Natoya Goule-Toppin and Tarees Rhoden secured the respective female and male 800m titles on day two of the JAAA National Senior and Junior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston on Friday.
Goule-Toppin ran a season’s best 1:59.06 to win her tenth national title ahead of the University of Houston’s Kelly-Ann Beckford (2:01.01) who was the only other athlete in the race.
Goule-Toppin now heads to the Olympic Games for the third time.
“This time last year I was running faster but an injury in March delayed me a bit and I’m now coming off a chest cold last week so, I know I’m way better than I did today,” Goule-Toppin told Sportsmax.tv after the race.
Rhoden ran 1:45.94 to take top spot over defending champion and national record holder Navasky Anderson (1:47.01) and Dennick Luke (1:47.36).
“It’s been a few years since I’ve run in Jamaica so I’m really grateful. I’m a bit disappointed with the time but I’m still learning. It was a nice blowout round before I go up to the professional level so I’m grateful for this win under my resume,” Rhoden said after his race.