Trinidad and Tobago's hopes of an historic qualification to the Copa America went up in smokes, as they suffered a 0-2 loss to Canada in their 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League Play-In encounter at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on Saturday.
Cyle Larin (61st) and Jacob Shaffelburg (90+1) struck in the second half to lift Canada, who will now join Jamaica, United States, Mexico and Panama in the prestigious CONMEBOL tournament to be hosted in the United States in June. For Angus Eve and his Soca Warriors, it is back to the rebuilding phase to challenge for FIFA World Cup qualification, which also starts in June.
Canada started off controlling possession, but it was Trinidad and Tobago who nearly got the first goal in the 18th, when a counterattack ended with Levi Garcia swinging a shot just wide.
Meanwhile, Canada fired a pair of warning shots when Jonathan David shot wide in the 22nd, and then Larin’s effort in the 26th, was saved by Trinidad and Tobago custodian Denzil Smith.
The chances kept coming for both sides. Trinidad and Tobago's defenders Andre Raymond swooped in to steal a pass and fired wide in the 47th, before David had a header cleared off the goal-line in the 55th.
The match was due for a goal and Canada inevitably found the go-ahead goal duly obliged, as a nice build-up from Tajon Buchanan and Ike Ugbo set up a fine strike from Larin.
Down a goal, Trinidad and Tobago were forced to open up and commit more numbers forward. Garcia proved a menace to the Canadian defence, but the Soca Warriors lacked composure in the final third.
Trinidad and Tobago mounted several late forays forward, including a chance for Garcia in the 85th, but the veteran striker watched as his effort was saved by Maxime Crepeau, in goal for Canada.
However, Canada eventually doubled the lead and confirmed victory courtesy of Shaffelburg, who drove home from close range after picking up a pass from David in time added.
Hydel High continued their fight to retain their title, as they copped two of the four girls’ relays titles on offer to close the gap on rivals Edwin Allen on Saturday’s fifth and final day of the 113th ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium.
Hydel won the girls’ Class one title 44.71 ahead of Edwin Allen (45.18s) and Wolmer’s Girls (45.83s)
Jamaica College took the boys’ Class one honours in 40.01s. Calabar (40.10s) were left back in second, with St Jago (40.39s) in third.
The Class two girls’ title went to Edwin Allen in 45.44s, as Theianna-Lee Terrelonge ran a blistering third leg to propel her team past Hydel (45.46s), with Wolmer’s Girls (46.79s) closing fast for third.
There was no stopping Excelsior in the boys’ Class two relays, as they got first run on rivals and later pulled away to win in 40.35s, leaving Kingston College (40.96s) and Calabar (41.75s) to settle for the minor placing.
St Jago upstaged their more fancied rivals to win the girls’ Class three event in 45.74s, as Immaculate Conception closed fast for second in 46.29s, with Hydel (46.41s) in third.
The Class three boys title went to Red Hills Road, as Calabar (43.45s) got the baton around best to win. Wolmer’s Boys were second in 43.69s, with St Elizabeth Technical third in 43.85s. Kingston College initially placed second, but they were later disqualified for obstruction.
Hydel also won the girls’ Class four even in impressive fashion, as they stopped the clock in 47.78s. Covent of Mercy Alpha was second in 48.35s and Edwin Allen (48.46s), third.
By virtue of the relay performances, Hydel moved up to 289 points, 17.5 points behind Edwin Allen, (306.5 points) with the sprint medley relay open, the 3,000m open and the 4X400m relay open to come.
On the boys’ side, Kingston College are on 304 points, 52 points ahead of Jamaica College (252 points), with the sprint medley open and the 4X400m relay open to come.
It was double delight for a number of athletes across classes, as they added the 200m gold medal to their respective titles on Saturday’s fifth and final day of the 113th ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium.
Among them were Hydel’s Alliah Baker and Teixiera Johnson, Wolmer’s Girls’ Natrece East and Wolmer’s Boys’ Mario Ross, who all completed the sprint double, while Muschette High’s Shanoya Douglas, added the half-lap gold to her 400m crown.
Baker, who won the Class one 100m title, was again comfortable in topping the 200m in 23.89s in a -0.4 headwind. Brittney McCormack (24.44s) of Bridgeport was second with Titchfield’s Chevauna Grant (24.46s) in third.
The boys’ Class one event was won by Kingston College’s Amal Glasgow, who timed his race to perfection to collar favourite Gary Card of Wolmer’s Boys at the line. Glasgow won in 21.21s, with Card (21.23s), just staying on for second ahead of another Kingston College athlete Marcinho Rose (21.24s) in a blanket finish.
In the girls’ Class two final, Douglas, the 400m champion utilised her endurance to topple Edwin Allen’s Theianna-Lee Terrelonge. Running in a strong -3.5 metres per second headwind, Douglas stopped the clock in 23.93s, with Terrelonge (24.31s) and Hydel’s Shemonique Hazel (24.38s) taking the minor placing.
Douglas’s teammate Johan-Ramaldo Smythe (21.35s) was a cut above rivals in the boys’ Class two event. Jabari Matheson (21.64s) of William Knibb and Jamaica College’s Malique Dennis (21.87s) were second and third respectively.
Meanwhile, the Wolmer’s duo of East and Ross copped the respective Class three 200m titles to complete the sprint double. East won in a commanding manner in 24.29 seconds, ahead of Immaculate Conception High’s Kimberly Wright (24.70s) and Hydel High’s Sashana Johnson (24.80s).
Ross followed suit shortly after, topping his event in a personal best of 22.21 seconds. Calabar’s Ched Brown (22.54s) took silver ahead of Jamaica College’s Oneil Lawrence (22.73s).
In the girls’ Class four 200m, Hydel High’s Johnson justified favouritism, as she won in 25.44 seconds ahead of teammate Tyecia McDonald (25.91s), while Wolmer’s Girls' Mick-Kayla Gardner (26.11s) took the bronze.
Lewis Morgan became the top goalscorer in MLS this season after his hat-trick inspired New York Red Bulls to a 4-0 thrashing of Inter Miami.
With Lionel Messi out injured, Miami could do little to prevent their former player Morgan turning on the style at the Red Bull Arena.
Not only did Morgan help himself to three goals, but he also teed up another with a mazy run from the touchline before helping it back to Wikelman Carmona.
Saturday's heavy defeat saw Miami, temporarily at least, fall from top spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Red Bulls moved up to third with 10 points from their four games.
The Red Bulls enjoyed a sensational start, with Morgan firing them in front after just three minutes to bring up his third goal of the season. The Scottish striker latched on to a clever flick from Dante Vanzeir before dispatching into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Sandro Schwarz's side could have doubled their lead in the 29th minute after Morgan returned the favour to Vanzeir with a superb throughball, but he dragged his effort wide.
Miami's best chance of the first half came through Jordi Alba, who found himself in space inside the penalty area after Lawson Sunderland poked the ball into his path, but his effort whistled over the bar.
The visitors' frustration was compounded just six minutes into the second half – Vanzeir and Morgan linking up once again as the latter got on the end of a defence-splitting pass before tucking home.
It was 3-0 in the 66th minute, Carmona firing in from close range after tireless work from Morgan.
The 27-year-old chased down a loose ball before taking on his marker and picking out Vanzeir, whose touch fell Carmona.
Morgan secured his hat-trick just four minutes later with the Red Bulls hitting Miami on the counter-attack, finishing coolly from yet another excellent Vanzeir pass.
Morgan haunts the Herons
With the home side unbeaten in four straight matches at the Red Bull Arena in all competitions before kick-off, Schawrz's men played with plenty of confidence in front of their own supporters, and made that five wins on the bounce in emphatic fashion.
Morgan, who spent two seasons with Miami in 2020 and 2021, was crucial, and went off to a standing ovation.
His opener brought up the Red Bulls' quickest strike of the season, and he now tops the MLS scoring charts with five goals this season. Vanzeir, meanwhile, has risen to the top of the assists list (five).
Suarez fails to step up in Messi’s absence
It has been an impressive start to the season for Miami, who went into this clash at the top of the East, but they Gerardo Martino's side were taught a harsh lesson, and they did not have Messi to bail them out.
Suarez was tasked with taking on the responsibility in attack, but the Uruguayan was not at his best and struggled to get involved in the action in the final third.
Indeed, after picking up a booking for dissent in the first half, he did not really provide a spark at all until late on, when his cross diverted off a defender and onto the crossbar.
It was a day to forget for Miami, who did have a consolation goal ruled out by VAR, and the Herons will now have to lick their wounds and hope Messi, who has skipped international duty, is back sooner rather than later.
Jamaica College’s Kemario Bygrave and Samuel Creary swept the boys' Class one and two 800m titles on the fifth and final day of the 113th ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Bygrave successfully defended his Class one crown, as he won comfortably in 1:51.75. Kingston College’s Jaquan Coke (1:52.59) and Maggotty High’s Yoshane Bowen (1:53.02), were second and third, respectively.
In Class 2, Creary added the 800m gold to his 1,500m win. He clocked 1:54.10 ahead of Kingston College’s Nahashon Ruto (1:55.65) and St Mary High’s Rasheed Grant (1:57.38).
Meanwhile, Cavel Nooks of JC equalled his personal best of 1:58.25 to claim the Class three crown. His teammate Cameron Williams (2:02.53) was second, while Sydney Pagon’s Luke Plummer (2:02.86), copped bronze.
On the girls' side, Edwin Allen’s Rickeisha Simms powered through to claim gold in 2:08.56. Hydel’s Abigail Campbell (2:09.07) was second and the other Edwin Allen representative Monique Stewart (2:10.19) finished third.
Holmwood Technical’s Jovi Rose (2:15.37) upgraded her bronze from last year to win gold in the Class two final. Silver went to St Jago’s Kededra Coombs (2:16.66), while Edwin Allen’s Horecia Love (2:17.10) took bronze.
In the Class 3 girls’ event, it was Alphansus Davis’ Alikay Reynolds, who won the 1500m on Wednesday that topped the field in 2:17.79. Edwin Allen’s Kevongaye Fowler, the overwhelming favourite, had to settle for silver in 2:13.19, with St Mary High’s Dallia Fairweather (2:13.20) in third.
A well-played 94 by West Indies all-rounder Justin Greaves propelled Leeward Islands Hurricanes to a seven-wicket win over Jamaica Scorpions in their fifth round West Indies Championships encounter at Sabina Park on Saturday.
The Hurricanes, who have enjoyed decent form since the start of the four-day tournament, assumed control of this encounter from day one and expectedly completed victory courtesy of Greaves’ unbeaten knock.
Resuming on 145-3, with only 42 runs to get, Hurricanes easily got to their target without any further loss of wickets. The right-handed Greaves, who resumed on 62, added 32 to his overnight score to end on 94 off 183 balls, including five boundaries.
He got support from wicketkeeper/batsman Jahmar Hamilton, who finished unbeaten on 21 off 55 balls in the 74-run fourth-wicket stand.
With the win, their fourth of the season, the Hurricanes assumed pole position on the standing on 80.6 points, while the Scorpions, who were suffering their third defeat, slipped to fifth on 53.4 points.
Scores: Jamaica Scorpions 221 (Carlos Brown 68, Romaine Morris 42, Derval Green 20 not out; Jeremiah Louis 3-34, Rahkeem Cornwall 3-69, Colin Archibald 2-23, Daniel Doram 2-27) and 196 (Abhijai Mansingh 52, Kirk McKenzie 33, Ramaal Lewis 30, Peat Salmon 22; Jeremiah Louis 3-24, Rahkeem Cornwall 3-56, Oshane Thomas 2-48).
Leeward Islands Hurricanes 231 (Justin Greaves 62, Keacy Carty 53, Kieran Powell 41, Jewel Andrew 32; Peat Salmon 5-20, Ramaal Lewis 4-80) and 189-3 (Justin Greaves 94 not out, Mikyle Louis 57; Peat Salmon 2-69).
Jamaica and Panama will each try to finish their respective 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League campaigns on a high note when they meet in the third-place contest at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday.
The Heimir Hallgrimsson-coached Jamaicans delivered an excellent performance in their semi-final clash with United States, leading from the very first minute until the final seconds of second half stoppage time when an own-goal resulted in an equalizer. United States then completed a 3-1 victory with two goals in extra-time.
Nevertheless, the Reggae Boyz defence stood tall in keeping a dangerous United States attack at bay, after Gregory Leigh’s goal just 31 seconds into the match.
Captain and goalkeeper Andre Blake was at his usual best between the sticks, making four saves, while as a collective the Jamaican defence had 12 steals, with Damion Lowe one of the standout performers.
Attacker Bobby Reid was a tireless worker as well, as he supplied the assist on the Leigh goal in addition to being a threat on the counterattack.
Panama suffered a 0-3 defeat to Mexico in their semi-final encounter, in which they had control of things for a large part of the first half, but they conceded two goals shortly before the interval.
The Canaleros will be eager to claim a victory in this one and achieve their best finish ever in a Nations League Finals outing after finishing fourth in 2022-23.
Midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla was a central figure in midfield against Mexico, with 40 passes completed and two steals. Anibal Godoy also offered plenty of punch with three steals and 77 percent of passes completed.
Still, the matter of scoring remains the key component to deciding an outcome and both Jamaica and Panama will be very much aware of that. These two sides last met in Concacaf Qualifying for FIFA World Cup 2022, during which Panama won both meetings, 3-0 and 3-2. Prior to that, they were opponents in the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals, which saw Jamaica register a 1-0 victory.
Regardless of the outcome, Jamaica has already rewritten the history books, as this represents their first time contesting the business end of the Concacaf Nations League. However, a win would certainly boost their morale ahead of the prestigious CONMEBOL Copa America tournament in June, as well as the Concacaf Gold Cup qualifiers.
Mr Professor was too clever for the rest with a power-packed display in the William Hill Lincoln at Doncaster.
Sent off at 33-1, the Dominic Ffrench Davis-trained five-year-old was drawn in stall two but ended up more towards the middle after David Egan – celebrating a big winner so soon after becoming number one rider for owners Amo Racing – asked his mount to quicken a furlong and a half from home.
Lattam was a length and a half back in second, with Navagio two lengths further away in third, but there was never any danger to the winner once he had flown.
Fozzy Stack’s Chazzesmee was the well-backed 5-2 favourite, chasing an unprecedented double after winning the Irish equivalent last weekend, but while he moved with some menace, he could never quite get into it, eventually just being edged out for fourth by Alpha Crucis.
But there was huge disappointment for David Menuisier, with last year’s winner Migration planting himself in the stalls as the gates opened.
Cieren Fallon produced Montassib to perfection in winning the William Hill Cammidge Trophy Stakes at Doncaster.
Content to sit at the back of the field until just over a furlong out, Fallon weaved his way through on the William Haggas-trained 4-1 chance to beat 3-1 joint-favourite Marshman by a neck, with the other market leader Orazio another length and a quarter back.
It did look like Marshman had done enough after hitting the front, but his supporters were sunk by Fallon’s late surge, on a horse who ended last season with victory in the valuable Coral Sprint Trophy at York and is now a Listed winner.
It was Fallon’s first winner since returning from a lengthy injury.
He said: “Last year, he was a frustrating horse for me because I felt I should have won the Ayr Gold Cup on him, but we at least ended the season with a win at York.
“I rode him work the other week and I said to the boss he’d improved again, he’d got quicker. He was such an easy ride today, anyone could have won on him.
“I’m very lucky that I was looked after well at Oaksey House, they’ve spent a lot of hours with me, I took my time as I was off for four and a half months, I didn’t want to come back too soon, I wanted to make sure I was 100 per cent.
“I’ve been back riding out the last three weeks and the boss has put me on some quiet horses to give me some confidence that way. I had a spin yesterday and I feel great, I feel better than ever and I don’t feel like I’ve lost any race-sharpness at all.
“I’m in a really great position, I’m very lucky to be riding horses like this.”
Assistant trainer Maureen Haggas said: “I thought Cieren gave him a lovely ride – it was a bit testing about a furlong out, but he got there.
“He was a talented two-year-old, then early the following year he had a problem with his heart, so he had the whole year off.
“He’s really done nothing but improve since then, he got his act together at the end of last year and he’s carrying on now. I think he needs a bit of cut to be seen at his best.
“We thought he was quite big today, as he had a good blow in his work, but he doesn’t look like he’s had much of a race today.
“He’s a lovely horse, one of those lovely people, so straightforward.”
The mercurial Look Back Smiling provided Gemma Tutty with the biggest success of her training career when winning the William Hill Epic Boost Spring Mile at Doncaster.
Bought out of Ed Dunlop’s stable by Nick Bradley for what now looks a snip at £10,000, the four-year-old was defying a career-high mark of 83.
A winner in heavy ground at Town Moor last October, he had conditions to suit once more and was delivered perfectly by 5lb claimer Brandon Wilkie.
The only worry was that under pressure he drifted into Jamie Spencer on the 5-1 favourite Thunder Roar, bidding to give Tony Coyle and Kaine Wood a first winner since the start of their new joint venture. The stewards left the original result alone, though.
Tutty said of the 17-2 winner: “As you could see in the final furlong, he’s not the most straightforward and he doesn’t make life easy for his jockeys.
“That’s another fantastic run at this track though, so we’re going to have to look at coming back here.
“He doesn’t do a stroke at home. In his work, we put the least experienced jockeys on him and just play catch me if you can, then he just keeps going and going.”
She went on: “He won three races last year, but I suppose in racing like he does, it’s protected him from the handicapper. It’s just a shame he needs the ground this soft because some of those big handicaps in the summer would be perfect for him.
“We’ve had a really good start to the year, we’ve targeted the All-Weather Championships, so we’ve had more runners than we’d normally have and they’ve been running well, but you can’t have a better start to the turf season than this.
“It’s my biggest win, I suppose, we’ve got about 20 horses in and the staff have worked so hard all winter, the staff have been up and down that motorway all winter, so I can’t thank them enough.
“Nick Bradley has a few horses with me now, so it’s nice to repay the faith he has shown in me.”
Dylan Cunha put a feather in the cap of his training career in Britain as Zminiature landed the William Hill EBF Brocklesby Stakes at Doncaster.
Traditionally the curtain-raiser for the Flat season, this time the juvenile contest – won 12 months ago by Persian Force, who went on to prove very smart – was the second race on the Town Moor card.
A Group One-winning handler in his native South Africa, Cunha is now based in Newmarket, and in this 16-1 winner he looks to have a nice colt on his hands.
Given a patient ride by Rhys Clutterbuck, the Territories youngster moved smoothly through runners to pick up long-timer leader Paddy’s Courage inside the final furlong, before keeping on nicely to hold Bob The Bandit and Indication Ember by a length and a short head.
Cunha said: “It was expected. We really fancied him. He’s small but he’s tough and does everything right. It’s nice to get a good early two-year-old winner.
“I said to the owners halfway through the race ‘it’s been a great experience, he’s learning to race’, as it looked like he was going to be fourth or fifth.
“We took him to Chelmsford for a gallop last Monday, we did all the work that needed to be done.
“I’ve got to thank the Sarkar family, they were the first owners in the UK to support me, so to pay them back with a Brocklesby winner is massive.
“His name is Zminiature because he’s tiny, he’s only up to my chest!
“We started with three horses 18 months ago but we’re up to 50 now, 25 of those are two-year-olds. It’s been hard work, 18-hour days, but I’ve got to thank the team at home, I just conduct it all.
“There’s a conditions race at Chester and a Listed race at Sandown, then after that we’ll take stock.
“I’m pleased for Rhys, I don’t think he gets the opportunities he deserves but he’s quite softly spoken and in this game you’ve got to make a bit of noise and talk yourself into jobs, but it meant I was able to get him. He’s a great jockey, I love him.”
Silvestre de Sousa made the best possible start to the new turf season when teaming up with Roger Varian’s Charyn to win the William Hill Doncaster Mile.
The former champion jockey has only recently returned from a 10-month suspension picked up in Hong Kong for breaching betting rules.
De Sousa, 43, has been getting his eye in on the all-weather recently but will have been thrilled to pick up the first Listed race of the season on the Group One-placed Charyn.
Last year’s winner Astral Beau made another bold bid for Pam Sly but she had no answer close home to the 2-1 winner, who streaked three and a half lengths clear under hands and heels riding.
“He’s a lovely horse, he just felt a little bit lazy out there,” said De Sousa.
“He’s ended up picking up really well. There wasn’t much of a pace, so I just rode the race to suit him.”
With David Egan taking up his role with Amo Racing this season, Varian will be employing a new team of jockeys, with De Sousa in line to pick up plenty, along with James Doyle.
“That was a nice start to the season. Last year, he put up some really good efforts in the Irish Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes against some top opposition,” said Varian.
“He was a Group Two-winning two-year-old, he’s always been a nice horse and had some big questions asked of him last year, hopefully this can be his year.
“He looks to have done well through the winter, he’s a stronger horse this year and we were always keen to come here just to try and get a win on the board and build him back up again.
“I was worried about the ground, as while he has run some good races on testing ground, he’s at his best on a sounder surface. I think he’ll go on any ground.
“I’d like to go to Sandown for the Group Two (Bet365 Mile) and then the Lockinge.”
On the jockey situation, Varian added: “We’re in a good position. Some of our owners have their own jockeys, James Doyle is going to ride quite a few for us when available.
“Silvestre has been in riding work, I’ve got Jack Mitchell to call upon, Cam Noble, Raul de Silva, Aiden Keeley, so I’ve got a good team and they are all in every morning putting in the work, so hopefully they’ll all get opportunities.
“Silvestre is a good jockey, we like him a lot, we’ve known him a long time.”
Daryl Jacob will miss the ride on Intense Raffles in the Boylesports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday due to a broken collarbone.
The 40-year-old was riding Moon Hunter for Henry Daly at Newbury on Friday when he parted company with his mount at the third fence.
He is hoping to be back in time for the Punchestown Festival but will know more next week.
Jacob told SportingLife.com: “It was an unfortunate accident as Moon Hunter clipped heels with a horse in front of him coming down, taking his footing away from him, and I landed on my collarbone.
“It’s fractured in two places and I’ll know more about recovery timelines when I see Geoff Graham, a specialist, next Wednesday.
“The timing is terrible as I was looking forward to riding Intense Raffles in the Irish National and then there’s Aintree just around the corner.
“My motivation is to work hard and be back as soon as I can, hopefully for Punchestown, but I’ll know more on that score next week.”
In what could be described as another memorable chapter in the rich history of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships at Kingston's National Stadium, former high school track stars Daniel England and Anneisha McLaughlin-Whilby were honoured with the first-ever GKMS Western Union Icon Award, presented by title sponsors GraceKennedy Money Services.
Throughout his high school career, England, who was popularly known as “The Little Warrior”, ran undefeated over the 400m and lost only once in the 200m during his four years representing Calabar High School leading them to titles in 1988, 1989 and 1990. His only loss came at the hands of St Jago’s Donovan Powell, the elder brother of former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell.
England’s legacy at Calabar remains unparalleled and he expressed his heartfelt gratitude upon receiving the prestigious award. "It is an honour to be recognized," he remarked, his voice tinged with emotion. "It was a pleasure. I thank God. I thank Herb McKenley, I thank the Calabar Old Boys for supporting me over the years and I just appreciate it. I am feeling overwhelmed. It was an exciting moment and I am just glad to be here and to be able to know what I did in the past has some value for the future."
Boasting a similar legacy that featured 19 gold medals throughout her illustrious high school career during which she set many records, one of which still stands today, McLaughlin-Whilby’s incredibly versatile talents in the 200m and 400m led Holmwood Technical to girls’ titles in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and laid the foundation for the school’s nine consecutive championships.
Her Class 3 400m record of 52.52 set in 2001 still stands today after more than two decades.
In her final year, McLaughlin-Whilby defeated one Shelly-Ann Fraser to win the Class 1 100m dash to end her high-school career on a winning note.
Equally moved by the recognition, she shared her surprise and joy at being bestowed with the iconic award. "It was a big surprise. I really thought I was here to do medal presentations but I am very appreciative and very happy that my achievements have been recognized," she expressed, her gratitude evident in every word. "I am very proud of all that I did in high school. I still have a record at champs but this is an addition and I am very appreciative.”
As McLaughlin-Whilby spoke, her twin daughters, already showing signs of following in their mother's legendary footsteps, added a touch of poignancy to the moment. "They actually are (following in her footsteps). They had sports day today and they finished first and second," she proudly declared, embodying the spirit of athletic excellence that runs in the family.
Gabriel Heron, Head of Business Transformation at GraceKennedy Money Services, underscored the significance of honouring Jamaica's sporting icons. "I must give kudos to the team because it goes back to our GraceKennedy mantra 'We Care'," he affirmed while speaking exclusively to Sportsmax.TV. "And in really thinking through the concept, we came up with how can we show and give respect to individuals who really laid the foundation for Boys and Girls Championships."
Heron emphasized the importance of recognizing the legacy and contributions of athletes like England and McLaughlin-Whilby in shaping Jamaica's sporting heritage. "This whole idea of nation-building surrounding the championships, this element of it is a part of it," he stated. "It’s showing the history that we must always be grateful and show support for the individuals that laid the foundation.
“For the persons who were in the audience, you could see that there was a strong connection and the memory that it would have recalled seeing Daniel England flashing around the bend, seeing Anneisha with her hair bouncing around the bend, those kind of memories come back to us and also reinforces the history of Champs and where we’re coming from as well.
“And as a company we really revel in that and we should be proud of those moments and we should always and consistently recognize our sports icons in all facets of life and this was a critical moment.”
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