The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has been forced to pull out of its upcoming friendly international against Japan, as a breakdown in COVID-19 protocol communications will see the Caribbean team unable to field enough players.
The game was scheduled for Thursday, June 3rd but the majority of the team’s English-based contingent will not arrive in time for the fixture. The issue stems from the fact the English-based players did PCR tests using the widely accepted dual method of the nostril and oral swabs, however, Japan only accepts the more complicated nasal PCR tests.
According to reports, the Japan Football Association (JSA) had not informed the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) of the specific requirement. As a result, the six players were denied boarding in Amsterdam after they were found to not have the specific PCR coronavirus test results required for entry into Japan.
The England-based players have since returned home to do the necessary PCR test but, having rebooked, will not reach Japan until Wednesday. The members of the delegation who left Jamaica did the correct PCR test and were accepted on the flight from Houston to Japan, except for Tyreek McGee who did not board the flight to Japan for reasons yet to be conveyed. The player, however, did have the required PCR test done. He is set to return home.
The remaining matches against Serbia, on the 7th, and the Japan Olympic team, on the 12th, will go ahead as planned.
Jamaican artistic gymnast Danusia Francis has heaped praises on the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) for providing her with funding as she fine-tunes her preparation for the Olympic Games in Tokyo in July.
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has confirmed that several players invited to be part of the national squad for the team's upcoming matches against Japan and Serbia next month.
Initially, the JFF had named a 30-man for the pair of friendlies but has since revealed that a few of the players will be unavailable for the engagement due to various reasons.
According to the release some players had injuries, visa and documentation issues, extended club commitments, and personal reasons. The football body, however, remained hopeful of having the full team assembled in time for the Gold Cup, which will take place in July.
The team will face Japan in Sapporo, on Thursday, June 3, followed by Serbia on June 7 in Kobe and the Japan Olympic team in Nagoya on Saturday, June 12.
Jamaica squad
2018 Jamaica national 100m champion, Tyquendo Tracey, is hoping a return home will fuel a return to top form, with the Olympic Games fast approaching on the horizon.
After a spell abroad with the Florida-based Reider Sports Performance Group, under the tutelage of head coach Rana Reider, Tracey moved back home earlier this year. The athlete is now with the SWEPT Track Club which is overseen by Okeile Stewart.
The former Garvey Maceo High student had spent 6 years at local track club MVP prior to that but left in 2018 after a financial dispute.
On Saturday, at the JAAA Destiny Series, the athlete suffered a bit of misfortune after false starting but later clocked 10.15 in the 100m.
“I’m just looking to do the best I can do. Honestly, right now things have been a little tricky because I recently made a serious change, and right now, I could say it’s a bit of an experiment,” Tracey said.
“Training wise it's going great, things are going good, things are really looking up and I’m really looking forward to the national trials,” he added.
The athlete admitted that he had encountered issues during his time in Florida and was happy to be back home.
“I was having a lot of issues with the previous coach, long story but I had to come home.”
Olympic 400m bronze medallist, Shericka Jackson, has admitted that it has been difficult to recover from recent setbacks but insists these days she is in a better place and in better form with the Tokyo Games just a couple of months away.
The quarter-miler certainly looked in good form on Saturday, at the second week of the JAAA Destiny Series, as she clocked a new personal best of 11.02 in the 100m, just a whisker away from breaking the 11-second barrier.
Considering that the 100m sprint is not her preferred event and the last time she attempted the distance, which was at the JAAA Qualification Trials, in March, she ended with a cramp, Jackson was delighted with the result. The athlete’s previous best of 11.13 was recorded in 2018.
“I think at some point I lost who I was, so I had to take a step back and now I’m back. The day that I got a cramp I almost gave up, because coming off some shin fractures from 2019 and then I came back and got a cramp, so it messed up my mind a little,” Jackson said following Saturday’s event.
“I have good people in my corner, so I’m back here and I’m happy,” she added.
“The last time I ran a competitive 100m was 2018 so to be back here and get a personal best is really exciting for me.”
Jamaica defender Alvas Powell is currently in training the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Philadelphia Union, with a possible move on the cards.
The 29-year-old had joined Sudanese club Al-Hilal Clu in December after Inter Miami CF declined to offer him a new contract. He had previously just made four appearances for the franchise owned by former Manchester United and Real Madrid star David Beckham.
According to reports, in addition to training with the unit, Powell played the second half as an unnamed trialist in a friendly last week when the Philadelphia Union 2 played against USL League Two club Real Central New Jersey.
Powell, who has also represented the Jamaica national team 49 times and scored twice, spent the majority of his career at MLS club Portland Timbers where he made 101 appearances between 2015 and 2018. He has also had a spell at FC Cincinnati.
Powell has spent the majority of his career at right-back but he can also play centrally in the defense or in the midfield if need be.
Reigning Olympic 100m champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, will miss this weekend’s Doha Diamond League meet, despite being originally listed as a part of the line-up.
According to an announcement made by organisers last week, Thompson-Herah was expected to clash with compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Marie-Josee Ta over the 100m distance.
However, earlier this week, when the start list was announced the athlete’s name was nowhere to be seen. It was a similar situation last weekend, where weeks before, many had expected the athlete to make her season debut at the Gateshead Diamond League meet against Richardson and Fraser-Pryce.
The early season, high stakes Gateshead clash was won by Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, prior to the race Richardson had clocked the season’s fastest time with 10.72. Thompson-Herah is the second-fastest woman in the world this year with her time of 10.78 seconds.
Fraser-Pryce, the Doha 2019 world champion, ran the 100m for the first time in Gateshead, where she finished fourth in 11.51. Thompson-Herah, who has a best of 10.70, the same as Fraser-Pryce and Richardson (10.72) are three of the fast women in history over the distance having clocked the joint-fourth and sixth fastest times over the distance.
Shadae Lawrence’s second-place finish in the discus at the USATF Throws Fest in Arizona on Saturday was the second time she had lost in competition this season but it was perhaps her most significant achievement.
It took a world-leading throw of 70.22m from Dutchwoman Jorinde van Klinken to defeat the 25-year-old Jamaican, who achieved an important milestone of her own. Her fourth throw of 65.47m and fifth of 67.05m meant that she broke her own national record of 65.05 twice, and even more important, it was an indication that she was getting closer to her ultimate goal for this season.
“I was very happy to see those numbers. I really wanted to perform well at that meet. I was happy I could put it together and get the job done. I want to make my personal dream of being an Olympic finalist come true,” she said, explaining that the records, at this point in time, mean little by comparison.
“My only goal for the season is to make top 8 at the Olympics. I know this a great achievement (the national record) and I’m thankful but this wasn’t a goal of mine.”
The simple fact is that for Lawrence and her coach Julian Robinson the new milestone was not surprising but the immediate future is more about achieving the aforementioned goal and that for that to be accomplished, there is much work still left to be done. Robinson is under no illusions. He knows what needs to get done.
“No, it wasn’t a surprise. Physically, I think she has the ability to produce those distances. However, she lacks the consistency and this is so for several reasons; her technique is not yet stable and she needs more exposure competing at the elite level or close to that,” he said.
Lawrence started the season with a win at the USF Bulls Invitational in Florida on March 20, throwing 63.75m, which surpassed the Olympic qualifying standard of 63.50m. She followed up with another win at the Florida State Relays on March 26 when she threw 62.88m.
After that, her performances dipped even though she kept winning. Throws of 57.76m and 57.86m resulted in victories at the USATF Sprint Summit on April 3 and at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, on April 16.
Two weeks later, she was second at the North Florida Invitational where she threw 58.66m before her big throws in Tucson last weekend.
The performances represented were the low-hanging fruit that she has been able to reach since she began working with Robinson in late 2019 with bigger goals in mind.
“I train really hard. My biggest aim for this season, physically, was to get stronger,” she said. “The past few years throwing, I wasn’t strong and I was throwing decent. I knew if I could get my strength to a certain level, I could be more consistent. So every time I get into the gym I’m pushing myself.”
She believes that she can get even stronger and be a lot more consistent with throws well above 60m in the weeks she has left before the Olympic Games this summer.
“If I consistently push myself I will get stronger. I already have that mentality so once I’m healthy I will be in the best shape physically for the Games,” she explained.
“I think to be able to throw consistently you must attack your training that way. For me, I just need to train consistently. Be consistent with my gym, plyometric work, working on technical aspects of the throw. That’s how consistency comes about.”
With that goal met, she fancies the possibility of springing a surprise in Tokyo; just like she did on Saturday, produce a throw that she never has managed to deliver before but one that could produce a record that will be more meaningful.
“If I execute the way I’m preparing to physically and mentally then anything can happen,” she said.
“The Olympic Games isn’t a walkover, no major championship is. My aim is to fearlessly execute all my throws. Before the beginning of the season, my aim was the Olympics. I told myself it doesn’t matter how I compete throughout the season; I need to get it done starting July 31st.”
July 31 is the day of the qualifying round of the women’s discus.
Jamaica quarter-miler Stephenie-Ann Mcpherson has expressed delight at seeing fans returning to the seats after a year of empty stadiums brought about due to the presence of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lower case counts across the UK and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s confirmation that the next stage of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown was on track last week meant that 2000 fans were allowed to attend the Wanda Diamond League opener in Gateshead.
In cold wet conditions, McPherson, the 4x400m relay Olympic silver medallist, had to settle for second behind the United States’ Kendal Ellis who crossed the line in 51.86. Mcpherson, who finished second in 51.96, however, admitted that conditions were difficult but turned also her attention to other things.
“I came out here just to see where I'm at but it wasn't good conditions to run in. I am grateful to come out here and finish injury-free,” McPherson said.
“To see people back in the stands is exciting and it's always good to have people to cheer you on.”
It was another Jamaican, Shanieka Ricketts, who stole the show after winning the women’s triple jump with a leap of 14.40m.
Justin Burrowes won the Alliance National Amateur Golf Championship at the Caymanas Golf Club by a massive 20 strokes to claim his second title in three years.
Burrowes led on all four days of the championship but Sunday's round was his most impressive.
He shot seven birdies and just one bogey in his final round 66 for a four-day today of 278.
He had birdies on holes 2 and 6 and a bogey on five for a one-under-par 35 on the front nine but saved his best for last with birdies on 10, 12, 13,14 and 17 on the back nine for five-under-par 31 to close the round.
Overall, his scores on each of the four days were 73, 69, 70 and 66 to be 10 under for the tournament.
"Today (Sunday) was a great day. I felt like I was able to put everything together for once in the past four days. I drove it well, hit it well, putt it well and made a lot of crucial putts especially coming down the stretch,” he said.
“That was the only real difference between today and the other days. I just want to thank my coach, parents and all my supporters because without them this would not be possible."
By contrast, William Knibbs, the 2020 national champion, had a rough championship, posting scores of 74, 79, 70 and 75 for a combined total of 10 over par 298. He was hurt, particularly, by his second-day performance on hole number 10 at he which required six extra shots on a par-four hole.
“Where the performance this week in the tournament is concerned, whilst there were lots of good moments in the tournament, I made a lot of mistakes that had I been at my best I know I would have avoided them,” he said.
“Hats off to Justin, he played really, really well. I just would have liked to have been closer to him coming into the last day but I do take some pride in knowing that I finished runner-up in this event four of the last five years so there are always positives and negatives."
Zandre Roye scored 70 on the final day for a total score of 303 to claim third. He had scores of 76, 82, and 75 for the first three days.
Mention must be made of 15-year old Aman Dhiman, who posted the second-lowest score of the championship, a four-under-par 68 on the third day as well as the best score for that particular day. He sent down five birdies on holes 1, 2, 4, 7 and 16 and only one bogey on hole number 10.
The top two in the Men Senior 7-12 category were Thajae Richards who had a total of 337 and Richard White, 370.
The Men Senior 0-12 category, which was played over three days, was shared by former Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron (245) and Tony Allison 83 (245) while Vikram Dhuman 78 (245) was third.
The Men Super Senior 0-12 category, also played over three days, was topped by Mike Boyd (235), while George Hugh (240) former JGA president Wayne Chai Chong (240) were tied for second.
The Men Super Senior 13 and over had one participant, Desmond Brown, who had a three-day total of 282.
Shimona Nelson outshot Romelda Aiken as the Collingwood Magpies defeated the Queensland Firebird 68-65 in the Suncorp Superleague Netball tournament on Saturday.
Natoya Goule leaves for Doha today in high spirits following her record-setting run over 600m at the Boost Boston Games on Sunday.
Justin Burrowes extended his lead to 11 strokes on day three of the Alliance National Amateur Golf Championship on Saturday at the Caymanas Golf Club. He shot two under par 70 for a three-day total of 212 (73, 69, 70) and is poised to secure victory when play resumes at 7:30 today.
“Today (Saturday) was another pretty good day. (I) gave myself a lot of opportunities, which is really what I set out to do. It didn't convert as much as I would have liked but still, all in all, I would say a lot more positives than negatives today,” said Burrowes, who started the day with a birdie and followed up with three more on holes 11, 12 and 15 while posting two bogeys on holes 14 and 18.
“In a good place to build on. The course was definitely more inviting today with the softer conditions - no wind and no rain. It was definitely more inviting. I played solid but I didn't hold enough putts today to go really deep so hopefully, I can build on today and do that tomorrow (Sunday)."
Meanwhile, defending champion William Knibbs posted his first under-par score of 70 but is still 11 strokes off the lead. He has a combined score of 223 after posting 74 and 79 on days one and two, respectively.
He expressed satisfaction with the round especially after day two, saying "After yesterday (Friday), I would say that it could have only gotten better today (Saturday) and obviously it was better. Two under but as with most of what I have done this week there were always shots that I felt that I could have done better with or putts that I could have made but I am just happy to have bounced back today."
His scorecard showed one eagle, three birdies and three bogeys.
Dr Mark Newnham, who was in second place on day two, dropped to third after scoring six over par 78 for a three-day total of 228.
Mention must be made of 15-year old Aman Dhiman, who posted the lowest score of the championship so far, a four-under-par 68. He sunk five birdies on holes 1, 2, 4, 7 and 16 before bogeying the 10th hole.
The perennial ladies’ national champion Jodi Munn-Barrow, who led from day one is again the national champion. The female championships ran over three days and she posted scores of 72, 77 and 74 for a total of 223 to be leagues ahead of second-place Samantha Azan who shot 82 on the final day for a total score of 251. Third place went to Winni Lau. She shot 91 for an overall score of 271.
"Happy with my overall performance today (Saturday). (I) was able to focus and just play the holes as they came, played a shot at a time and happy to finish with two over,” she said.
“Seven over for the three days so I am pleased with the overall performance and happy once again I was able to become the national amateur champion."
The Ladies 13 - 24 category went to Valerie Grant 102 (308) followed by Suzan White 108 (324).
The Men 7-12 category had two golfers with scores of 86 for Thajae Richards for a total of 252 and who still leads Richard White, who shot 89 and now totals 279.
There is a new leader in the Men Senior 0-12 category with former Cricket West Indies president Dave Cameron 81 (245), ahead of Tony Allison 83 (245) in second and Vikram Dhuman 78 (245) in third.
The Men Super Senior 0-12 also has a new leader in Mike Boyd 74 (235), followed by George Hugh with an 82 (240) and the day-one leader, former JGA president Wayne Chai Chong shot 81 (240).
The final male category - Men Super Senior 13 and over, with one occupant - Desmond Brown scored 93 for a three-day total of 282.
The juniors who competed over two days which ended on Saturday saw Sebastian Azan copping the Boys 14-15 category with scores of 78 and 81 for a combined score of 159. Ryan Lue took second spot after posting 82 and 79 (161) while Trey Williams was third 87, 79, (161).
Michael Lowe topped the Boys 16-17 category. He had scores of 85 and 87 (172). Zaniel Knight was second with scores of 91 and 89 (180) while Justin Wainwright 116 and 124 (240) was third.
Shadae Lawrence, Jamaica women’s national record holder in the discus, shattered the record twice on her way to a second-place finish at the USATF Throws Festival at the University of Arizona on Saturday evening.
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