Shellyann Fraserpryce

Glen Mills, Chairman of the meet’s organising committee, made the announcement at the Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston on Thursday. During the four previous years since the meet began in 2016, the Racers Grand Prix has seen the participation of several Olympic and World champions as well as world-record holders in editions that we of the highest quality, Mills said.

The meet has earned high praises from World Athletics and its president Lord Sebastian Coe, who was at the 2017 renewal in Kingston, the year when Usain Bolt retired from the sport. It has also been commended by a number of world-class athletes and coaches as well as managers and agents.

So it was no surprise that it was selected among the 10 Continental Tour Gold Series meets as World Athletics began to overhaul the sport to make it more appealing to old and new fans alike.

“I am proud to announce that the administrators of World Athletics have selected the Racers Grand Prix to be part of the Continental Tour Gold Series for the next 10 years,” Mills announced on Thursday.

The Gold level is the highest in the competition series, which is only one level below the Diamond League and Kingston, Jamaica is the only city in the western hemisphere chosen to host a gold series.

With 2020 being an Olympic year, Mills said that a number of the world’s leading athletes have already expressed their intention to compete at the meet.

“Presently, I have received the names of over 200 athletes from agents, managers and coaches who have expressed their interest. Most notable are multiple Olympic and World champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Olympic champion Elaine Herah, World and Olympic champion and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk, World Champion Tajay Gayle, Commonwealth champion Akini Simbine, World Champions Yohan Blake and Noah Lyles, world-record holder Kendra Harrison, and world medalists Danielle Williams and Rushell Clayton,” Mills said.

“Promising athlete Christopher Taylor, Akeem Bloomfield and Demish Gaye are also some of the leading persons who have expressed interest.”

Mills said that because the championship points that will be awarded for the core events of the meet, he is expecting a lot more interest as the meet draws closer.

The Continental Series will replace the World Challenge events as the second tier of competition under the Diamond League, and the four events that have been controversially cut, either partially or completely, from the latter competition for next season will have senior status within the new format.

The four events - triple jump, discus, 200 metres and 3,000m steeplechase - will be part of the core events in the top, or Gold level of the Tour, which will also have Silver and Bronze levels.

All four events dropped from the Diamond League final, or in some cases, the Diamond League itself will retain a wild card to the Eugene World Athletics Championships for the winners.

The 2020 scholarship awardees were sixth-form students York Shane (St. Jago), track and field and volleyball; Jahiem Wedderburn (Kingston College), lacrosse and football; Samantha Morrison (St. Andrew High School), track and field, swimming; fifth-form student Adrian Nethersole (St. Elizabeth Technical), track and field; as well as fourth-form students Jasauna Dennis (St. Elizabeth Technical), track and field; Habiba Harris (St. Elizabeth Technical), track and field; Oshane Blackwood (St. Elizabeth Technical), track and field; and Solesha Young (Convent of Mercy), track and field, table tennis, badminton, hockey, netball.

According to the foundation, second to fifth-form recipients, received J$50,000 each while the sixth-formers each got J$60,000.00. The total value of the scholarships this year amounts to J$430,000.

These eight will join the 12 current student-athletes on scholarship, which means that the foundation is supporting 20 scholarship recipients for the duration of their high school education. To date, a total of 50 scholarships have been awarded through the foundation.

This year’s recipients were selected from 58 applications that included applicants from territories outside Jamaica including Turks & Caicos, Cuba, USA, Canada & South Africa). However, the scholarships are only available to Jamaican high school student athletes.

Founded in 2013, the Pocket Rocket Foundation has since offered scholarships to 62 student athletes. Some of the recipients in pursuit of careers outside of sport have achieved great success.

Among them are commercial pilot Jovaine Atkinson, a former student-athlete of Kingston College, Brenton Bartley, a former Campion College volleyball player, who now holds a degree in Civil Engineering and J’Voughn Blake, a former Jamaica College student now studying a Dartmouth College in the United States.

The five-time world 100m champion and two-time Olympic champion takes great pride in these achievements and others that she has been able to make possible through the work of the foundation.

“We were able to assist 62 students and also participate in our Christmas treat, our football Peace Through Sports Initiative, the Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Resource Centre in Waterhouse with computers and tablets for the students in the community, donated to children’s homes and just have a presence,” said the super-star athlete who holds a degree in Childhood Development from the University of Technology.

“I think for us as a foundation, where we want to go is having programmes geared towards student-athletes, educational equity, as well as sports and play community initiatives and I am really excited about the progress of the foundation and where we are heading and this time around we are making sure that we create impact when it comes to our student-athletes and making sure that they, too, have a future.”

Of the nine cohorts that have benefitted from the foundation’s largesse there is one that stands out, she said, even though all have a special place in her heart.

“I would have to say the first cohort is very dear to me. Out of that cohort we have had Brenton as well as Jovaine, who is a pilot and it’s just remarkable to see the transition. I am proud of all of them, to be honest, recently we saw J’Voughn Blake matriculate to university overseas and it’s just incredible to see what we have been able to accomplish being a part of the Pocket Rocket Foundation and the lives we were able to change.”

Not one to rest on her laurels or those of the foundation, Fraser-Pryce revealed that come January 2023, there are plans to introduce a new facet that will go even further in equipping student-athletes with the skills needed to thrive.

“What’s next is making sure that is having more community-based initiatives, mental wellness and we are definitely come January having our PR and Etiquette seminar for student-athletes making sure we equip them for the next stage of life, making sure we are giving them access to different things that will help them to advance their lives.”

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 12^th overall with a throw of 62.93 metres.

Dacres was only two centimetres behind Wright, throwing 62.91m to finish 13^th overall, while Smikle could only manage a best distance of 59.04m to finish 25^th 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 4^th 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 3^rd 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 7^th 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 6^th in 11.48.

Tristan Evelyn of Barbados ran 11.42 to finish 6^th in heat 3.

Amya Clarke of St. Kitts & Nevis finished 7^th 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 3^rd 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 2^nd while Abrams finished 7^th 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 4^th heat.

If not, why is she reportedly training separately from her MVP teammates?

The recently minted four-time 100m world champion is, according to eyewitness accounts, now training under the watchful eye of Reynaldo Walcott at Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston while MVP’s athletes train at the nearby Stadium East facility.

Walcott, who coaches at St. Elizabeth Technical High School in Santa Cruz, Jamaica, briefly coached the two-time Olympic 100m champion after she left the club following the 2016 Rio Olympics campaign.

The Digicel Ambassador returned to the MVP track club in early 2017, eventually going on to win her fourth 100m world title in Doha in 2019 under the brilliant guidance of Coach Stephen Francis.

In response to queries from Sportsmax.TV, the athlete’s management has been mum on the issue.

Bruce James, Fraser-Pryce’s manager, said he was unable to comment on whether Walcott was once again coaching the woman many believe to be the greatest-ever female sprinter. Walcott also declined to comment when questioned by Sportsmax.TV on Thursday. “I cannot comment on that,” he said.

However, in the past few days, Fraser-Pryce’s name was reportedly on a list of athletes approved to train at Independence Park inside the National Stadium. Moreover, several individuals not affiliated with MVP, but who still declined to go on record, told Sportsmax.TV that looking on, they saw Fraser-Pryce training alone under Walcott’s watchful eye as recently as yesterday (Wednesday).

Sources indicate that Fraser-Pryce has not been at the MVP training site for several days. Some MVP athletes, those sources said, believe an injury is the reason for her absence.

The “Pocket Rocket’ first came to prominence at the MVP track club in 2008 when she surprised many by finishing second at the Jamaican National Championships in 10.82s behind Kerron Stewart but upstaging veterans Sherone Simpson and Veronica Campbell-Brown, who finished third and fourth, respectively.

At the Beijing Olympics that year, she won the 100m in 10.78, becoming the first Jamaican woman to win an Olympic 100m title. She followed up that performance by winning the first of her four 100m World titles in 10.73s at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

She would go on to Moscow in 2013 where she won the treble (100m, 200m, 4x100m) and then defended her 100m title in Helsinki in 2015.

She battled a debilitating toe injury at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she won a bronze medal in the 100m before temporarily parting company with the club.

The joint national 100m record holder will be attempting to win a third 100m Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed until 2021 because of the Coronavirus COVID19 pandemic.

Bolt and Fraser-Pryce were the biggest stars in a decade of sprint dominance for Jamaica.  Between them, the duo racked up 20 World Championship gold medals and 10 Olympic gold medals.  However, while the evergreen Fraser-Pryce continues to dazzle the world with her prowess on the track, Bolt hung up his spikes in 2017.

At the age of 33, Fraser-Pryce created history by becoming the first athlete to claim four 100m World Championship titles, in an event not known for its longevity and consistency.  Bolt has three and Fraser-Pryce who took two years off after having her first child before returning to the top of sprinting, believes it could have been more.

“I don’t think it was ok for him to quit just yet.  I think he had more time in him, but I think he was a little tired and doesn’t like the training that much,” Fraser-Pryce said in a recent interview.

“I definitely think he misses it because he can see what I’m doing.  He messages me all the time and says it’s amazing to see what you are doing and I tell him you could still have been doing what I have been doing.”

Earlier this week, the sprinter clocked a speedy 10.62 at the Monaco Diamond League meet.  The time was the athlete’s best this season and just two hundredths of a second outside her personal best.  Even more remarkable was the fact that the performance marked the sprinter’s 6^th sub-10.7 time this season, the most by any female athlete in history.

Despite all that she has achieved so far, the sprinter is not quite ready to end the season just yet.

“To be able to run 10.6 consistently means a lot to me. It is remarkable. It is very hard to keep the speed at this high level,” Fraser-Pryce said.

“It is important for me to deliver fast times because I´m looking forward for myself to having a great season,” she added.

“I´m in my late thirties, and I think I feel like I have more to give. I look forward to doing my Personal Best for the rest of the season and running fast.

“As a sprinter, you always want to run on the fast track. The only target I have for the rest of the season is just to run fast. Now, we break, and then we come again. Not sure about Lausanne yet.”

With five events to go Fraser-Pryce is also in contention for the 100m Diamond League title.

Fraser-Pryce, now 34, entered the Tokyo Olympics as favourite for the 100m title but had to settle for second behind compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah.  In the 200m event, she finished just outside the medals in the fourth position behind Thompson-Herah, Namibia’s Christine Mboma, and the United States’ Gabrielle Thomas.

Despite admitting to some amount of disappointment, Fraser-Pryce who turns 35 at the end of the year expects to press on, for now.

“A lot of persons believe that you’ve reached a certain age, you’ve achieved so much, why do more?” Fraser Pryce said.

In Tokyo, the athlete won her fifth Olympic individual medal, two of which have been gold.  In addition, she has five individual World Championship gold medals.

“I believe there’s more to give.  As you can see, I ran 21.9, I ran 21.7 earlier at the Jamaica National Champions.  I ran 10.6, I’m still running 10.7s.  It just shows the power of God and the gift and the talent that I have been given.  When I’m ready when it’s time I’m hoping that someone along the way has been inspired."

The athlete has repeatedly said that she expects next year’s IAAF World Championships in Oregon to be her final major Games appearance.

The 33-year-old Fraser-Pryce, who is at the back end of an illustrious career, won an unprecedented fourth World 100m title in Doha, Qatar in September 2019 to go along with a 200m title in 2013, and two Olympic 100m titles during a decade of dominance.

However, she recognises that the inequities that exist within the struggling sport of track and field make life difficult for many of those who have not enjoyed a similar level of success. The Athletics Association will seek to address many of these issues as well as attempt to restore the sport to its former glory.

“The objective of The Athletics Association is to provide Track and Field athletes with a meaningful voice, to fight for stronger athletes’ rights, and to seek an athletes-first approach to our sport,” the association said in a statement released today.

The statement said the Athletics Association aims to engage in positive dialogue with the sport’s governing body, World Athletics, and their own athletes’ commission, but will, of course, hold World Athletics to account when necessary and challenge them if they are not acting in the best interest of the athletes.

It is a mandate that falls in line with the objectives of woman many consider to be the greatest-ever female sprinter.

“Years ago, I resolved that I wanted to leave the sport better than I found it. It is the reason I created my Pocket Rocket Foundation to effect lasting change for student-athletes at the secondary level. Of course, to truly impact the sport requires an international platform so when the opportunity to be a part of The Athletics Association presented itself, I jumped at the chance,” Fraser-Pryce told Sportsmax.TV Thursday shortly after the association released its statement.

“Representation matters. It’s the only way for us athletes to have a voice. The 24-member strong team is a diverse one and knowing that the Caribbean region will have a seat at the table is encouraging.”

Like the association’s founder and president, Christian Taylor, Fraser-Pryce believes some decisions made at the administrative level of track and field have only served to hurt athletes who are already struggling to put food on their tables while facing bleak financial futures. The association, she said, will work to address the problematic issues that she feels work against the key stakeholders, its athletes.

“Competing is our livelihood, so issues that deny athletes the participation to earn a living will be addressed. An example of that is the IAAF’s decision to eliminate certain field events from the Diamond League schedule,” she said.

A number of Caribbean athletes - Fedrick Dacres, Anderson Pieters, Danielle Thomas Dodd and Shanieka Ricketts - are just some of the athletes negatively impacted by recent World Athletics decisions.

“This has significantly impacted the earning power of the affected athletes and what I consider a disservice to them and the spirit of the athletic community. Years of training is invested in improving our performance in our respective sporting arenas so it’s crucial that we protect the culture of inclusion,” said Fraser-Pryce, who represents the sprints on the board.

“To command change requires collaboration and this is exactly what The Athletes Association represents and why I did not hesitate to step up. We are all still actively competing and can readily identify the issues that need to be addressed. The Caribbean has always been at a disadvantage as it relates to sporting infrastructure and training limitations. So finally having the chance to be heard. This is a step in the right direction.”

On Saturday, at the JAAA Destiny Series, in Kingston, Fraser-Pryce ran the fastest women’s 100m time since Florence Griffith-Joyner set the world record 33 years ago. 

The multiple-times Olympic and world champion stopped the clock at 10.63, moving her second on the list of the fastest times in history.  The time, which obliterated her previous national record of 10.70, is only bettered by Griffith-Joyner’s 10.49.

“I was just making sure that I had a good run before the National Championships, because I don’t have any more races before that.  I was just looking forward to putting in a solid race,” Fraser-Pryce said following the event.

“I was focused on getting my technique and everything together ahead of the national championship.  So, in terms of the 10.6, I really wasn’t expecting it to be honest and maybe that was a good thing,” she added.

Heading into her final Olympics, Fraser-Pryce had insisted that she would prioritise running fast times, having already won several gold medals.  The race was the athlete’s fourth over the distance this season, having opened with a fourth-place finish at the Diamond League meet in Gateshead.  In Doha last week, she recorded the then 3^rd fastest 100m time this season after crossing the line first in 10.83.

Although the sprinter turned 34-years-old this year, an age that in past decades would ordinarily see most sprinters, well outside prime years, looking to hang up their spikes, Fraser-Pryce’s performances last season proved she did not fall into that category.

In June, Fraser-Pryce ran the then fastest time of her career over 100m, clocking what was then the second-fastest time ever run over the distance at 10.63.  The sprinter had to settle for second spot at the Olympics behind the irrepressible Elaine Thompson-Herah but even so, there was little doubt that the duo was in a different class.

A month later, however, Fraser-Pryce bettered the time she set earlier in the year after clocking 10.60, the third-fastest time ever run over the distance, behind Thompson-Herah’s 10.54 and Florence Griffith-Joyner’s longstanding world record of 10.49.  Now, age aside, the diminutive Jamaican is hoping to push those boundaries even further.

“I’m at the peak of my career. It’s so mind-blowing that I think I owe it to myself, I owe it to the next generation of women that will come after me and those that are still here, to push this to another level,” Fraser-Pryce told Sky Sports News.

“I said to my husband and my coach, it’s so strange because I’ve heard of people when they are about to retire they say they’re feeling so much pain. And while you understand their journey, I’m looking at it like, I still feel good! And if I feel good, why not go for it,” she added.

Fraser-Pryce is one of the sport’s most decorated athletes having won a total of 11 World Championships and 8 Olympic medals.

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.

In what is her final Olympic Games, Fraser-Pryce, who boasts a rich legacy as one of, if not the greatest female sprinter of all time, was expected to end this chapter of her career on a high. However, after arriving in the call room, the 37-year-old, who has had her struggles with injuries this season, was later seen heading back to the warm-up area, and news of her withdrawal sent ripples through the track and field community.

While Fraser-Pryce’s competitors' respect and admiration for her is evident, they had to focus on their own task at hand in the hunt for Olympic glory.

In her absence, St Lucia’s stalwart Alfred finished tops in semi-final two, as she got away well from lane six and was not for catching. She won in 10.84s, ahead of American World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson (10.89s), who closed late.

Jamaica’s rising sensation Tia Clayton, now viewed by many as a proverbial ‘dark horse’ in the event, won semi-final three in 10.89s, pulling Great Britain’s Daryll Neita (10.97s) with her. American Twanisha Terry (11.07s) was third and progressed as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers. Trinidad and Tobago's Leah Bertrand (11.37s) was ninth.

Earlier, American Melissa Jefferson topped semi-final one in 10.99s, with Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (11.01s) closing fast to take the second automatic qualifying spot. Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji (11.05s) got the other non-automatic qualifying spot.

Jamaica’s Shashalee Forbes (11.20s) was sixth.

The final is scheduled for 2:20pm Jamaica time.

The 36-year-old, who shot to fame by winning eight Olympic titles and 11 World Championships gold medals, while breaking records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, believes the track and field has experienced somewhat of a decline since his retirement in 2017, but stands ready to assist in the sport’s revival, if asked to do so.

“I’m still waiting on a position from (World Athletics), I’ve reached out to them and let them know I would love to make a bigger impact in sports, as long as they want me to,” Bolt said in an interview with Reuters.

“We’ve been in talks, but we’ll have to wait and see what comes around,” the global phenom and one of Jamaica’s most recognizable figures, added.

Bolt is aware that his personality was a vital ingredient in the sport’s success during his era but pointed out to indications that athletes like US sprinter Noah Lyles, might be starting to fill the charisma gap.

“It’s going to be a process. After me, it kind of went down because of who I was as a person and how big my personality was,” the iconic sprinter shared. 

“But I think over time, it will be better. I think young athletes are coming up and I see a few personalities that are needed in sport; hopefully, in the upcoming years, it will change. Hopefully, I can play a part and help the sport to grow,” Bolt stated.

While there was some disappointment about the crowd turnout at last year’s World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Bolt is of the view that next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France, could be a special moment for the sport.

“Sometimes, it’s all about where it is. America is not the biggest track and field place,” Bolt said.

“I think Paris will be big because it’s accessible and I know Paris always has a good team and good athletes over the years. So, I look forward to that,” he noted.

After a decade of Bolt-inspired global dominance, Jamaica’s men have failed to win a single track gold medal at the last two World Championships.

However, with rising young sprinters Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake both showing considerable promise of success, Bolt believes there is a good platform for that medal drought to be broken at this year’s championships in Budapest, Hungary.

“Last year, Seville came fourth (in the 100m), so I was very impressed. Also now, there’s a young kid, Ackeem Blake, who is also stepping up. So, I think that’s a good start,” the 11-time world champion said.

“Hopefully, these two will motivate other youngsters to want to step up and want to train harder and dedicate themselves,” he reasoned.

On that note, Bolt said he would be keeping a close eye on compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the World Championships in August.

Fraser-Pryce, also 36, who has led Jamaica’s dominance in the women’s sprints, will be seeking a record-extending sixth world 100m title in Hungary, 14 years after making her debut in the global showpiece of track and field.

“I follow Shelly a lot because we came through the same era, so to see her continue sprinting and coming back from having a child, that’s impressive,” said Bolt.

Richardson, running from lane nine after a shaky performance in the semi-finals earlier on Saturday, produced a personal best and championship record 10.65 to take the gold.

Shericka Jackson followed up her 10.79 in the semis with 10.72 to take her second consecutive silver medal in the evet while defending champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, was third with a season’s best 10.77.

It was, however, the way in which Jackson saw her bid for another individual medal slip away that left onlookers slack-jawed.  Competing in heat 5, the athlete, one of the fastest women in the event this year, seemed well in control of the race early on but began to cruise closer to the line.

The Jamaican was passed by Portugal’s Lorène Bazolo and also Italy’s Dalia Kaddari at the finish.  Kaddari finished third in 23.26, the same time as Jackson but advanced when the times were rounded down further.  With the heat being one of the slower events Jackson was also unable to advance as one of the fastest losers.  Jackson’s heat was won by the Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan.

There was no such trouble for Jackson’s compatriot, defending Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah who advanced from heat 6 after finishing in third position.  The heat was won by Canada’s Crystal Emmanuel with Great Britain’s Beth Dobbin second.

100m silver medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce also advanced in comfortable fashion after winning heat 2 in 22.22.  Namibia’s Beatrice Masilingi was second in 22.63, with the Netherland’s Dafne Schippers also securing qualification with her third-place finish of 23.13.

The women’s semi-finals will take place on Monday at 5:25 am.

The Pocket Rocket leads a strong female contingent that includes 2016 Olympic sprint double champion Elaine Thompson-Herah as well as ‘surprise’ elite sprinter Shericka Jackson. In-form Stephenie-Ann McPherson and rising talent Candice McLeod are also included as well as rising sprint hurdlers Megan Tapper and Britany Anderson.

Briana Williams, the 2018 World U20 sprint double champion makes her first Olympic team as a reserve for the 100m and a member of the 4x100m relay squad.

Yohan Blake, the 2012 double Olympic silver medalist also makes the team along with Demish Gaye and the proven 110m hurdles trio of Ronald Levy, the 2018 Commonwealth Games champion, Damion Thomas and Hansle Parchment.

The full team comprises

 (100m Men): Tyquendo Tracey, Yohan Blake, and Oblique Seville. Julian Forte (r).

100m Women) Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Elaine Thompson-Herah. Briana Williams (r).

4x100m relay Men Jevaughn Minzie, Nigel Ellis.

4x100m Women: Remona Burchell, Natasha Morrison.

200m Men: Rasheed Dwyer, Yohan Blake, Julian Forte

200m Women: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Elaine Thompson-Herah. Natasha Morrison (r)

400m Men: Demish Gaye, Christopher Taylor, Sean Bailey. Nathon Allen (r)

400m Women: Stephenie Ann McPherson, Candice McLeod, Roneisha McGregor. Stacey Ann Williams ®

4x400m Men: Nathon Allen, Karayme Bartley, Rusheen McDonald. Nathon Allen ®

4X400M Women: Stacey Ann Williams, Tovea Jenkins, Junelle Bromfield.

4x400 Men: Karayme Bartley, Rusheen McDonald.

800m: Natoya Goule

110m hurdles: Ronald Levy, Damion Thomas, Hansle Parchment. Phillip Lemonious ®

100m hurdles: Megan Tapper, Yanique Thompson, Britany Anderson. Danielle Williams ®

400m hurdles Men: Jaheel Hyde, Kemar Mowatt, Shawn Rowe. Leonardo Ledgister ®

400m hurdles Women: Janieve Russell, Ronda Whyte, Leah Nugent. Shian Salmon ®

1500M Aisha Praught *

Long jump Men: Tajay Gayle, Carey McLeod.

Long jump Women: Tissanna Hickling, Chanice Porter

Triple jump Men: Carey McLeod

Triple jump women: Shanieka Ricketts, Kimberly Williams

Shot Put Women: Danniel Thomas-Dodd, Lloydricka Cameron *

Discus Men: Fedrick Dacres, Chad Wright, Traves Smikle

Discus Women: Shadae Lawrence

4x400m Mixed Relays: Javier Brown, Keeno Burrell, Davonte Burnett, Tiffany James, Charokee Young, Kemba Nelson.

Thompson-Herah, who rebounded from five years of disappointment, to become the first woman to win both 100m and 200m titles in consecutive Olympic Games at the Tokyo Games in August, was among several sports personalities to receive national honours at the Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honours and Awards on Monday.

Thompson-Herah, who ran 10.54 on Usain Bolt’s birthday, August 21, 2021, to become the fastest woman alive and the second-fastest of all time at the Diamond League’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, said the recognition has motivated her to inspire others.

“I have been inspired and motivated by powerful women around the world, powerful women from my island home Jamaica,” she said on Instagram.

“I feel so honoured and overjoyed to be given this Order of Distinction (Commander Class) by my nation. I now use this classification to help motivate and uplift women and young girls to strive without limits.”

The five-time Olympic gold medalist was among three Jamaican sprint queens to be conferred with OD’s in the Commander Class. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the 100m silver medalist in Tokyo, and Jackie Pusey, who at 16, represented Jamaica at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada were also awarded.

Former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams received the Order of Distinction (Officer Class) for his contribution to the sport of cricket.

The late Jamaican striker, Luton Shelton, Jamaica’s leading male scorer, was posthumously awarded the OD (Officer Class) for his contribution to football.  Shelton died in January 2021 from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

He played for Jamaica on 75 occasions scoring 35 goals.

Meanwhile, Dr Praimanand Mongal Beharry Singh received the Order of Distinction for outstanding dedication and service to the field of sports.

Unusually, the 2016 Olympics 400m bronze medallist was not only registered in her pet event but also in the 100m and 200m as well.

The 25-year sprinter looked in exceptional form as she clocked a personal best of 11.02 seconds at the JAAA Destiny Series earlier this month.  A solid time, but to compete with a talented women’s field that not only includes the likes of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah, but also junior record holder Briana Williams, and seasoned 100m sprinter and World Championship relay gold medalist Natasha Morrison will take an extraordinary effort. 

Morrison, who clocked her personal best of 10.87 earlier this season, has the fourth-fastest time in the world this year.  Double world Under-20 sprinter Briana Williams ran her personal best of 10.97 earlier this month, and rising NCAA star Kemba Walker, who has run 10.98, could also figure in the mix.  Chambers, however, believes Jackson could be in line to deliver something special.

“She was on the 2019 4x1 team and just based on what I have seen of her this year and her entire career, I actually think personally she runs the hundred and I think she will be top four,” Chambers said on this week’s episode.

“I think she will definitely finish top four.  I think it’s a matter of whether she is second third or fourth, but I expect her to be in the top four,” he added.

With the schedule of the National Championships, however, it could be difficult for the athlete to do all three events and Chambers believes it could be a mistake to not compete in the 400m, with a possible gold medal up for grabs this year at the Olympics.

“Based on the schedule, three rounds of the 100, two rounds of the 200m, and two rounds of the 400, I don’t think she can do all events and a few of them overlap.  So, let’s see what final decision she makes, I expect her to run the 100m and 200m and leave the 400m,” he said.

“It’s interesting though because if you look at what is happening in the women’s 100, if you are not going to run 10.7 it makes no sense, if you are not going to run 21 for the 200m, it makes no sense…Stephen Francis is an absolute genius, I hope he didn’t make a mistake this time but we will see how this one works out.”

Listen to the full episode below 

In eight global finals, since she won her first Olympic title in Beijing in 2008, the Pocket Rocket has won six. She demonstrated that mettle once again on Friday night when she won her fourth national 100m title against a strong field on day two of the Jamaica National Championships in Kingston.

The two-time Olympic champion stormed to victory in 10.71, the second-fastest time run by anyone this year, only bettered by her world-leading 10.63 run at the same venue on June 5.

Using her explosive start to her advantage, she got away from the field that was unable to close as she flashed across the finish line.

Second was Shericka Jackson, who surprised everyone when she clocked a big lifetime best of 10.77 to win her semi-final just over an hour before. She ran an equally impressive 10.82 holding off the 2016 double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, who was third in 10.84.

Briana Williams, who at 19, was the youngest in the field, finished fourth in 11.01, which earned her a place at her first Olympic Games.

There was also another surprise in the men’s 100m as Tyquendo Tracey ran 10.00 flat to edge Yohan Blake 10.01 and an ecstatic Oblique Seville, who ran a personal best 10.04 for third and booked a spot to his very first Olympic Games.

There were two runaway winners in the 400m hurdles but the more impressive of the two was Jaheel Hyde who clocked a lifetime best 48.18 to win and also exceed the Olympic standard of 48.90, which means he is also going to Tokyo this summer.

He punched the air as he crossed the line and saw the flash time on the electronic clock on the infield.

Second went to Sean Rowe who stopped the clock at 49.60, just ahead of Kemar Mowatt, who was third in 49.61.

Janieve Russell ran away with the women’s race to win in a season-best 54.07.

Ronda Whyte was second in 54.94 while Leah Nugent was third in 54.98 in a close finish that saw Shian Salmon finish fourth in 55.00.