Jamaica double Olympic champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, had no comment regarding the pre-race comments of Sha’Carri Richardson after handing the American a crushing defeat at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday.
Thompson-Herah clocked a new personal best of 10.54 in the women’s 100m, just outside of the longstanding world record set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. Similar to the finish at the Olympics a few weeks ago, her compatriots Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.73) and Shericka Jackson (10.76) we second and third.
Heading into the race, however, the focus had been on the return to the sprints of American Sha’Carri Richardson. Richardson had run 10.72 in April and won the US trials to set up the prospect of an intriguing match-up at the Olympics. The 21-year-old was, however, suspended ahead of Tokyo after returning a positive test for marijuana.
Ahead of the Wanda Diamond League, many framed the race as an Olympic do-over for the American, who certainly headed into the event sky-high on confidence with plenty of pre-race chatter to boot. It did not go to plan. Richardson finished last in 11.14, and at the end of the race, the Olympic do-over had the same three medallists as the original. On Richardson’s placing and pre-race chatter, the decorated sprint queens had no comment.
“I wasn’t watching Sha’Carri to be honest,” Fraser-Pryce, who went viral for a cheeky post-race smirk as she passed by the American being interviewed, said.
“No, you shouldn’t have,” Fraser-Pryce replied when anyone should have really been surprised by another Jamaican sweep.
Fraser-Pryce may well have a point, perhaps expecting Richardson, who is yet to win a major medal, to match up to the in-form Jamaican 100m medallist, who in total have 8 Olympic medals between them and three of the four fastest times in history, might have been a stretch.
“I didn’t hear much of that,” Thompson-Herah said when quizzed on the American's pre-race comments.
“No comment on that,” the athlete added when asked for her assessment of Richardson’s performance.
Olympic bronze medallist Campbell wants more appreciation for athletes in Jamaica
When an athlete makes history for their country in the world’s biggest sporting spectacle, the Olympic Games, the typical reaction from that country is some sort of acknowledgement or celebration of that historic performance.
Unfortunately, this has yet to be the case for Jamaican shot putter Rajindra Campbell.
Campbell became the first Jamaican man to ever medal in a throwing event at an Olympic Games when he threw 22.15m to win bronze in Paris on August 3.
Four days after Campbell’s performance, Roje Stona also made history, throwing a personal best 70.00m for gold in the discus, becoming Jamaica’s first ever Olympic champion in a throwing event.
In the latest episode of SportsMax TV’s Out D Blocks hosted by Leighton Levy and D Major, the 28-year-old national record holder spoke candidly about the lack of acknowledgment and appreciation back home for these historic achievements.
“We have talked about it. The only problem is, as what Omar McLeod mentioned at trials about the 2016 Olympics, we don’t feel the appreciation from Jamaica,” Campbell said, referencing Omar McLeod’s comments after the Olympic trials where he spoke about not feeling appreciated by Jamaica after his Olympic gold medal performance eight years ago.
“You see the kind of celebration Julien Alfred got? I’m not expecting the same here but Jamaica has such a rich history in track and field, I don’t think the athletes are really appreciated for what they do,” he added.
Campbell, born in Ocho Rios, moved to Joplin, Missouri in 2018 to attend Missouri Southern State University where he attended for three years.
He noted that he’s received more of a celebration for his achievement in Joplin than back home in Jamaica.
“I met with the school President on Wednesday of last week and he explained certain things they have in store for me and there is a big sign on campus that people come in and see. It’s a different celebration taking place here compared to Jamaica,” he said.
As Campbell noted, whenever a Jamaican is in an event, Jamaicans expect them to do well. He wonders whether more appreciation would be given to the athletes when they do well if people understood the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.
“The love for Jamaica will never die. We will always continue to represent but, at the same time, the amount of sacrifice it takes to get to the level we are, something that I’ve found is once there is a Jamaican in an event, you’re expected to do well. How do we get there?”
“When you actually get there it’s like ‘Oh! I expected it or I knew you could do it.’ At the same time, there’s a journey that nobody really understands,” he continued.
He added that there has been no communication to him or Stona regarding any sort of celebration or acknowledgement in Jamaica.
Out D Blocks can be seen live every Thursday on the SportsMax TV YouTube channel.
Kim Collins named first-ever track & field ambassador for St. Kitts Athletics to boost global sponsorship
St. Kitts Athletics has proudly named Kim Collins, the 2003 100m world champion, as its first-ever Track and Field Ambassador. This historic appointment celebrates Collins' enduring impact on the sport, as well as his record-breaking career spanning over two decades. Collins, who holds the national record of 9.93 seconds for the 100m, is still the only man over 40 to break the 10-second barrier and also holds the world record for athletes over 35 in the 60m with 6.47 seconds.
Delwayne Delaney, President of St. Kitts Athletics, emphasized the importance of this appointment for the organization and the sport as a whole. “We felt that it was important for us as a body and as an executive, and track and field on a whole, to honour him in such a way, first and foremost, as well as to leverage what he has done for track and field in St. Kitts and Nevis and globally so that we can attain recognition in hopes of attaining sponsorships. We are living in a competitive environment as it relates to sponsorships, and we have to be strategic in our approach," Delaney said.
Collins, who won the bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships and continued to compete at a high level through 2011, is recognized as a household name by major players in the sport.
Delaney added, "We know Kim Collins has made a name for himself time and time again dating back to 2003, even before that in 2001 when he won the bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships, up until 2011 when he was still winning medals at the world championships level. He is known by the major players in the sport, and we want to ensure that we are able to collaborate with Mr. Collins so that it can be beneficial to the sport and the youth who are coming up.”
In his new role, Collins will focus on raising the profile of St. Kitts Athletics through global sponsorship efforts, helping to foster a vibrant track and field community for the next generation.
Ja's Cavalier, Haiti's Real Hope confirm Carib Cup semis berths with 4-1 and 2-0 wins over Arnett Gardens, Mount Pleasant
Jamaica’s Cavalier FC and Haitian outfit Real Hope FC confirmed their spots in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup semi-finals after comfortable 4-1 and 2-0 wins over Jamaican clubs Arnett Gardens and Mount Pleasant FA in their final Group A fixtures on Thursday.
A brace from Jalmaro Calvin (35th and 71st) and one each from Shaquille Stein (29th) and Dwayne ‘Busy’ Atkinson (59th) brought Cavalier from behind to top Arnett Gardens, who took an early ninth-minute lead through captain Shai Smith.
With the win, Cavalier, the reigning Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions, consolidated the top spot with nine points, one ahead of Real Hope, who had a brace from Angelo Exilus (12th and 77th) to deny Mount Pleasant in the battle for the runner-up position.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Police FC (five points), Mount Pleasant (four points), and Arnett Gardens (one point) completed the table.
Cavalier will square off against Dominican Republic’s Moca FC in one semi-final, while Real Hope will lock horns against the other Dominican Republic outfit, Cibao FC, in the other. The semifinal date is yet to be confirmed.
Despite already having a spot in the final four, Cavalier FC were in no mood to relent and duly took apart Arnett Gardens at the National Stadium.
It was Arnett Gardens though that showed more purpose at the start as they sought to salvage some pride to end their campaign on a high. The ‘Junglists’ seemed on their way to achieving that feat when Smith connected with a pass from Marlon Allen and fired past Vino Barclett inside 10 minutes.
However, Xavier Gilbert’s side lost focus after taking the lead and were completely outplayed by Cavalier, who pulled level through Stein, who met Atkinson’s corner kick and slotted home at Roje Williams’ near post.
Real Hope's Angelo Exilus celebrate one of his two goals against Mount Pleasant.
Calvin then put Cavalier in front six minutes later with a tidy header past Williams from Jaheem Frazer’s weighted cross as they went to the break 2-1 up.
Cavalier picked up where they left off after the interval as Atkinson won possession deep in Arnett Gardens quarters and rounded the hapless Williams to slot home his team’s third.
Calvin later completed his brace with a tidy right-footed finish to cap Cavalier’s victory.
Meanwhile, a short distance away at Sabina Park, Mount Pleasant were also slow to get into stride, but unlike Cavalier, they couldn’t get back to Real Hope.
After Daniel Saint Fleur’s fourth-minute effort came back off the left upright, Exilus eventually broke the deadlock for the visitors with an easy tap-in from Watz Leazard’s pass.
Mount Pleasant tried to mount a comeback and had two decent efforts through Devonte Campbell and Sue-Lae McCalla in the 33rd and 49th minutes, but Real Hope’s custodian Gooly Elien came up big on both occasions to deny their host.
Raheem Edwards also went close for Mount Pleasant in the 70th, but he too failed to beat Elien’s glove.
With the equaliser proving elusive for Mount Pleasant, Exilus eventually found another open and made no mistakes from close range to secure the crucial win for his team.
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