World Championship sprint-relay silver medallist Natasha Morrison and sprint hurdler Amoi Brown emerged victorious in their respective events at Sunday’s Meeting Citta' Di Padova 2023 in Italy.
Morrison, who ran the lead off leg for Jamaica who won the 4x100m relay silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary last month, stormed to victory in the 100m clocking a time of 11.15.
The USA’s Twanisha Terry, who incidentally, was on the USA’s gold-medal winning team, was close behind in 10.21. Briana Williams, who was also a member of the Jamaican relay squad, took third place in a time of 11.39.
Brown, meanwhile, who just missed out on a place on Jamaica’s team to the world championships when she finished fourth at her country’s national championships in July, had better fortunes on Sunday when she dominated the 100m hurdles.
Running into a headwind of -0.8m/s, Brown’s time was 12.83. She had daylight between herself and second-place finisher Hanna Toth of Hungary, who clocked a pedestrian 13.20 with Japan’s Mako Fukube close behind in third in 13.25.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 100m dash, Michael Campbell of Jamaica, finished second in 10.28 after he was pipped at the line by the USA’s Kyree King, who ran a winning time of 10.27. They raced into a headwind of -0.7m/s.
Canada’s Aaron Brown finished third in 10.31.
In the long jump, World Championship bronze medallist Tajay Gayle had to settle for second place after his jump of 8.00m was bettered by France’s Tom Campagne’s effort of 8.09m. Reece Ademola of Ireland jumped 7.97m to secure the other podium spot.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Reggae Girls fall short of Gold Cup prelims after 1-1 draw against Guatemala
Jamaica's Reggae Girls fell short of their goal to qualify for the preliminary round of the Concacaf Women Gold Cup following their 1-1 draw against Guatemala in the final match of Group B of League A of the Road to W Gold Cup on Sunday night at the Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
The result also means that Panama have finished in first-place in the group and have qualified for the W Gold Cup group stage. Guatemala will progress to the Prelims, while Jamaica finish in third.
Jamaica came out strong early and almost snuck in a goal through Davia Richards, but instead it was Guatemala breaking the deadlock in the 10th minute. Ana Martinez was taken down in the Jamaica penalty area and it was Martinez who converted from the spot to hand the home side a 1-0 lead.
That was followed later in the half by a buzzing chance from Andrea Alvarez from 40 yards out that forced Jamaica’s goalkeeper Serena Mensah to make a leaping save with her fingertipping the ball to safety.
Jamaica were keen to get back on even footing and a long ball played up to the Guatemalan half led to a mix-up between a pair of defenders, allowing Davia Richards to swoop in and score to level things at 1-1 in minute 66.
But the Guatemalan defense would hold firm the rest of the way to secure the necessary result to earn their prelims place.
USA Rugby League team edges out Jamaica's Reggae Warriors in hard-fought battle at Mona
In a thrilling men's senior international rugby league clash at the Mona Bowl, University of West Indies in Kingston, the USA Rugby League team managed to hold on for a hard-fought victory against Jamaica's Reggae Warriors, securing a 30-26 win.
Despite challenging conditions with the temperature soaring to 85 degrees, the Reggae Warriors took an early lead of 10-0, showcasing resilience despite having less possession. However, the USA Hawks responded strongly, turning the tide to lead 14-10 by halftime. Kyle Granby, the Brooklyn Kings centre, played a pivotal role, scoring two of his three tries in the lead-up to halftime.
Granby's exceptional performance continued after the restart as he completed a genuine five-minute hat trick. Veteran loose forward Joe Eichhner crossed the try line on the hour mark, contributing to the Hawks' lead. Granby, who also kicked two goals, showcased his versatility and skill throughout the match.
USA's skipper, Peter Lupton, reflected on the challenging contest, stating, "It was back and forth, and we had to deal with some big players. It was tough from start to finish." He acknowledged the efforts of both teams, emphasizing the significance of the game for the growth of rugby league.
Despite two late tries from Jamaica's Tahj-Jay Lynch and Kenneth Walker, the Reggae Warriors fell just short of a comeback, concluding the match with a 30-26 scoreline. The USA team, having only one training session before the game, demonstrated resilience and adaptability.
Jamaica faced setbacks with injuries, losing Andrew Simpson in the first half and Kevin Thomas in the second, limiting their bench options. Head coach Roy Calvert expressed gratitude to the USA Hawks for their visit, acknowledging the support from the local fans. Calvert said, "It was a fantastic occasion despite the narrow loss. We're 1-1 now for games between the nations played here in Jamaica and are looking forward to the next one."
Dominican Republic’s Luguelin Santos stripped of world junior title for age-manipulation violations
Dominican sprinter Luguelin Santos has been stripped of his World Junior Championships gold medal from 2012 and handed a three-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for age-manipulation violations. The AIU revealed this decision on Friday, uncovering Santos's admission to competing with a falsified date of birth during the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona.
Luguelin Santos, now 31 years old, had clinched the 400-metre gold at the 2012 World Junior Championships when he was just 18. However, the AIU's investigation exposed that Santos had utilized a passport with a manipulated birthdate, claiming to be born on November 12, 1993, when, in reality, his birthdate is November 12, 1992. Consequently, Santos was ineligible to participate in the 2012 World Juniors, as per the competition rules requiring junior athletes to be either 18 or 19 years old on December 31 of the competition year.
The AIU, in a statement, clarified the gravity of the violation, stating, "Thus, he was ineligible to participate in the World Juniors 2012." The age-manipulation incident tarnished Santos's victory at the championship, leading to the unprecedented decision to strip him of the gold medal.
Santos, a two-time Youth Olympic champion, had furthered his career by claiming a silver medal in the 400m event at the 2012 London Olympics. However, Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU, emphasized that unlike doping violations, age-manipulation sanctions do not warrant the annulment of Olympic results. Clothier explained, "There is no basis on which to annul his Olympic result as that was not an age-group event and no violation was committed there."
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