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• Ricketts opens season with 14.50m to win triple jump at Jamaica Athletics Invitational

  Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts provided her home fans with a solid performance to win the women’s triple jump at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

  The two-time World Championships silver medallist produced a best jump of 14.50m on her first attempt that proved to be enough to win in the end.

  American Jasmine Moore had a best jump of 14.28m for second while Dominican World Indoor Champion Thea Lafond jumped 14.22m in the sixth and final round to clinch third.

  “I feel exceptional. I usually get started with my season much earlier but this year we decided to get a few things corrected before coming into competition,” Ricketts said following the competition.

  “Competing with world class athletes who have been doing well indoors as well really pushed me and gave me a good implication of where I’m at this season,” she added.

  The 2022 Commonwealth Champion also spoke on competing in Jamaica.

  “It’s always a pleasure to compete in Kingston. Usually, I try to do a meet here before going overseas to compete in the Diamond League. The crowd has warmed up to the jumps because of how well I’ve been doing overseas over the years. I’m always grateful for the support,” she said.

• Great Britain’s Hughes, Asher-Smith get 200m victories at Jamaica Athletics Invitational

  Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith took victories in the men’s and women’s 200m events at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

  Hughes, a bronze medallist in the 100m at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, produced a season’s best 19.96 to win ahead of American Fred Kerley (20.17) and France’s Pablo Mateo (20.20).

  “I feel really good. I think this is my second 200m race of the season. When I opened up I wasn’t ready so tonight I was just testing out the waters. We’re starting to sharpen up but not as much because it’s a long season,” Hughes said after the race.

  “To run 19.96 now, I’m very happy. I just need to stay healthy and continue to execute my races accordingly and everything will be okay,” he added.

  2019 World Champion Asher-Smith narrowly won the women’s event in 22.51 ahead of the Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai (22.53) with Jamaica’s Lanae-Tava Thomas running 22.84 for third.

  Asher-Smith says she was hoping for a quicker time and has some things to work on.

  “I’m in really good shape so I was hoping to get a quicker time today. Clearly, I’ve got some stuff that I’ve got to work on so I’m going to go back to Austin and work on them but I’m happy to have won here in Jamaica,” she said.

• NBA legend Patrick Ewing pays homage to Jamaica with Ewing Rogue “Jamrock”

  Jamaican basketball fans around the world will now have access to a shoe that represents them to the fullest thanks to NBA Hall of Famer, Patrick Ewing.

  The Kingston-born Ewing, through his Ewing Athletics brand, oversaw the creation of the Ewing Rogue “Jamrock.”

  Ewing Athletics is an American basketball shoe brand founded by Ewing and his former agent, David Falk.

  This shoe draws inspiration from the flag of Jamaica, featuring a black and green leather upper and yellow leather straps to represent the saltire (diagonal cross) on the flag.

  A description on the brand’s website explained the inspiration behind the shoe.

  “Hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, Pat has never shied away from representing his homeland. While we're no strangers to telling the story of his heritage through sneakers, we felt it was time for a refresh. After all, Pat did put the Jam in Jamrock.”

  Ewing, who was born in Kingston a day before Jamaica gained independence, moved to the US in 1975.

  After shining in High School, he had a decorated career at Georgetown University before being the first overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.

  Ewing then had a seventeen-year NBA career, predominantly playing for the New York Knicks, where he was an eleven-time all-star and named to seven All-NBA teams. The Knicks appeared in the NBA Finals twice (1994 and 1999) during his tenure. He won Olympic gold medals as a member of the 1984 and 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball teams. 

  Ewing was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996 and as one of the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History in 2021.

  He is a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts (in 2008 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the 1992 Olympic team). Additionally, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame as a member of the "Dream Team" in 2009. His number 33 was retired by the Knicks in 2003.

  The Ewing Rogue “Jamrock” is now available on ewingathletics.com.