Caribbean

The Jamaican sprinter is set to face her most formidable challenge to date this term, at Thursday’s Diamond League meet in Rome. Thompson-Herah will face a quality field that includes 400m Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, 200m World champion Dina Asher-Smith and compatriot Shericka Jackson over 200m.

In nine races so far this season, over both the 100 and the 200m, Thompson-Herah is yet to taste defeat.  She will be first to admit, however,  that it has been far from smooth sailing.

“I’m not 100 percent but I think I am a true fighter. I opened my season at Mt. SAC and I got a rotator (cuff) injury so I was in and out of practice.  You need your arms to run and every time I race I have discomfort in it, but I have to race, I have to see where I am at,” Thompson-Herah said at the pre-meet press conference on Wednesday.

“I think having (to compete) with an Achilles and shoulder injury you are a true fighter.  I know most athletes have something that they're going through they just don’t talk about it.  I hate to talk about my injuries,” she added.

With Jamaica’s national trials just a few weeks away, the athlete insists she is using the races to fine-tune her performance.

The Bahamian sprinter has claimed the title at the last two Olympics and could have been the first woman to win the event at three consecutive events.

 Miller-Uibo, who has the 7^th fastest time over the event all-time, and 3^rd fastest in the last 25 years, has now revealed that she does not expect to face the starter in Paris. 

“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be doing the 400m that year [2024],” Miller-Uibo said on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s Diamond League meet in Rome.

 “I’m planning on wrapping it up. I’ve accomplished so much in the event, for me, it’s just about getting the world title now.”

Despite dominating at the Olympics, the athlete has never won the World Championship title with her best results coming in 2015 and 2019 when she was second behind Allyson Felix and Salwa Eid Naser respectively.  In the future, the sprinter plans to focus her effort on the 200m.

On Thursday, Miller-Uibo will face a quality 200m field, which includes reigning 200m Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, reigning World champion Dina Asher-Smith and Felix.

In the end, history was made as the title went to Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, which was the first time that country was winning the title.  At the starter blocks, however, the famous black, green, and gold gear, which has become synonymous with speed, particularly over the last decade, was nowhere to be seen.

The country’s two representatives in the event Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville exited the competition at the semi-final stage.  Seville failed to advance after finishing fourth in semi-final two, with a time of 10.09.  Blake saw his bid come to an end after finishing a disappointing 6^th in semi-final 1, with a time of 10.14.  The country’s other entrant Tyquendo Tracey, Jamaica's national champion, pulled out of the competition before the heats after sustaining an injury.

It was a particularly disappointing end for Blake, likely to be in his final Olympics. For several years he was considered the heir apparent to compatriot Usain Bolt, who dominated the event for the last three editions, the first man in history to do so.  Blake has the second-fastest time ever run over the event (9.69) and finished just behind the great sprinter at the 2012 edition of the Games in London.

Since sustaining devastating hamstring injuries in 2013 and 2014, however, Blake has not come close to rediscovering his best form.  At the previous edition of the event in Rio 2016, he finished just outside the medals behind Canada's Andre De Grasse, the USA’s Justin Gatlin, and Bolt.

The former Caribbean women’s under-21 champion made her Olympic Games debut last Saturday, defeating her opponent Sally Yee of Fiji in the preliminary round.  Edghill won that battle emphatically, beating Yee 11-5, 4-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-8.

However, the 24-year-old then suffered a straight-sets defeat at the hands of 17-year-old Yubin Shin of South Korea, in Round One of the Women’s Singles on Saturday.

Overwhelmed by the feat, the Guyanese international shared her experience with SportsMax.tv.

“It was a very happy and emotional feeling to be the first Guyanese to play in the Olympics for table tennis, it’s a huge honour and a huge feat,” Edghill said.

“I am really happy and elated to be able to accomplish such a feat, it’s indescribable how it feels.  I am full with pride, I am very proud to represent Guyana and touch the stage, and very proud of the history I made for Guyana,” she added.

Edghill and swimmer Andrew Fowler were Guyana’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony in Tokyo, Japan, last Friday.

The event, which is typically staged in the month of March, was cancelled this year due to the credible threat of being a coronavirus super spreader event.  Since then, ISSA has announced the suspension of all school competitions scheduled for the Christmas term.

With no creditable solutions coming to the fore as yet regarding the best possible ways to returning to the staging of high school sports, amidst the pandemic, concerns had been raised regarding the protentional of next year’s event being cancelled as well.

In a letter issued to the coaches, ISSA was quick to point out that the December term cancellations had no impact on next year’s event.  But, in light of the need to satisfy restrictive COVID-19 protocols for staging the event, the body also pointed out that creative solutions were needed in order to host the competition.

“ISSA has cancelled all ISSA competitions scheduled for the 2020 Christmas term.  This decision, however, does not have any impact on the staging of the 2021 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships,” the letter read.

“However, the national COVID-19 protocols dictate that if Champs 2021 is to be a reality, then adjustments have to be made to the general structure and scheduling of the meet.  These changes could possibly have implications for the number of athletes, classes, events and days of Champs 2021,” it continued.

“We, therefore, invite each group of regional coaches (as per Regional Meets, Western, Central, Eastern, Corporate) to meet virtually amongst themselves and discuss possible suggestions as to what the 2021 ISSA/GraceKennedy Champs may look like in the context of COVID-19.  It is expected that from the regional discussions, coaches will submit their suggestions via an appointed team leader by email.”

The coaches will have until October 2, to submit their suggestions.

Recently, athletics sportswear giant Nike unveiled the controversial Nike Zoom Air Viperfly spikes.  The shoe's advance design has a carbon fibre mechanism under the ball of the foot that acts like a springboard, which will generate more power in the sprinter's stride and hence lead to faster times.  The technology is geared towards helping the athlete in the last 20 metres of the race.

This version of the shoe, which has been designed specifically with 100m sprinters in mind, as it stands, will not be produced for this summer’s 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  This is due to the fact that the design currently falls afoul of the World Athletics regulations.

At some point, however, the introduction of such technology is bound to give athletes chasing the Jamaican’s marks a big advantage.  Bolt insists, however, that he has always placed more emphasis on titles in any case and would not be fretting over the records.

“I’m not going to be worried.  The fact that everyone will know why then it doesn’t bother me.  As I’ve always said, I’m happy to be the fastest man in the world but it was always the gold medals that mattered to me because that is how you really prove yourself,” Bolt told CNN.

“There are so many people that can say I am a former World record holder, but they're not a lot that can say I won three Olympic gold medals (In one event), back-to-back,” he added.

“To me, that is why I pushed myself so hard to dominate because I know at any point in time anyone can break your world record.  If you put so much emphasis on that, then what would you have left?”

Bolt’s world-leading marks of 9.58, in the 100m, and 19.19, in the 200m, have stood since 2009.  The Jamaican retired from the sport in 2017.

Ahead of the showdown between Thompson-Herah and fellow sprint queen Fraser-Pryce, it was the latter who wore the tag of heavy favourite.  It certainly wasn’t without reason. 

Fraser-Pryce headed into Tokyo having registered the fastest time in 33-years over 100m, defeated Thompson-Herah at the country’s national championships, and boosted a fearsome 8-2-win record in major championships.

Even so, to understate the chances of Thompson-Herah, the defending champion and possibly the best in the world on her day was a huge mistake.

The athlete treated the world to a prodigious display of her talent at the 2016 Olympics where she claimed the sprint double in emphatic fashion.  Prior to Tokyo, the athlete had in fairness struggled to recapture those heights with disappointing finishes at both the 2017 London World Championships, where she placed 5^th, in the 100m, and the 2019 World Championships where she placed 4^th.

To be fair, however, the athlete has struggled to be healthy, and a troublesome Achilles injury has often kept her from being at her best.  By her own admission, the injury had even impacted her ahead of the country’s national trials where she battled to compete through the pain.

In Tokyo, however, she managed to show up healthy and the rest as we know, is history.  A dominant 10.61 win in the 100m,  finishing a healthy .13 seconds ahead of Fraser-Pryce, handed the decorated sprinter her largest margin of defeat at a major championship.  The time was second to only Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record and also displaced the American’s longstanding Olympic record of 10.62.

For anyone not paying attention, they certainly were after that, and there could be little doubt the 200m would be special.  It certainly was.  Thompson-Herah ran a jaw-dropping 21.53, a time again second to only Griffith-Joyner, in the process defeating the field by a huge margin.  There was plenty of attention on the USA’s Gabrielle Thomas after she clocked what was then the third-fastest time, 21.61, ever run over the distance in June.  Thompson-Herah beat that time by a sizeable .8 seconds.

The big Jamaican was easily the standard by which all other sprinters were measured, after putting together a dominant spell that lasted over a decade.  During that time Bolt claimed 8 Olympic and 11 World Championship gold medals, and in addition, set two records in the men’s 100m and 200m sprints that have stood untouched since 2009.

Perhaps more importantly, in a sport often riddled with doping controversy, the sprinter never failed a drug test.

"I tried to live a respectful life. I understood what it meant to show the world that it could be done so that younger kids can look up to me and say ‘Usain did all these good things without taking drugs’. It's all about hard work and dedication and a lot of people want to take short routes. I always wanted to be the best version of myself,” Bolt said in at a recent Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

“So young athletes listen, it's all about dedication and hard work, it won't happen overnight,” the Jamaican added.   

As part of the solution, the sprinter believes stricter regulations could be considered to deter cheating.  

“We have tried everything in sports to eliminate doping. But I think we have to continue putting in more strict regulations to deter people from wanting to cheat."

For the Caribbean region, when we hear Olympics, the sport we mainly think about is track & field.

With the region’s rich and storied history of success in the sport, gold, silver and bronze medals are often used to measure the success of respective athletes.  It is, however, far from the only stand.

For some countries, having a representative on the biggest global track & field stage in the world is worth just as much or more than any individual medal.

Antigua & Barbuda is one of those countries and the athlete who has represented them the best on the big stage is sprinter Daniel Bailey.

Bailey, the 100m sprint specialist, has represented his nation in four Olympic Games and five World Championships.

His best result came at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

The headliners were Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt and defending double sprint champion from the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Tyson Gay.

In the fastest race in history, Bolt ran 9.58 to destroy the world record, Gay ran an unbelievable 9.71 to finish second and Asafa Powell finished third in 9.84.

Bailey just narrowly missed out on a historic medal for Antigua & Barbuda, finishing fourth in that race with a time of 9.93.  It wasn’t his first major championship appearance, but it was also when Bailey became a household name in men’s sprinting.

However, Bailey’s first time representing Antigua and Barbuda on the biggest stage of global athletics came five years earlier in 2004.

As a 17-year-old, he carried the flag for his country during the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics. It is a memory he will carry with him forever.

“I was elated. I was really, really excited to be holding the flag for my country Antigua & Barbuda. A couple of days before, we had a meeting to decide who would do it and when they shouted my name and said ‘Daniel Bailey, you’re going to hold the flag’, it was a special feeling because I know how much it meant for an upcoming athlete to be holding the flag for his nation,” Bailey said.

To put that into perspective, he carried the flag at those Olympics just one month after competing at the World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy where he finished 4^th in the 100 metres in a time of 10.39.

At those Athens Olympics, Bailey finished 6^th in his 100 metres heat in 10.51.

Four years later, at the Beijing Olympics, Bailey, then 21, was again the flag bearer.

During the Games, he advanced to the quarter-finals after finishing second to Bolt in 10.24 in the preliminary round.

Bailey then ran 10.23 to finish 4^th but failed to advance from his quarterfinal, a race which saw him lined up against Jamaica’s former world record holder Asafa Powell and American Walter Dix, who eventually won the bronze.

A year after those Olympics would see Bailey enter the prime of his sprinting career.

He would finish 4^th at the 2009 World Championships and then fifth at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu.

On July 17, 2009, in Paris, Bailey ran a personal best and an Antiguan national record of 9.91.

Bailey then carried his nation’s flag at the third straight Olympics in London 2012 where he competed in the 100 metres.

Running in heat 4, against Bolt once again, Bailey would run a time of 10.12 to finish 2^nd  and advance to the semi-finals.

Bailey then lined up against Bolt, American Ryan Bailey and  Richard Thompson, the silver medallist from the 2008 games in his semi-final.

He finished 6^th in that race in 10.16 and failed to reach the Olympic final once again.

Bailey admits that he had entered into those Olympics with high hopes but suffered some setbacks along the way.

“I had it in my mind to make my first Olympic final. I was really working hard that year and then I got an injury that set me back a little bit. The first week I got to London I caught a bad flu, and it took a toll on my body. I got eliminated in the semi-finals, but I think my overall performance was good based on what was happening.” 

Fast forward four years to the 2016 Rio Olympics and Bailey became one of the few athletes in history to ever be their country’s flag bearer at four straight Olympic Games opening ceremonies.

That year, he competed in Heat 2 of the men’s 100 metres and finished 2^nd in 10.20 behind eventual silver medallist Justin Gatlin and advanced to the semi-finals.

He was then slated to appear in semi-final 3 but did not show up for the start due to injury.

Bailey may not have had the medal haul of many Caribbean greats but he has competed at the highest level of the sport for more than a decade and is a role model for sprinters hailing from smaller Caribbean islands like his native Antigua & Barbuda.

“You have to love it and enjoy it,” were Bailey’s words of wisdom for a new generation of up-and-coming athletes.

“My word to the up-and-coming athletes is to go for your goals. Whatever you believe in, nobody can stop that. Always work hard and smart and remember that dedication is the key to success at all times.”

As a 19-year-old James, was the toast of the Caribbean after claiming 400m gold at the 2012 London Games, four years later he battled to silver behind South African Wayde van Niekerk who won the event in a blistering world record time.

Shortly after, however, the athlete’s fortunes took a drastic turn for the worst, and, in an event as brutal and as grueling as the 400m, the odds were stacked against the athlete getting a third Olympic medal in Tokyo.  He defied them anyway.

In 2017, James had found himself struggling with fatigue and weight loss.  He dropped around 20 pounds before being diagnosed with the thyroid condition known as Graves’ disease.  Just two years later, he faced perhaps even more difficult circumstances after his mother Pamela James passed away following a lengthy battle with a terminal disease.

At the 2019 World Championship James had fought his way back to competition weight but finished fifth in the final leaving many to wonder if he would ever be back amongst the elite.  Just a year later the James had to deal with the cancelation of the Olympic Games and the disruption and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic.

After clocking a time of 43.88 in the semi-finals, his fastest since 2012, the athlete showed that he was doubtlessly back to his best, and, despite not crossing the line first in the final, after four years of tribulation, the bronze medal was a sweet reward for the Grenadian.

“It’s always great.  You have to give credit to all eight guys in the race, they are so, so good, so it's tough to race against them.  I’m just happy to compete against those guys and get a medal,” James said.

“I had an illness.  It’s still going on, I have to be on medication for the rest of my life.  2019 I lost my mother who was the matriarch of our family,” James added.

“I’ve had to deal with Covid, the quarantines and the lockdowns and not having a place to train and trying to figure things out.  So, it’s been a whirlwind, a roller coaster.”

James became the first man in Olympic history to win a medal in the event at three different Games.

With a population of just under 3 million, Jamaica is typically listed among the smallest to compete at any Olympic Games.  Making the Winter Olympic Games on a fairly consistent basis, sandwiched in between the resource-rich snowy alpine nations, is another level of achievement entirely.

The 1993 cult classic Cool Runnings, which starred Doug E Doug and the late John Candy, shone a light on the exploits of the 1988 Jamaica Olympic team, which debuted at the Calgary Winter Olympics.  What business did a tiny island from the tropics, in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, have careening down the ice at breakneck speed?  Surely it must be a one-off occasion.  Well, think again, the team has gone on to make the Olympics on another six occasions, and come Beijing 2022 will head into the Games having qualified for the most events in its history.  Jamaica will be represented by Alpine skier Alexander Benjamin, bobsledders Shanwayne Stephens Rolando Reid, Ashley Watson, and Matthew Wekpe, in the four-man and two-man events, and Fenlator-Victorian who will take part in the women’s monobob.  It remains a scenario very much against the odds.

“On this team, we are always looking to move forward, even if it’s the smallest step forward.  That’s ingrained in our culture, that’s engrained in the culture of Jamaica,” Fenlator-Victorian told SportsMax.Tv’s InCaseYouMissedIT.

“It’s in our blood to overcome adversity and do the best that we can, with our heads held high and to give our best effort.  With great victories, there will always be struggles.  If you can endure the struggle and keep moving forward at the end of the road there will be opportunity.”

At 36, Fenlator-Victorian will be heading for her second Olympics appearance for Jamaica, and third overall, having been part of the two-woman team, along with Carrie Russell, that debuted for the Caribbean Country at the 2018 Olympics.  Jamaica’s two-woman team narrowly missed out on qualification for the Beijing Games, losing out on the final spot via a tiebreak.  For her part, with retirement on her mind after the Beijing Games, Fenlator-Victorian hopes she has done enough to light a beacon for future generations.

“I’m entering the latter part of my career, to after these Games enter alumni status.  I hope I have created that way for future females to continue the legacy.  To not just be there the first time, but to come back again a second time.  Back-to-back Olympics is a huge feat and I hope we can continue that moving forward."

For the most part, all types of track and field competitions across the island have been shuttered since last year, as part of efforts to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

In order to resume, sports administrations must submit a series of plans that illustrate how it is that sporting events will comply with the strict protocols set out by the goverment's Disaster Risk Management orders.

The JAAA, who have submitted the documents, is confident they have put together a strong proposal and pointed to the fact that the proposal has been shared with other North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) members, who are expected to adopt several of the recommendations.

Among the organisations proposals are the provision of COVID protocol marshals, trained by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to oversee competitions and training; hosted sensitisation sessions with coaches, team managers, and athletes, a guide for meet organisers, and a team manual for competitors.

According to the JAAA, they are yet to be given a response from the authorities but have in the meantime urged athletes to continue to prepare for the upcoming season and to continue following the existing protocols.

Jackson, who was formerly a 400m specialist, stepped down to the shorter distances this year and has had impressive results.  The sprinter clocked new personal bests of 10.77 and 21.82 last month at her country’s national championships.

In Hungary, on Tuesday, the runner continued in that vein, dismissing the field to finish first in 21.96.  Jackson seized control of the race early and comfortably held off a typically fast-finishing Miller-Uibo, who took second in 22.15.  Dafne Schippers, the 2017 World Champion, was third in 22.70.

In other action, both Caribbean athletes in the men’s 110m hurdles failed to secure a podium spot.  Jamaica’s Ronald Levy finished fourth with a time of 13.25 and Shane Brathwaite was 7^th in 14.10.  The race was won by the United States’ Grant Halloway who took the top spot with a time of 13.08.

In the women’s 400m hurdles, Jamaica’s Janieve Russell took third in a season’s best 53.68.  The race was won by Netherland’s Femke Bol in a meet record 52.81.

The 200m World Champion and 100m silver medallist has clocked some blistering times over both distances this season.  The trend continued in Saturday’s final as she blasted out of the blocks and quickly put away the competition before stopping the clock at 10.83.

The United States Celera Barnes was second in 11.10 with another Jamaican Natasha Morrison third in 11.11.  The race was run in a -0.1 headwind.

In the men’s equivalent, Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake also put in a dominant performance as he was the only athlete in the field to crack the 10-second barrier.  Blake led the pack to the line in 9.98, comfortably ahead of the United State’s Kyree King who was second in 10.08, and his compatriot Brandon Charles who was third in 10.12.

Elsewhere, the Jamaicans took the runner-up spot behind the United States in the 4x400m mixed relays.  The event was won by the United States in 3:12.05, with the Jamaicans second in 3:14.08.  

Earlier, Adelle Tracey won her first ever medal for Jamaica when she finished third in the 800m in 1:59.54. The USA’s Ajee Wilson won the gold medal in a keen battle with teammate Allie Wilson. Ajee won by 0.01 seconds clocking 1:58.47 to Allie’s 1:58.48.

Jamaica won two more medals in the sprint hurdles.

Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper ran 12.68 for silver in the 100m hurdles that the USA’s Alaysha Johnson won in 12.62. Hometown girl Devynne Charlton ran 12.71 for the bronze medal.

In the 110m hurdles, Orlando Bennett ran a season-best 13.18 to win the bronze medal.

The USA’s Freddie Crittenden won in a fast 13.00 while holding off compatriot Jamal Britt, who finished in 13.08.

Making her indoor debut for the season, Jackson clocked a new best of 7.12 but was well behind winner Mary Beth Sant-Price of the United States who clocked 7.04 to win the event. 

Sant-Price’s time is the second-fastest in the world this year behind Eva Swoboda who clocked 7.00 at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Lodz.  Another Jamaican, Natasha Morrison finished third in 7.35, with the Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan fifth in 7.41.  A third Jamaican in the race Shockoria Wallace finished 6^th in 7.47.

The men’s equivalent was captured by another Jamaica, Nigel Ellis, who took top spot in 6.90.  His compatriot long jumper Tajya Gayle, who is expected to do more sprinting this season, was second with 6.95, which was also his personal best.

In other events, Jamaica’s Ronald Levy finished third in the men’s 60m hurdles with a time of 7.98.  The event was won by Australia’s Chris Douglas in 7.64, with Jamal Britt second in 7.83.

A few weeks ago, revelations came to light that an athlete had returned an adverse analytical finding, but the details of the situation have been kept relatively close to the association.

According to the release, Lewis will face the disciplinary panel via a virtual hearing, on Thursday.  The release also stated that the hearing, as is the protocol of JADCO, will be held in-camera.

Lewis, who competes in the Bikini Fitness Short Class category, won the national title last year, before competing in Aruba last August where she was second in the short class, finishing behind Febe Moreno of Mexico.  Lewis was third overall in the Bikini Fitness category.

2018 Commonwealth Games steeplechase champion, Aisha Praught Leer, has revealed via social media that she injured her left knee in training on Sunday, which later turned out to be a torn meniscus.

The athlete will, however, still attempt to compete at the Games after taking an injection to the joint.

"I will line up in Tokyo.  When I arrive I will get fluid drained from my knee and take a cortisone injection (this is legal, and my surgeon understands and supports me in this)

The unfortunate injury occurred during what she described as one of the ‘best workouts’ of her life.  The athlete explained that she felt excruciating pain as if something had torn.

“I tore my meniscus (a complete, off the bone root tear) on Sunday at training—a freak, shocking accident. I heard and felt a painful pop doing a drill but then proceeded to do one of the best workouts of my life. On Wednesday I got an MRI, then sat in quiet disbelief with Joe Bosshard as the doctor told us I need surgery ASAP.”

The always-smiling athlete is scheduled to compete in the 1500m that is set to get underway on Sunday, at 7:35 pm.  Naturally, she is heartbroken because she will not be able to compete at her maximum ability.

“I want to keep believing in the possibility of achieving the wild dreams I store deep in my heart. The reality is they will not happen in Tokyo—running to my ability is simply not possible on a knee without stability. This is the most challenging reality I have faced in my career,” Praught Leer said.

“We did nothing wrong. As I said, this was a freak accident. But now all of my silent work, the beautiful, hard-earned fitness, does not have a chance to see the light of day. The triumph I have visualized so vividly is—poof—gone in one step,” Leer lamented.

Although she understands that unexpected injuries are a part of sports, it is still a tough reality for her to accept.

“I understand this is sport—just sport. I know the truth that I am more than an athlete. But this sport means everything to me. This is my life’s work, my purpose, and my first true love. I am heartbroken.”

The athlete, who created history, being the first Jamaican to win gold in the steeplechase event at the Commonwealth Games, insists she will be proud to represent the country despite not being in top shape. 

“You will see me smiling in Tokyo with Jamaica on my chest because the honour of representing my country is one of the greatest I’ve had in my little life.”

On Thursday, news broke that gymnast Danusia Francis had suffered an injury to her left knee, which later turned out to be a torn ACL.  Francis will not be able to compete in her events.  She will, however, symbolically take part in the Uneven Bars event but will not attempt a dismount.

Lawrence recorded a distance of 57.86m, finishing well clear of the rest of the field.  Finishing in second was the University of Miami’s Kristina Rakočević who recorded 51.80m, with Jalani Davis (Ole Miss) third with a distance of 51.32.

The win for the Jamaican national record holder follows up on a victory last week at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Sprint Summit.  Elsewhere, former Jamaica College jumper Clayton Brown also claimed the top spot in the men’s high jump.  Brown took first place with a leap of 2.21m, ahead of Old Miss’ Allen Gordon who took second in 2.16m.  Third place went to Louisville’s Trey Allen who recorded 2.11m.

In the Men's 200 Dash Olympic Development Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards clocked 20.30 to secure second place, behind the United States’ Fred Kerley who took the top spot in 20.24.  Erriyon Knighton was third in 20.39.

Four judges scored the fight in favour of Kumar and one scored it for the Jamaican.

Brown, popularly known as ‘Big 12,’ had a slow start, losing the first round on all the judges’ scorecards and never really recovered from there.

He showed more intent and tried to pick up the pace in rounds 2 and 3 but ultimately didn’t do any significant damage as Kumar, who fought a more technical fight, was able to come away with the win.

Kumar, a two-time Asian Championships bronze medalist, was cut on the forehead after an accidental clash of heads in the 3^rd round but kept his composure, and avoided some potentially devastating right hands from Brown, to seal victory and advance to the quarterfinals, one step closer to an opportunity at a medal.

He will next face reigning world and Asian Champion Bakhodir Jalovov of Uzbekistan on Saturday.

Brown, 31, was a bronze medalist at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, and was seeking to become Jamaica’s 1^st boxing medallist at the Olympics.

The 31-years-old Praught-Leer is Jamaica’s record holder in the 3000m Steeplechase event and represented the country at the 2015 and 2017 IAAF World Championships, as well as the 2016 Olympics, where she qualified for the final.

In addition, the athlete also captured gold in the event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.  Praught-Leer has, however, contemplated switching events to try her hand at competing in the 1500m. 

The athlete had hoped to make her 1500m Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games but like many others had to set aside those plans as the event was postponed due to the onslaught of the coronavirus.  She has already begun her quest to qualify for this summer's Games by targeting three events, the 3000m steeplechase, 5000m, and 1500m.  She currently has personal best times of 15:07.50 in the 5000m, 9:14.09 seconds in the 3000m steeplechase, and 4:05.52 in the 1500 metres.

Praught-Leer previously represented Under Armour after signing a contract with that brand in 2017, earlier this month, however, she announced via social media that her contract with the company had come to an end.