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• Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake withdraw but still plenty to look forward to at Racers Grand Prix

  Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake have been withdrawn from this weekend’s Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston.

  Fresh off his lifetime best 9.89 while defeating Coleman at last weekend’s LA Grand Prix there was much anticipation for the rematch between Blake and the American this coming Saturday.

  Blake ran a personal best of 9.89 to defeat Coleman (9.91) but according to his coaches, the 22-year-old sprinter was a bit sore after that run and only managed to resume training on Wednesday. As a result, they have taken a decision to withdraw him from the meet as a precaution.

  Seville, reliable sources have said, suffered a hamstring injury in training and won’t run on Saturday. Calls to his coach Glen Mills went unanswered but Seville’s name was not among the remaining names on the men’s 100m start list for Saturday’s meet.

  Notwithstanding their absence, there is still plenty to look forward to at the meet that will feature World 200m champions Noah Lyles and Shericka Jackson, Zharnel Hughes and Wayde van Niekerk.

  There is also a potential mouth-watering clash between the 2022 100m hurdles world champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria and teenage sensation, World U20 Champion and U20 world record holder Kerrica Hill.

  Commonwealth Games champion Rasheed Broadbell and Olympic Champion will go head-to-head in the men’s sprint hurdles.

• Carifta Under-17 double silver medallist, Naomi London, wants to help put St. Lucian sprinting on the map- “St. Lucia has a lot of talent!"

  Carifta Under-17 Girls 100m and 200m silver medallist, Naomi London, wants to help put her country on the track & field map.

  The 16-year-old St. Lucian sprinter has enjoyed an excellent season, so far, with her best results coming at the 50^th Carifta Games held from April 7-9 at the Thomas Robinson Stadium in Nassau, The Bahamas.

  The Vieux-Fort native first ran 11.72 to claim silver in the 100m, her country’s first ever sprint medal at the Caribbean junior showcase.

  The Vieux-Fort Comprehensive Secondary School attendee then produced 23.72 for silver in the 200.

  “I went out there to get the gold but God gave me the silver so my Carifta season went pretty well. I executed my race as planned and I got on the podium,” London said on the latest edition of In Case You Missed It hosted by Mariah Ramharack on SportsMax.TV

  “It felt great that I had some competition in the race. I was competing with some of the best and I pulled through to get on that podium so, right now, I feel great about myself,” she added.

  After her Carifta exploits, London said she returned home to a celebration.

  “Oh my gosh! A lot of celebration happened. When I got home, everybody was around and just cheering ‘Naomi London! Naomi London!’ It was so much support. I love the fact that my community supports me no matter what I do,” she said.

  Although happy with her silver medals, London expressed her desire to one day upgrade to gold.

  “It would be a life-changer for me and for my country,” she said. “Gold is many, many more than silver.”

  London also does well in the classroom and credits good time-management skills and sacrifice for that.

  “I prioritize my work and I do have good time-management skills. After I come home from training, I will sacrifice the time to go study or do an assignment,” she said.

  Her next quest on the track will be at the Commonwealth Youth Games set for August 4-11 in Trinidad & Tobago.

  “One of my goals is to medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games and my second goal is to run a personal best at any meet that I attend,” London said.

  To date, St. Lucia’s greatest export on the track is current University of Texas star and Commonwealth Games 100m silver medallist Julien Alfred, someone London says she looks up to.

  “Julien Alfred is one of my inspirations from young. Me and her grew up in the same field in track and field. She used to run in the higher division and I used to always look out for her and we used to talk about all the races. I’m very proud of her achievements,” she said.

  “I would say the success of the St Lucian athletes is making the young athletes want to do more and want to go out there to represent their country. I think track is a great sport and St Lucia has a lot of talent. We can go out there, do our best and put our country on the map,” London added.

• Joe Choong expects ‘mass walkout’ after Paris following modern pentathlon change

  Joe Choong is set to quit modern pentathlon after defending his Olympic title next year, expecting to be part of a widespread exodus amid a controversial change being pushed through.

  A decision by the International Modern Pentathlon Union to replace show jumping with obstacle course racing was endorsed by national federations but caused dismay among athletes, including Choong.

  The new structure of the sport – also comprising fencing, swimming and a combined running and shooting event – is awaiting the International Olympic Committee’s approval for inclusion at the 2028 Games.

  But Choong, alarmed at how the switch has been handled by the sport’s governing body, is resigned for his swansong to be at Paris 2024 – and the 28-year-old suspects he will not be alone in walking away.

  He told the PA news agency: “Paris will be a great way to round off my career because I expect it will be the last time I compete in pentathlon. I think there will be a mass walkout from the sport.

  “We’re not just talking about people my age who are in their mid-to-late 20s, but 21 or 22-year-olds will suddenly see this chance to go to an Olympics as their last chance before they decide to retire.

  “I think that’s the feeling amongst the community and it will be hard to see where the sport goes, what the next top athlete looks like with obstacle course racing in the picture.

  “The athletes’ voice as a whole was pretty much completely ignored. The politics pushed through whatever they wanted. After Paris, we’ll see what happens but I don’t think I’ll be taking part in it.”

  Modern pentathlon’s image was rocked two years ago when a German coach was witnessed punching a horse that refused to jump a fence at the Tokyo Games, prompting the removal of equestrianism by the UIPM.

  Show jumping remains one of the events for Paris 2024 but modern pentathlon faces a battle to be included at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, with the UIPM admitting the sport needs to modernise.

  Choong, who in Tokyo became the first British male to win individual Olympic gold in the modern pentathlon, accepted some rules could be modified so the sport becomes a “bit snappier”.

  But such is his opposition to the proposed changes, Choong has thought about swapping lanes.

  He said: “I would definitely want to stay competitive at something. Fencing is something I’ve dipped my toes in slightly over the last two years.

  “That’s partly been an effort to improve my fencing for pentathlon but at the same time, it’s like that addictive nature where I’m back to being one of the chasers, I’m not at the top of the sport anymore.

  “It sounds weird but I absolutely loved coming 64th or something at one of my first competitions.

  “I’ll definitely be going back to that and seeing if I can push the boundaries, slightly, on fencing or maybe one of the other sports in pentathlon and see how far I can push one of those sports compared to what’s expected of a normal pentathlete.”

  Choong’s more immediate focus is on next month’s European Games in Krakow, where he could complete his gold medals haul after adding to his Olympic success by triumphing at last year’s World Championships.

   

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  Choong admitted fulfilling a life goal in Tokyo meant he struggled to adjust afterwards but the prospect of competing at a third Olympics next year is sharpening his focus.

  He added: “You see people like Adam Peaty and Max Whitlock, they talk about having that hunger for the sport and sometimes it’s not quite there.

  “I took a lot of time out after the Tokyo Games because you need a reset. To then go on and win the World Championships off the back of a slightly disjointed year almost compounded that feeling of ‘what’s next?’ and finding the why.

  “Having had a couple of years to refocus, I’m very hungry to go and do it all again.”