2011 World Champion Yohan Blake addressing his audience at the launch of his Reviere Purified Water on Friday at the AC Hotel in Kingston.
In his continuing drive to build a career after he retires from track and field, Yohan Blake on Friday launched his brand of water, Revierie Purified Water, at the AC Hotel in Kingston.
The brand will officially hit the market on November 1 with plans already in place to target markets overseas, especially in the Diaspora, the Caribbean and China where the 2011 World 100m champion continues to be a popular figure.
The broader plan is to align the Reviere brand with Jamaican/Caribbean sport, culture and life making it the water of choice for “home, healing, training, the gym, rehearsals, events and everyone’s life essential drink of water.”
Blake and his team have already planned an aggressive marketing strategy to break into the market. They have ready ads for television and social media featuring Blake and the brand’s ambassador, dancehall icon Bounty Killer and one for social media.
The world champion’s image appears on each bottle of water, which his team believes will help to connect the brand with consumers.
Speaking with Sportsmax.TV, Blake said launching his own brand of water is a big deal.
“It is really big for me. It is really going to change the market in the way not just how people see water, but see me on the bottle knowing that through my hard work this water is on the market and me looking to go into a different venture,” he said.
The beloved athlete also drew praise from business partner Stephen Steele of iPrint Digital and Outdoor Advertising, who urged everyone to support Blake in this new venture.
Speaking on behalf of Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Advisor Lenford Salmon lauded the second fastest man for his dive into entrepreneurship and described him as an example for others to follow.
“The minister particularly wanted me to highlight the fact that for a young man, a young athlete, and we at the Ministry of Culture regard sports as physical culture. So we regard it as a part of the culture and in the day of bling where artists, too many of them and our athletes make some money, sometimes it’s not even a whole heap, but when they make some income they don’t plow it back, they go for the bling,” Salmon said.
“They go for fast cars, they party every night, they go for top-shelf liquor, without looking to see how they’re going to secure their future. And we’ve been watching you and we’re seeing your business ventures, we’ve seen all you have been doing to set an example for athletes and for people, generally, in what we call physical culture and culture and we want to use this opportunity of you starting another business venture and hold you up as that kind of example which we want others to follow.”
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.
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."
World champs bronze medallist Sada Williams receives prestigious national honour from Barbados
For her trailblazing exploits in track and field Sada Williams was on Thursday recognized by her home country of Barbados at their Independence Day National Honours ceremony.
Williams, who turns 26 on Friday, is a back-to-back World Championship 400m bronze medallist and is the first Barbadian women to win a medal at a global championship. She won a bronze medal in the 400m at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon and repeated the feat at the 2023 Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August. In so doing she became the first Barbadian athlete to win a global medal at consecutive championships.
She also won the 400m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England and took home a silver medal at the NACAC Championships that same year.
For that and more, she was awarded The Gold Trident of Excellence Award in recognition of her outstanding achievements and dedicated service to her country. It was an honour to be appreciated, she said.
“I feel very honoured to be recognized this year and last year and I am hoping to continue to do great things reach further,” said Williams who was attending the Independence Day Parade for the very first time.
World champions Jackson, Williams, Watson lead nominees for RJR Sports Foundation Athlete of the Year
The race for Jamaica's Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year for 2023 has officially begun, with the announcement of the nominees on Wednesday. The 63rd RJR Sports Foundation Women and Men Athletes of the Year will see a fierce competition among some of the nation's top athletic talents, with World Athletics Championships gold medallists Shericka Jackson, Danielle Williams, and Antonio Watson among the standout contenders.
The nominees for the People's Choice Award include Jackson's impressive 200m victory, Williams' triumph in the 100m hurdles, and Watson's groundbreaking performance at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. The anticipation for these accolades is high, considering the outstanding achievements of these athletes on the global stage.
The winners of the prestigious awards will be unveiled during a ceremony scheduled for January 19, 2024. Jackson, who is considered a heavy favorite to secure the award she shared with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2022, showcased another stellar season, adding a silver medal in the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest. Her exceptional form was highlighted by securing the Diamond League 100m and 200m titles in Eugene, Oregon.
Williams, too, enjoyed a remarkable year, surprising many by claiming victory in the 100m hurdles in Budapest, where she outperformed formidable rivals such as Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, Kendra Harrison, and Tobi Amusan.
The competition for the Women Athlete of the Year is intensified with the inclusion of World Championship bronze medallists Rushell Clayton and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, along with Suncorp Super Netball League standout Jhaniele Fowler.
Antonio Watson, the trailblazing Jamaican sprinter, leads the nominations for the Men Athlete of the Year. Watson made history as the first Jamaican man in 40 years to clinch the gold medal in the World Championships 400m.
The list of male nominees also features World Championships 110m hurdles silver medalist and Diamond League champion Hansle Parchment, along with standout long jumpers Wayne Pinnock, Tajay Gayle, the silver and bronze medalists from Budapest as well as Pan American 400m hurdles champion Jaheel Hyde, and motorsports star Fraser McConnell.
The People's Choice Award nominations encompass memorable moments, including Shamar Nicholson's equalizing goal in the recent CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final match against Canada and Drew Spence's incredible free kick against Canada in their Olympic qualifier.
The selection panel, chaired by Mike Fennell, boasts a distinguished lineup including retired media practitioner Courtney Sergeant, Olympian Deon Hemmings-McCatty, President of Jamaica’s Inter-Secondary School Sports Association Keith Wellington, and Michael Hall, former chairman of the Sports Foundation and League Operations Manager of the Caribbean Premier League.
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