Tokyo Olympics Recap: Grenada's James looking back to his best - runs fastest time since 2016

By Bradley Jacks August 03, 2021

 Women’s Discus

Cuba’s Yaime Perez secured a bronze medal with a throw of 65.72.

Shadae Lawrence of Jamaica finished 7th with a distance of 62.12, which she did in the second round.

The gold medal went to Valarie Allman of the USA with 68.98 and Germany’s Kristin Pudenz was second with a personal best of 66.86.

 

Men’s 400 Metres

Three Caribbean men will be in the final of the men’s 400 metres.

Semi-final 1 saw Grenada’s 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James run his fastest time since the 2016 Olympic final.

 James won the race in 43.88 to advance to his third straight Olympic 400 metres final and will be seeking a third straight medal.

Trinidadian Deon Lendore was also in semi-final 1 and finished fourth in 44.93.

Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor finished second in semi-final 2 to advance to his first Olympic final with a season’s best 44.92.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Machel Cedenio and Alonzo Russell of the Bahamas finished seventh and eighth respectively with times of 45.86 and 46.04.

Bahamian 2019 World Champion Steven Gardiner ran 44.14 to win the third semi-final and advance.

Jamaica’s Demish Gaye finished fourth in 45.09, Trinidad & Tobago’s Dwight St. Hillaire finished seventh in 45.58 and Jonathan Jones of Barbados finished eighth in 45.61.

 

Women’s 400 Metre Hurdles

Jamaica’s Janieve Russell finished second in semi-final 1 in 54.10 to advance to the final.

Panama’s Gianna Woodruff ran a national record of 54.22 to finish second in semi-final 2 and advance.

Semi-final 2 also saw Cuba’s Zurian Echevarria finish fourth in 55.21 and Barbados’ Tia-Adana Belle finished eighth in 59.26.

 

Men’s Triple Jump

Cristian Napoles of Cuba was the only Caribbean man to advance to the final.

Napoles jumped 17.08 to finish fourth in qualifying.

Jamaica’s Carey McLeod, who also competed in the long jump at these Olympics, finished 24th in qualifying with a jump of 16.01.

 

Women’s 400 Metres

The Caribbean will be well represented in the semi-finals.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo turned up for heat 1 and ran 50.50 to easily win and advance to the semi-finals.

In fact, the top 4 women in heat 1 all hail from the Caribbean and all advanced to the semi-finals.

Roxana Gomez of Cuba finished second in 50.76 to get through automatically.

Sada Williams of Barbados also got through automatically after finishing third in 51.36.

Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams finished fourth and advanced to the semi-finals in one of the fastest loser spots.

Grenada’s Meleni Rodney competed in heat 2 and unfortunately failed to finish.

 Jamaica’s Roniesha McGregor advanced to the semis from heat 3 after finishing second in 51.14.

Candice McLeod from Jamaica won heat 4 in 51.09 to progress.

Heat 5 was also won by a Jamaican as Stephenie Ann-McPherson won in 50.89.

Marileidy Paulino of The Dominican Republic ran the fastest time in qualifying to win heat 6 in 50.06.

 

Women’s Long Jump

Tyra Gittens of Trinidad & Tobago finished 10th in the final with a distance of 6.60m.

Chantal Malone of the British Virgin Islands was also in the final and finished 12th with a jump of 6.50.

 Malaika Mihambo of Germany jumped 7.00m for the gold medal while silver and bronze went to Brittney Reese of the USA and Ese Brume of Nigeria respectively.

Both Reese and Brume jumped 6.97 but Reese finished second on countback.

             

Men’s 200 Metres

 Four Caribbean men advanced to the semi-finals.

Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer won heat 1 of the men’s 200 metres in a time of 20.30.

Bronze medalist at the 2017 World Championships, Jereem Richards of Trinidad & Tobago, easily won heat 2 in 20.52 to advance.

Kyle Greaux of Trinidad & Tobago finished fourth in heat 3 in 20.77.

 Silver medallist back at the 2009 Berlin World Championships, Panama’s Alonso Edward, finished second in heat 4 in 20.60 to progress.

Yancarlos Martinez from The Dominican Republic finished second in heat 6 with a national record of 20.17 to advance to the semi-finals.

Julian Forte of Jamaica finished seventh in heat 7 with a time of 20.65.

             

Men’s 400 Metres Hurdles

Kyron McMaster ran 47.08 in the men’s 400 metres hurdles final and unbelievably finished fourth.

Karsten Warholm won his first Olympic gold medal in what may go down as the greatest performance in Olympic track and field history.

 The Norwegian ran a ridiculous world record of 45.94 to break his own previous mark of 46.70 by almost a full second.

American Rai Benjamin finished second in a new American record of 46.17 and Brazil’s Alisson Dos Santos finished third in a new personal best and South American record 46.72.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related items

  • Sunshine Girls face setback with Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard’s withdrawal from Horizon Series against England Sunshine Girls face setback with Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard’s withdrawal from Horizon Series against England

    Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls have suffered a significant blow ahead of their upcoming Horizon Series against England’s Roses with the withdrawal of star goal shooter and team captain Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard. Netball Jamaica announced today that Fowler-Nembhard, who has been a crucial presence in the goal circle, will be unable to participate in the series due to medical advice, affecting both the Manchester games on November 16 and 17 and the Jamaican leg on November 25 and 26.

    Fowler-Nembhard, who has been training with the team for the past month, was anticipated to play a vital role not only in scoring but also in mentoring the new players who recently joined the senior squad. However, Netball Jamaica President Tricia Robinson emphasized the importance of prioritizing Fowler-Nembhard’s health. “Netball Jamaica is focused on her health and well-being and will provide updates as necessary regarding her condition. Romelda Aiken-George will instead join the team in England for the series,” Robinson said.

    Sunshine Girls’ head coach Sasher-Gaye Henry expressed disappointment over the unexpected loss of Fowler-Nembhard but reinforced the team’s commitment to supporting her recovery. “Jhaniele is the captain and a very important player for Jamaica, and so we are quite disappointed that she will not be able to participate in the Horizon Series. However, our priority at this time is her health, and we are committed to supporting our players every step of the way. Additionally, we remain confident in the strength of our squad as we move forward with the series,” said Henry.

    As the Sunshine Girls prepare to depart for England, Netball Jamaica extended their gratitude to fans for their understanding and continued support, assuring them that the team is ready for what promises to be a highly competitive series despite this setback.

  • Julien Alfred reveals she almost withdrew from Olympics due to pressure Julien Alfred reveals she almost withdrew from Olympics due to pressure

    Olympic champion Julien Alfred, who rose to global fame this summer by winning gold in the 100 metres at the Paris Olympic Games, has revealed in an interview with Sky Sports that she nearly withdrew from the Games due to the intense pressure she felt after a standout performance earlier in the year. The 23-year-old, who clocked an impressive 10.72 seconds to claim her title as the world's fastest woman, shared her journey through the mental and physical challenges she faced leading up to her historic win.

    Reflecting on her victory at the Stade de France, Alfred said, “I remember screaming so loud and bursting into tears just knowing all my hard work and sacrifice has paid off and knowing how hard it was to get to that point in my career. All I could do was just cry.”

    However, after winning gold in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow earlier this year, Alfred admitted she felt overwhelming pressure to continue delivering exceptional performances. “I put so much pressure on myself after the World Indoors that I have to deliver every single time,” she said. “My coach took me off the track, took me out of competition so I can just focus on my mental health and my physical health as well.”

     The expectation to perform at her peak weighed heavily on Alfred, especially as she took on the role of a trailblazer for St. Lucia. “That was such a hard time for me where I felt like there’s no way I’m going to continue, there’s no way I feel like I have the mental capacity to go to the line again and to represent my country,” she admitted. “Suddenly I got more attention, especially after winning the World Indoors, that I was not used to. I'm just so used to doing well and going back to my shell where I just work on the little things and then go back on the line whenever I have to again.”

    Despite the struggle, Alfred overcame the pressure, becoming not only St. Lucia’s first Olympic gold medalist but also securing silver in the 200m three days later, marking her country’s first two Olympic medals. Known affectionately as “Ju Ju” back home, Alfred returned to the track determined to make her nation proud, sharing the podium with American stars Sha’carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson.

    During her time in the UK as St. Lucia's Tourism Ambassador, Alfred has embraced her role as a national icon. She represented her country at the World Tourism Market and visited schools to inspire young students, encouraging the next generation to pursue their dreams.

     

  • Sugar Boyz ready for crucial Nations League playoff against Cuba Sugar Boyz ready for crucial Nations League playoff against Cuba

    The Sugar Boyz, St. Kitts and Nevis' men’s national football team is back in training as they prepare for their Concacaf Nations League Playoff clash against Cuba. After a brief rest period following their matches against the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, the team resumed training on Monday, November 4, at the National Bank Group of Companies Technical Center. Head Coach Austin “Dico” Huggins shared insights into the preparations underway as the team looks to advance toward a potential second qualification for the Concacaf Gold Cup.

    “After we played against Cayman Islands and BVI, we had a brief rest period. So we're now beginning our training session from today,” Huggins explained.

    Coach Huggins emphasized the significance of these playoff matches, noting the challenging task ahead. “It's going to be very hard here in training. We've got to make sure the guys are mentally prepared, physically prepared, knowing the task we have at hand. Cuba is a very good team, very professional team. So we're going to have to take them very seriously. And we are playing the first game at home, so that should be to our advantage,” he added.

    He further outlined the rigorous training plan to ensure the team is ready for the intense match-up. “Our preparation will be very strenuous, very hard, very intense so that we could be better prepared for the task.”

    With the first leg at home on November 14 at the NBGC Technical Center, Huggins reassured fans of an improved performance compared to their last outing against the Cayman Islands. “We're going to have a better showing, for sure. Like I said, we're playing against Cuba. The guys are up for the task,” he said.

    The Sugar Boyz will then travel to Santiago de Cuba for the return leg on November 18 at the Antonio Maceo Stadium.

     

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.