Gc Foster College

The 37-year-old Powell of MVP Track Club clocked 6.73 seconds to beat Sprintec Lions' Andrew Fisher in a close finish in section one of the three-section race. Fisher was also credited with the same time as Powell.

Powell was one of the most dominant sprinters of his era, consistently breaking the 10-second barrier and twice setting the world 100m record in 2005 and 2008. The second time he did it with a blazing 9.74 seconds.

Powell also won a gold medal in the 4x100m relay at the Rio Olympics and competed in three Summer Games.

A statue of the sprinter is set to be unveiled at Statue Park inside Independence Park Ltd on Sunday.

For Rodney, this appointment is more than just a job; it’s a homecoming. Although he’s represented Canada on the world stage, including winning an Olympic silver medal at Tokyo 2020 and a world championship gold in 2022, Rodney has always maintained a deep connection to Jamaica. Training on the island under the watchful eye of Maurice Wilson, a veteran coach with a storied history at the Olympics and World Championships, Rodney has experienced first-hand the rich athletic culture that Jamaica is known for.

But Rodney’s connection to Jamaica extends beyond the track. Over the past year, he’s not only honed his speed and technique on Jamaican soil, but he’s also immersed himself in the academic community at G.C. Foster College, teaching courses and sharing his expertise with the next generation of athletes. His involvement with the college deepened further when he partnered with the Canadian High Commission in Kingston to launch the Brendon Rodney Foundation, providing scholarships to deserving students—a testament to his commitment to education and empowerment.

In his new role at G.C. Foster, Rodney is poised to leverage his experiences as an elite athlete and his academic background—a master’s degree in exercise science from Long Island University—to elevate the college’s athletics program. His responsibilities will be far-reaching: from overseeing the development of student-athletes to ensuring that the college’s sports teams, coaches, and facilities meet international standards. Perhaps most importantly, Rodney will play a key role in recruiting talent and managing the disbursement of scholarships, helping to provide opportunities for young athletes to thrive.

"G.C. Foster has been more than just a training ground for me; it’s become a part of who I am as an athlete and a mentor," Rodney shared, reflecting on his journey. "I’m excited to take on this role and to give back to the community that has supported me throughout my career."

Rodney’s journey from the Olympic podium to the halls of G.C. Foster College is a powerful narrative of full-circle fulfillment. It underscores the importance of investing in the next generation and the profound impact that athletes can have when they transition from competition to mentorship. His presence at G.C. Foster is not just about enhancing the college’s reputation but about instilling a sense of possibility and ambition in young athletes who aspire to follow in his footsteps.

As Rodney takes on this leadership role, he carries with him the hopes of nurturing the next wave of Jamaican and Caribbean athletes, ensuring that the legacy of excellence he has contributed to on the track continues to thrive off it as well. The transition from sprinter to educator and administrator is a testament to his dedication, not just to his sport, but to the broader community that has always been part of his journey.

Young threw 18.77m to shatter the previous record of 18.34m set by fellow alumni Demar Gayle in 2015.

It was an Edwin Allen 1-2 in the event as Trevor Gunzell also surpassed the previous record with his own mark of 18.71m in the close battle between teammates. Brandon Gayle of St Jago High threw 17.85m for third.

In the Javelin Open for Girls, Natalie Albert threw 39.71m to take victory over teammate G’Nea Pitt (39.0m).

Edwin Allen’s Shenelia Williams took the bronze medal with her best effort of 36.06m.

Another meet record was established in the Class III Girls High Jump where Edwin Allen’s Asia McKay soared to a new mark of 1.70m, eclipsing the mark of 1.68m set by Vere Technical’s Anishka McDonald in 2019.

Sabrina Atkinson of Hydel copped the silver with her clearance of 1.65m. Third went to Jahmeka Brown, who cleared 1.60m.

The Class I long jump title now belongs to Edwin Allen’s Serena Cole. The sprinter/long jumper produced a leap of 5.92m to secure victory over St Jago High School’s Kay-Lagay Clarke (5.84m).

St Jago picked up valuable points as Machaeda Linton leapt 5.62m for third.

St Jago picked up another win in the Class 3 High Jump for Boys as Patrick Brown equalled the record of 1.65m shared by Shane York of St Jago High and Christoff Madden of Mt St Joseph.

After 28 finals St Jago is the runaway leader among the boys with 295.5 points. Edwin Allen is second with 103 points while Clarendon College and St Catherine High are third tied with 75 points.

Manchester High with 60 points makes up the top five teams.

After 29 finals, Edwin Allen leads the girls’ standings with 246.2 points. Hydel lie second with 181.6 points. St Jago High 166.6, Holmwood  Technical 147 and St Catherine High 135 round out the top five.

Among those gathered for the occasion were Foster’s granddaughters Andrea Roberts, Debbie Jardine and Heather Chin, who were clearly moved by the occasion.

Established in September1980, GC Foster College was the first of its kind to be established in the English-speaking Caribbean.

The college was named as a tribute to Gerald Claude Eugene (G.C.) Foster, who was described as a man of outstanding and versatile sporting talent, who dedicated himself to the pursuit of excellence in all his sport-related endeavors.

In 1908, he travelled to the United Kingdom to try and compete at the Olympic Games even though Jamaica had not a member of the Olympic charter nor did it have an athletic association. However, while unable to compete, he managed to defeat many of the finalists in the Olympic 100m final.

Largely hidden, his legacy has now been unearthed allowing the late athlete and coach to take his rightful place in Jamaica’s incredible track and field history.

It was part of that process, during the launch of 50 Days Afire, the book that brings Foster’s incredible achievements to life, that the portrait was unveiled.

The occasion will live long in the memory of his granddaughters.

“Very proud. We are very proud and honoured; so glad that after so long he is still so highly thought off,” said Jardine, who along with her cousins stood next to the portrait as it was unveiled.

“I agree with that 100 per cent,” said Roberts. “We are very honoured and very pleased.”

Chin, who was visiting GC Foster College for the very first time, said she was captivated by the institution named after her grandfather.

“This is a first. I am totally impressed with this school. It’s really awesome and that it’s named after my grandfather is very special,” she said.

Hemmings ran an Olympic record 52.82 holding off the challenge of Americans Kim Batten and Tonja Buford and etch her name into the annals of Jamaica track and field history. She would win a silver medal in the event at the Sydney Games in 2000 when she also won another silver medal as a member of Jamaica’s 4x400m relay team and cement her legacy as one of Jamaica’s great athletes.

Those exploits were recalled and celebrated at GC Foster College on Thursday night during the launch of 50 Days Afire, a book written by Michael A. Grant and Hubert Lawrence. The book chronicles 50 track and field performances that have defined Jamaica’s legacy in the sport.

Hemmings-McCatty’s accomplishments appear in the 260-page book that was the third undertaking between Grant and Lawrence over the past decade.

During the ceremony, a video of the reserved athlete’s triumphant run in Atlanta was shown after which she was presented with a citation created by artist Patrick Kitson.

Needless to say, she was overwhelmed by fact that her exploits were being celebrated and that her place in Jamaica’s track and field history has not been forgotten.

“It is a special occasion to know that after retiring for so long people still see the work or still remember the work that I have done and I will cherish this very special moment and I am thankful,” said Hemmings-McCatty, who retired in 2003, almost 20 years ago.

The event was attended by Olympian Vilma Charlton, Vice-Principal of GC Foster College Gibbs Williams, MVP President Bruce James and the granddaughters of GC Foster Andrea Roberts, Debbie Jardine and Heather Chin.

A documentary 'Finding Foster: The Search for Jamaica’s Lost Sprint Hero' will also be a feature at the launch of the seminal publication by publisher Michael A. Grant and track and field writer, commentator and historian Hubert Lawrence.

I can’t say no,” the history making Olympian said in accepting her invitation to the event, “I will be there.”

The special award was initiated by local gaming brand AnyBet, the title sponsor of the book, film and  event. Grants for research and production were also provided by NCB Capital Markets, Sherwin-Williams, Sports Development Foundation and Tastee Ltd., while other sponsorship was provided by GC Foster College, Supreme Outdoor Advertising, TrackAlerts.com and WISYNCO Ltd.

Fifty Days Afire, is the third collaboration between Grant and Lawrence. It chronicles the 50 most significant performances by Jamaican athletes over 115 years of competition, beginning with GC Foster’s exploits in the United Kingdom in 1908.

In addition to never-before-seen photographs of Foster as an athlete and pictures representing all the featured races, the book addresses issues of class, nationalism and Jamaica’s love of sprinting, while discussing reasons for the growing dominance of the island’s athletes on the world stage. Readers will learn how influential those 50 races have been to the overall development of the sport, even though they do not all feature victories or records.

'Finding Foster' is Grant’s  brainchild. He uncovered important information and photographs of Jamaican pioneering sprinter and coach Gerald Claude “GC” Foster while conducting research for the book.

With a run-time of 30 minutes, the production features analysis by Lawrence and sports broadcaster Kayon Raynor and follows Foster on his quest to compete at the 1908 London Olympics, travelling alone on his own funds.

With the help of British coach Harry Andrews, Foster was able to turn his failed bid at Olympic glory into a spectacular three-month tour of Great Britain in which he competed prodigiously, beating the British champion and other Olympians in several meets.

While there, Foster became a favourite of the British sporting press and often addressed adoring crowds following his races.

In addition to honouring Hemmings, there will also be the unveiling of a portrait of Foster as a young athlete. The authors will also read from as well as sign books on sale at the venue.

20.71 was enough for Levell to cruise comfortably home ahead of St. Catherine High’s Sandrey Davison (21.30) and Manchester’s Shemar Palmer (21.37).

Steer Town’s Omarion Barrett completed an impressive sprint double by winning the Class Two Boys 200m in 21.81 ahead of Edwin Allen’s Antonio Powell (21.99) and Clarendon College’s Tremaine Hamilton (22.44).

Ajae Brown of Ferncourt High ran 23.29 to win the Class Three Boys 200m ahead of the St. Jago pair of Detarje Morgan (23.30) and 100m champion and record holder Ray J Reece (23.33).

Manchester High ran 3:17.41 to win the Boys 4x400m ahead of St. Jago (3:18.32) and St. Catherine High (3:19.82) while in the Girls section, Holmwood Technical and Edwin Allen were separated by one-hundredth of a second with Holmwood taking the win in 3:41.81 ahead of Edwin Allen (3:41.82). St. Catherine High were third in 3:46.48.

Edwin Allen and Holmwood swapped places in the Girls Sprint Medley with Edwin Allen running 4:00.52 to win ahead of Holmwood (4:13.50) and Dinthill Technical (4:19.88).

St. Jago were equally dominant in the Boys section running 3:39.98 to win ahead of Clarendon College (3:53.10) and Bustamante High (3:58.75)

The Monk Street-based St. Jago ended up comfortably winning the Boys team title, finishing with 404.50 points. Edwin Allen finished a distant second 175 points, while the top five was rounded out by Clarendon College (120), St. Catherine High (98), and Manchester High (83).

Despite only running in the heats of the Girls Class One 100m, Lyston stole the show with a spectacular 11.14, a personal best and world-leading time.

The former St. Jago athlete didn’t turn up for the final, which was won by Edwin Allen’s Tina Clayton in 11.26 ahead of her sister Tia who ran 11.37 for second. Janela Spencer of Manchester High was third in 11.79.

Lyston’s Hydel teammate Alana Reid won the Girls Class Two event in 11.37, while Edwin Allen’s Theianna-Lee Terrelonge won the Class Three event in 11.88.

St. Jago’s Odaine Crooks was in record-breaking form in the Boys Class One 100m, running 10.46 to win. Steer Town's Omarion Barrett ran 10.83 to win the Class Two event, while St. Jago's Ray J Reece won the Class Three event in 11.31 after running a new record 11.29 in the preliminaries.

There will be a reduced number of events at this year’s staging because of Covid-related restrictions that include no spectators. Arising from the development, the organizers have arranged to stream the meet live on the TrackAlerts YouTube channel.

The events on the schedule this year include 100m, 400m, 4x100m relays, 4x400m relays, 4x800m relays and the Sprint Medley Relay.

Regarding the absence of the usual title sponsor, Chairman of the Organizing Committee Ray Harvey said that a number of sponsors have come on board to make up for some of the shortfalls of funds to stage a successful but scaled-down version of the meet.

He said he was pleased that the meet was able to return to the calendar for the 2022 season.

"The fact that we didn't have our meet last year told us we should have our meet this year. We did not want to have the two-year hiatus,” Harvey said.

“We have been away from Montego Bay for four years now but that is acceptable but having no meet in is not acceptable.  So despite the early setback of not having Milo's sponsorship we were determined that the 2022 Western Relays should take place.”

  Among the sponsors that have come aboard is the Sports Development Foundation (SDF).

"The history of the event speaks for itself.  When I got the call and I took it to the board, there wasn't any great convincing,” said SDF General Manager Denzil Wilks.

“We all knew what this thing was all about and when we were told that the major sponsor dropped out, we recognized immediately that we couldn't let this one fall by the wayside.”

The Jamaica Olympic Association's (JOA) has also come on board to provide financial support for the meet.

"We are very pleased to be a part of the Western Relays.  We think it’s an important event for the West because it provides the opportunity for young people not only to demonstrate their athletic prowess but also to be educated and grow with the meet in statue,” said President Christopher Samuda.

“We came on board in response to a need and we always respond to needs.  We interface directly with our member associations but certainly when a brief is given to us and we understand that there is a need then we respond positively. “

Also among the sponsors are WATA, Powerade, Custom Marble, Trackalerts, Gibson McCook Relays, World-Class Athletics and On Di Run Events Managements as well as some of Ray Harvey's batch-mates at Nebraska University.

50 Days Afire chronicles 50 track and field performances that shaped Jamaica’s legacy in the sport as well as the lost story of Foster, who after being unable to compete at the Olympics in 1908, proceeded to defeat many of the finalists of the 100m in subsequent meets across Europe.

At the launch, a short documentary ‘Finding Foster’ that highlighted the long-buried legacy of GC Foster, was shown to a captive audience.

Following years of research and interviews by authors Michael A. Grant and Hubert Lawrence Foster to life and documented seminal moments in the country's long and storied history in track and field. Grant and Lawrence said the information contained in the book could or perhaps should change the narrative about who really set the pace for what Jamaica has been able to accomplish through the likes of Herb McKenley, Merlene Ottey, Marilyn Neufville, Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah among many others.

“I hope so,” said Lawrence, the noted track writer and historian, “it’s an inspiring story. If you could take off with no Olympic Committee, thinking you could beat the best, is typical Jamaican. My parents did that. I am who I am because my parents made those choices and GC Foster exemplifies that spirit that can’t be broken.

“He came back, didn’t make it but put that into coaching and Jamaica is better for it. I hope so.”

Both men agree that producing the book helped them understand how the events they wrote about helped shape Jamaica’s track and field history but that realization did not come about until they were well into the process.

“Once I got about half-way it occurred to me that these 50 events actually changed Jamaica. If you remove them and they never happened it would be a very different country, not just in terms of sport but also in terms of the culture itself,” Grant opined.

Lawrence though had a different take. “If we can avoid the mistakes of the past by showing the victories of the past then it’s like a torch light showing people where to go,” he said.

“People now know that there was greatness all the way through the history back to 1908 and they trust it if they work hard and they work smart they can win.”

On the evening, a portrait of GC Foster was unveiled at the school's auditorium as his grand-daughters Andrea Roberts, Debbie Jardine and Heather Chin looked on.

 Deon Hemmings, the first Jamaican woman to win an Olympic gold medal, when she ran a record 52.82 to defeat the more fancied Americans Kim Batten and Tonja Buford, at the Atlanta Games in 1996, was also honoured with artwork by Patrick Kitson over a citation recalling her history-making exploits.

, could change the narrative that Arthur Wint, Herb McKenley, George Rhoden and Les Laing, are the fathers of Jamaica’s strong track and field legacy.

that chronicles 50 track and field performances that shaped Jamaica’s legacy in the sport, believe that the unearthing of the accomplishments of

“I am one of hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people who want Western Relays to go back home. I have been waiting patiently for five years for the track to be repaired, it just hasn't happened and we just have to keep our fingers crossed that it will happen sometime soon," Harvey said during a ceremony at GC Foster College in St Catherine on Monday when cash prizes were handed over to the schools who participated in this year’s meet at the sports college that has hosted the meet for the past few years.

Harvey noted that having a working track in Montego Bay is integral to the development of track and field in western Jamaica. In addition to the Milo Western Relays and other athletics meets, the Montego Bay Sports Complex also used to host a number of other events leading up to the relays.

They include seminars for coaches and athletes regarding drugs in sports, physical fitness and nutrition and baton-passing clinics for 10 and 11 year olds as well as training sessions for meet officials.

Those activities have ceased for the past five years.

“It is kind of a tragedy what is going on in Western Jamaica regarding the track and everything that is happening and what has been in the news recently,” said Harvey while making reference to a revelation that racing cars were being driven on the worn-out running surface.

“I would like to take this opportunity to call on the government to restore that track, get it back up because it is a pride for the Western teams and they have always been consistent and I think not having access to that facility is kinds robbing Western Jamaica of their true and full potential," Harvey continued.

"We are looking forward to going back to Montego Bay because we are also robbing the spectators or the ardent track and field supporters that opportunity to see their home grown talent performing with the best in the country."

The meet organizer also revealed that he would be subsidizing the travel expenses of the teams that had to travel from western Jamaica to St Catherine to collect their prize money.

"We have a special programme to support the teams from the West. We recognize that they are not able to be at home in Montego Bay. They have to travel. It is expensive to travel so we are offering six teams a subsidy towards their travel here coming to GC Foster College. They are getting two touches. One, this prize money and two the transportation money so the teams from the West, several of them will get two cheques.

Edwin Allen were big winners as they collected a cheque for JMD$210,000 having won five of six relays at the last meet. Coach Abna Stoner and athletes Jounee Armstrong and Dylan Logan, were on hand to receive the prize money.

The Clarendon-based track power’s girls won the Class I 4x100m, 4x400m and the 4x800m relays while the boys won the Class I 4x100m, 4x400m and placed third in the 4x800m.

Edwin Allen bagged the largest cash bounty of the 10 schools that benefited financially. The other winners included Kingston College (JMD $50,000), Holmwood Technical (JMD $50,000), Excelsior High School (JMD $40,000), St. Jago High School (JMD $20,000), Vere Techincal JMD ($20,000), Mt. Alvernia High School (JMD $15,000), Bellfield High School (JMD $5,000) and Green Island High School (JMD $5,000).

"I am happy to come all the way from the West to GC Foster College to present Edwin Allen a decent cheque. Its $210,000. They have supported Western Relays from (the) beginning and one of the schools we can always count on at Western Relays to put on a show and to make our product into something special," said Harvey

Coach Stoner of Edwin Allen was gracious in his reply.

"We are so grateful for (this) presentation because I was pleasantly surprised when I opened it and looked at the figure. This is really a shot in the arm and it will go a long way in contributing to the programme,” he said.

“This week we will be departing for Penn Relays and with all the logistics - airfare, pocket money for students, it is a pretty penny and this money that we got, it really can help to develop the programme." Edwin Allen departed the island for the Penn Relays on Tuesday.