of health.

• Sprint hurdlers Britany Anderson, Omar McLeod set to stage comebacks over 60m at Berlin ISTAF Indoors Feb. 23

  In highly anticipated comebacks, Olympic champion Omar McLeod and World Championship silver medalist Britany Anderson are set to make their season debuts at the ISTAF Indoor Meeting in Berlin on February 23, 2024. Both sprint hurdlers will both compete in 60m dash as they step back into the competitive arena after some time away.

  For McLeod, the journey to Berlin marks a return to competition after facing setbacks in recent years. The 2016 Olympic champion has struggled with poor form, leading to his failure to qualify for the Jamaican team in both the Tokyo Olympics and the World Athletics Championships in 2022. However, reports from his training camp in Italy hinted at a remarkable turnaround, with McLeod displaying renewed focus and determination to regain his winning form on the track.

  Eager for redemption, McLeod is approaching the ISTAF Indoor Meeting as a pivotal moment in his career as the 2017 World 110m hurdles world champion aims to showcase the fruits of his hard work and dedication in front of the global athletics community.

  On the other hand, Anderson's story adds another layer of inspiration to the event.

  The silver medalist from the 2022 World Championships in Oregon had faced a significant hurdle in the form of a knee injury that required surgery in early 2023. This setback forced her to miss the entire season.

  The ISTAF Indoor Meeting in Berlin is now the stage for Anderson's much-anticipated return from surgery.

  The meet otherwise boasts stellar lineup, featuring world record holder Grant Holloway, European indoor champion Samuele Ceccarelli from Italy, Zaynab Dosso, the third fastest 60m sprinter globally, and British European Champion Daryll Neita.

  Among the local contenders were the fastest sprinters of the German Leichtathletik-Verbands (DLV), including Alexandra Burghardt, Rebekka Haase (both in the 60m), and Franziska Schuster (60m hurdles). The anticipation built as the world prepared to witness the thrilling competitions unfold on the renowned blue track in Berlin, with McLeod and Anderson's comebacks adding an extra layer of excitement to an already star-studded event.