Bahamian sprint queen Shaunae Miller-Uibo has arguably been, overall, the best female athlete in the world for the last five years, but for the upcoming Olympics, attempting the 200m-400m double is likely to be biting off more than even she can chew.
At her best, the athlete would still be a favorite to claim the women’s 400m title in a strong and very open field.
So far, the event’s best time has been set by Namibia’s Christine Mboma who ran 48.54 last month. Next is Miller-Uibo who has a best of 49.08, another Namibian Beatrice Masiling (49.53), the USA’s Athing Mu (49.57), Jamaica’s Stephenie McPherson (49.61), and Quanera Haynes (49.67).
Mboma and Masiling have, however, been banned from competing in the women's 400m race at the Tokyo Games for having testosterone levels that are too high, while Mu will focus on the 800m. That leaves Miller-Uibo with the best time heading into the event, with McPherson and Hayes also looking like genuine medal prospects at this point. With her personal best of 48.37, set in Doha 2019, the Bahamian is the only woman in the field to have broken the 49-second barrier.
The 200m is, however, a different case entirely. The Bahamian is nowhere close to the world leaders this year. Amazingly, her season’s best of 22.03 put’s her at 12th on the list this year, in a season where the women seem intent on pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the sprint events.
In fact, four women, Gabrielle Thomas (21.61), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (21.79), Shericka Jackson (21.82), and Jenna Prandini (21.89) set personal bests last month. Thomas’ time is the second-fastest ever run over the distance. Even if she were to reproduce her personal best time of 21.74, she would be in contention, but certainly not guaranteed a spot on the podium.
Add the stresses of rigorous, unfriendly scheduling for a 200m-400m double and it’s not inconceivable that she could miss out on a spot on the podium entirely if things go badly.
The last time she attempted the feat at a major Games was 2017 where she ended up with a bronze medal in the 200m and missed out on the spots entirely in the 400m after finishing 4th. This after heading into the 400m with three of the top five times that year.
If she isn’t careful, we could have a similar type of situation unfold in Tokyo. Word is the athlete is recovering from an injury and not yet at her best, but she will need to get there in a hurry.
Competing in the women’s 70 kg category, Daley was outpointed by Australia’s Aoife Coughlan. The Australian was the aggressor from the outset as opposed to the Jamaican who took a more passive approach to the final.
The approach did not pay dividends, however, as Coughlan was handed the win, a golden score in the extra period when a third shido penalty was issued to Daley.
The British-based Drysdale Daley made history by being the first athlete to represent the country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The medal was the first for Jamaica at the event.
Duffy finished the three-discipline event in a time of 1 hour, 55 minutes, and 36 seconds to win gold ahead of Georgia Taylor-Brown of Great Britain and Katie Zaferes from the USA.
“I can’t quite believe it. Olympic Champion,” Duffy remarked on social media, as she became the first person from Bermuda to win an Olympic gold medal. The country had previously gotten on the medal podium through the exploits of Clarence Hill, a boxer who claimed bronze at the 1976 Olympics. Duffy has taken them to the very top.
Her winning gold also interestingly makes Bermuda, with a population of approximately 62,000 people, the smallest country to ever win an Olympic gold medal.
“I think the whole of Bermuda is going crazy, that’s what makes it so special.”
Duffy, who also won gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, went into the Tokyo Games as the favourite to win gold and delivered.
“It’s been a heck of a lot of pressure, I would never recommend being an Olympic favourite but it’s all worth it now.”
The regional junior track and field event is expected to be staged in Jamaica for the first time since 2011 and more specifically return to the city of Kingston for the first time since 1996, in April of this year.
With the country and globe still in the midst of battling the coronavirus pandemic, however, the situation regarding the possibility of spectators and the number of spectators that can attend a given event, as always, remains a fluid and often tenuous process.
For example, recently it was announced that another upcoming track meet, the Gibson Relays, would be allowed to have spectators in attendance. Only a few weeks ago, however, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) was denied permission for fans to enter the National Stadium for the country’s World Cup qualifiers.
Chairman of the local organising committee of the 2022 Carifta Games, Mike Fennell, revealed negotiations regarding the situation of fans were ongoing.
“We have a meeting set up with the agencies and ministries in providing the sort of regulations that will exist,” Fennell said.
“We have not finalized anything yet because we know that that is a moving target and the times are not static, but we continue to have meetings and there is goodwill all around,” he added.
“Everyone accepts the importance of having these games. They're not for the seniors, they’re for the juniors but it is critical in the development of the sport.”
Thompson-Herah became the second female sprinter to legally dip below the 10.7 seconds barrier on three occasions, joining American world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner.
On Thursday, Thompson-Herah finished in second place behind Fraser-Pryce, but still clocked the joint seventh fastest time ever recorded over the distance with 10.64. Fraser-Pryce took the event in a new personal best 10.60, the third-fastest ever run over the distance.
Thompson-Herah’s time adds to an impressive collection this season, which also saw her claim Olympic gold in 10.61 and run the second fastest time ever recorded over the distance, 10.54, set at the Prefontaine Classic last week.
Griffith-Joyner legally cracked the 10.7s barrier thrice in 1988, clocking 10.49 to set the current world record and clocking 10.62 and 10.61 at the Seoul Olympics. Fraser-Pryce’s time sees her now achieving the feat twice, having clocked 10.63 earlier this season.
American Carmelita Jeter also broke the 10.7s barrier twice, registering times of 10.67 and 10.64 in 2009. Marion Jones, who clocked 10.65 in 1998 is the only other athlete in history to be represented on the list.
The 21-year-old Louisiana State University student registered his first NCAA title this past indoor season and last month continued that form with brilliant hurdling, which saw him clock a world-leading 13.22 seconds (1.3m/s) at the Texas Relays.
The efforts mark a comeback of sorts for Thomas who tied the U20 world record in the 110-meter hurdles, after running 12.99 over the 39-inch height at the 2018 Jamaican Junior Championships. He then followed up the record-breaking moment by winning gold at the World U20 Championships.
A quadriceps injury during the 2019 season, however, hampered the hurdler's efforts to build on a promising start to his collegiate career and, of course, in 2020, the global pandemic saw sports grind to a halt for several months.
"I'd say last year's coronavirus [pandemic] shutting down the season was probably more heartbreaking than my sophomore year and the injuries," Thomas said in an interview with Milesplit USA.
"I felt healthy, training was going so well into the meet and then they shut it down for everybody. Right after that meeting, I remember all of us just going to one room and we literally were staring out the window. 'Like dang this is crazy.'"
The athlete, however, managed to use the quarantine period to his advantage, putting work into honing his technique. He has emerged from the hiatus as strong and sharp as ever and is so far a big favourite to secure a spot on the Jamaica Olympic squad later this year.
"It feels good to know that I'm on the right path," Thomas said of his resurgence.
“I think the big thing now is... not to be complacent and continue to look at the flaws in my race to see where I can get better. I want to stay hungry and continue to feel like an underdog. Even though I'm world-leading, that doesn't mean anything going forward."
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.”
The 30-year-old, former outstanding Vere Technical high school sprinter, was part of a bronze medal-winning national team at the 2017 World Championships in London. A double injury blow experienced during the 2018 and 2019 seasons has since interrupted the athlete’s progression.
The sprinter is back to feeling in top shape, however, and the combination of a not-so-busy 2020 season, which was heavily impacted by the pandemic, and the recent move to Legacy has her feeling positive about the future and targeting a return to prominence by securing a spot on the national team for the Tokyo Olympics.
“I would like to make the Olympics team and get my personal medal,” Levy told Talking Sports.
The battle for the top three individual spots will be fierce, with decorated World and Olympic medallists Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah, all things going to plan, all but confirmed spots. Former 2018 double World U20 sprint champion and promising prospect Briana Williams is also expected to figure prominently in the race. Levy, however, refuses to count herself out.
“I don’t think any trials or championships is ever easy, but I’ve been there before and I’m putting in the work to get there. So, come June I hope to secure a spot on the podium,” she added.
“My goal is to finish top three but if I make the Olympic team, I will still be ok, hopefully with a personal best.”
The 27-year-old was diagnosed with a torn ACL on Friday and will now only take part in the Athletics Gymnastics Uneven Bars event at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Even so, the gymnast will not be able to fully compete as she will be unable to do a dismount routine.
“I hope to do some sort of bar routine just to get a score on the board but without a dismount, it won’t be a competitive score, but I’ll be happy to see Jamaica represented at the Olympic Games and I still feel very proud to be wearing the Jamaican flag,” Francis told the press.
“The knee, I think, is getting worse and worse, so I can’t really tell you the exact time when the ligament damage occurred, but I found out today what it actually was and it will drastically affect my competition, unfortunately.”
The Artistic Gymnastics competition is set to start tomorrow with the Uneven Bars finals for women taking place on Sunday. The athlete will miss out on competing on the Balance Beam, Floor Exercise, and Vault.
The gymnast admits the injury had come as a huge blow.
“I’m really upset to have hurt myself. I have been so prepared for this competition mentally and physically up to this point so to, at the last hurdle, be injured is disappointing. Luckily, the medics have taken really good care of me and I’m sure they will continue to do so.”
The Jamaican looked in superb form as she stopped the clocked at 10.87, easily covering the field before shutting down comfortably ahead of Britain’s Daryll Neita and Germany’s
Gina Lückenkemper who also qualified.
In fact, overall, as expected, there was no drama in the opening round as Fraser-Pryce compatriots Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah also won their heats, while the fourth Jamaican Kemba Nelson also advanced to the semi-finals after being third in Heat 4.
“I was trying to qualify as easy as possible and I hope I was able to do that and just look forward to the next round,” Fraser-Pryce said after the race.
“I couldn’t see the start from where I was so I’m not sure how that was executed but I’m sure when I go around the coach will have it and I’ll be able to look at it and see if I was able to execute. First rounds are usually hit and miss because there are so many things happening.”
Fraser-Pryce, who will be looking for a 5th world title, has come into the event with the fastest time in the world this year, 10.67, recorded in Nairobi, Kenya.
The mark, which was registered in a 1.3 legal wind reading, obliterated the country’s previous national record of 10.70 that she previously shared with compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah.
The run also moved the athlete up the world fastest list, sitting her second behind the United States’ Florence Griffith Joyner who still holds the record 10.49, which was set in 1988. Another US athlete, Carmelita Jeter, has now dropped to third on the all-time list with her time of 10.65.
The race was only the athlete’s third 100m of the season, after opening with a fourth-place finish in Gateshead, followed by a win in Doha, where she ran the then third fastest time this season (10.84), in a pair of Diamond League events.
Earlier this week, the athlete had claimed that prioritising fast times would be the aim this season, for what will be her final Olympic Games this summer.
Natasha Morrison, who recorded her personal best earlier this season (10.87), was second behind Fraser-Pryce with a time of 10.95, with Kashieka Cameron third with 11.39.
In her first appearance on Kenyan soil, Fraser-Pryce looked at home as she took apart the rest of the field with a blistering 10.67 seconds run. In typical fashion, the decorated sprinter left the blocks in blistering fashion before coasting clear to set the season lead, running into a slight headwind (-0.4ms).
Egypt’s Hemdia Bassant was second with a national record of 11.02, while the USA’s Shannon Ray was third with 11.33. Olympic 200m silver medallist Christine Mboma did not complete the race as she looked to have pulled a muscle.
“It was very good, the atmosphere was fantastic,” said Fraser-Pryce,” following the event.
“I’m not sure if it was perfect – I’d have to see the replay. But the time tells me that my training has been going great.” she
The run was the third fastest of the athlete’s career and her third sub-10.7 run in the last year.
Fraser-Pryce, the fastest woman in the world this year, pulled out of the Lausanne Diamond League last week with a tight hamstring. The athlete admits that she was apprehensive about risking an injury, but has revealed that scans have shown no significant damage to the muscle and insists she is now ready to go.
In Brussels, Fraser-Pryce is expected to battle compatriot and 100m silver medalist Shericka Jackson and Americans Aleia Hobbs and Sha ‘Carri Richardson, along with Diamond League event leader Marie-Josée Ta Lou of Côte d’Ivoire.
“At one point I thought about calling it a season after Lausanne because I didn’t want to take any risks,” Fraser-Pryce told members of the media, on Thursday, ahead of the Brussels meet.
“Then I got some rest for a couple of days, got a scan done and they said it was just the contraction of the muscle, then I got a second scan and it was good…I know it’s not 100 percent but I’m very optimistic about what I can do tomorrow,” she added.
Depending on how she fares after tomorrow's event, Fraser-Pryce could be looking at competing in one or two more races to take advantage of her good form so far this season. The athlete has clocked 6 times below 10.7s so far this season, the most in the event's history.
The sprinter enjoyed a long career tinged with success but also with controversy. Gatlin announced his retirement via social media platform Instagram, via a post entitled ‘Dear Track’.
“I have loved you track. You gave me tears of sadness and of joy, lessons learned that will never be forgotten,” Gatlin wrote.
“The torch is passed but the love will never fade. On your mark, get set … Gone!”
The athlete who won 100m gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and was one of few to register wins at the highest level over Jamaica superstar Usain Bolt. He went to complete a 100m and 200m sprint double at the World Championships in Helsinki, in 2005, he then won 100m gold at the 2017 Worlds in London, handing the big Jamaican sprinter a rare defeat at a major Games.
Gatlin was also, however, plagued by doping suspension, his first coming in 2001 and arising from the use of Adderall, which contains amphetamine. He had been using the drug since childhood to treat attention deficit disorder.
A second positive test in 2006 found excessive levels of testosterone in his system. He was banned for eight years for that offense, later reduced to four years on appeal.
Bolt, who remains the world record holder over both the 100 and 200 metres, retired from the sport in 2017. His rivalry with the American, though statistically, a tad one-sided at times, was one of the most abiding and, at times, fiercest in the sport of track and field, particularly when the two-faced the starter at major games.
On the biggest stage, it was Gatlin who triumphed in the first two encounters. Bolt failed to advance past the first round at the 2004 Olympics and it was Gatlin who went on to claim the 200m title, adding to 100m crown, which was won prior.
One year later, Gatlin left the Jamaican far behind in the 200m final to take the sprint double at the 2005 World Championship in Helsinki. The two did not face off at the 2007 World Championship as Gatlin was banned from the sport for four years after testing positive for a banned substance in 2006. On that occasion, Bolt finished second to another American Tyson Gay.
From 2008, however, it was Bolt who became the premier force in world sprinting and outside of the rare blip in Osaka 2011, where he false-started in the 100m, when undefeated at major games for almost 9 years. Gatlin returned to the sport in 2010 but found it impossible to get the better of the Jamaican. He was eliminated at the semi-final stage of the 2011 World Championships, placed third at 2012 Olympics, was second at the 2013 World Championships. Gatlin again finished runner-up to Bolt in both the 100m and 200m at the 2015 World Championships and again took silver at Rio Olympics in 2016.
The American did, however, manage to turn the tables on Bolt at the 2017 World Championships where he claimed gold, with the Jamaican finishing in third place in the final race before he retired.
“Justin Gatlin played a very important role in keeping me motivated because he kept me on my toes, he kept me working out,” Bolt explained during Puma's Only See Great campaign.
“He kept me knowing that every season he’s going to be there, if I want to be the best I have to be ready and be prepared to beat him," he added.
Overall, the Jamaican leads the head-to-head match-up between the athletes with a 9-2 advantage, but he admits with Gatlin and others around he always had to look over his shoulder.
"The rivalries were strong and for me Tyson and Justin and Asafa and Blake, they really pushed me through my career to stay on top of my game at all times to be the best me."
Earlier this month, Stephen Francis the coach of Jamaica-based track club MVP, where Gayle plies his trade, had revealed that the athlete was set to add the 100m sprints to his list of disciplines for the 2021-2022 season.
Gayle, the 2019 Long Jump World champion, had shown plenty of promise last season after clocking a reasonably quick 10.18 over the distance. The athlete has spent a good portion of the offseason recovering from a knee injury, which negatively impacted his performance at the Olympics. It might be twice the work but Gayle admits that it is with a sense of excitement that he views the new season than apprehension.
“I wouldn’t say challenging, I would say exciting. All the fun the fear, the anxiety, and all the pressure that comes with it (100m), that’s what keeps me going,”
“The fact that I can lose or might lose, you just can’t be sure.
The final of the World Championship in the 100, the sky’s the limit, why not, why would I say I can’t. I wouldn’t say a challenge, it’s just an exciting year for me next year, once I get the knee up to speed.”
The Jamaica national champion’s best distance this year is 8.29, well short of the 8.60 recorded by world leader, Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou in May.
However, track and field analyst and SportsMax.tv Tokyo Take host Leighton Levy believes the jumper's improvements in other areas will make him a force to be reckoned with when he faces the field in Tokyo.
“I think Gayle is going to fly in the long jump and be among the medals, gold even,” Levy said on this week’s episode. (See full episode below)
“His improved speed is an asset and once he makes the adjustments on the runway for that additional speed, we are in for a spectacular performance from Gayle.”
The jumper has, in fact, shown off plenty of improved speed after recording new personal bests in both the 60m and 100m sprints this season. Gayle ran 6.78 in the later in February but was even more impressive in the 100, clocking 10.18 to shave huge chunks off his previous personal best of 10.74. Gayle’s personal best of 8.69, in the long jump, was set in 2019.
The 25-year-old, who has completely recovered from an injury that negatively impacted his performance at Olympics, showed off some good ability in the 100m sprints last year.
Despite specializing in the jumps, Gayle showed plenty of speed over the distance after clocking 10.18 in May of last year. The athlete’s best time over double the distance is 21.18.
“I think Tajay will be in the position to do a lot more sprinting this year and I suspect that he will be in the position to challenge for the title of fastest Jamaican,” Francis said in an interview with SportsMax.Tv.
“As well as be able to defend his title as the best long jumper in the world,” he added.
Gayle had been hoping to add the Olympic title to the World title this summer and advanced to the final but injured his left knee in the process. He was a result unable to secure a position in the final eight.
It was South Africa’s Zeney van der Walt who played the role of a party crasher, unfurling a gritty, brilliant late run to deny the third Jamaican measured for the podium, Rushell Clayton, a place on the platform.
Clayton had looked a lock for the medals early on, even leading the race at the top of the bend, just ahead of Russell. Even after Russell surged past the three Jamaicans were well clear of the field with five metres to go but nobody saw van der Walt. Clayton tied up badly just metres from the line and the South African surged past, her late run taking her almost into second spot.
The Australian finished in 54.47 a new personal best and the same time as Salmon. Russell finished well clear with 54.14 and Clayton further back in 54.67.
Overall, though, there were plenty of solid performances as the event that will see the bulk of the Caribbean’s athletes, competing over the next few days, got underway.
First up, the Jamaican trio of Fedrick Dacres, Traves Smikle and Chad Wright opened competition in the Men’s Discus. Wright was the only one to progress to the final as the last qualifier, finishing 12th overall with a throw of 62.93 metres.
Dacres was only two centimetres behind Wright, throwing 62.91m to finish 13th overall, while Smikle could only manage a best distance of 59.04m to finish 25th overall.
Goule was the first competitor to grace the track and started things off with a bang as she ran a very impressive 1:59.83 to win heat 2 of the women’s 800 metres.
The men’s 400 meters hurdles saw four Caribbean men progress to the semi-finals. The list included Jamaicans Kemar Mowatt, Jaheel Hyde and Sean Rowe and The British Virgin Islands Kyron McMaster.
Mowatt finished 4th in heat 1 with a time of 49.06. Hyde ran 48.54 to comfortably win heat 2. Both McMaster and Rowe advanced from heat 4, with McMaster winning with a time of 48.79 and the Jamaican finishing 3rd with a season’s best of 49.18.
The session was capped off by the heats of one of the most highly anticipated events at the Olympics, the women’s 100 metres.
The event featured 10 athletes from the Caribbean.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Joella Lloyd finished 7th in heat 1, in a time of 11.54.
Heat 2 was comfortably won by Jamaica’s defending double Olympic champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, who signalled her intent at these games with a smooth 10.82.
Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago also competed in heat 2 and finished 6th in 11.48.
Tristan Evelyn of Barbados ran 11.42 to finish 6th in heat 3.
Amya Clarke of St. Kitts & Nevis finished 7th in heat 4 with a time of 11.71.
Heat 5 was the turn of multiple-time Olympic and World Champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, to announce herself in Tokyo.
She didn’t disappoint, winning in a time of 10.84 to advance to the semi-finals.
Tynia Gaither of the Bahamas was next up on the track, finishing 3rd in heat 6 to advance.
Heat 7 saw the most Caribbean representation with Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, Michelle Lee-Ahye of Trinidad & Tobago and Jasmine Abrams of Guyana all taking part.
Ahye won the heat with a time of 11.06, finishing just ahead of Jackson who ran 11.07 for 2nd while Abrams finished 7th in 11.49.
The fastest overall qualifier from the heats was Marie-Jose Talou of the Ivory Coast who ran 10.78 to win the 4th heat.
