Jamaica's Shaquane Gordon (left) and Nikoli Blackman.
Shaquane Gordon won Jamaica’s second gold medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games and in the process clocked one of four records that fell on day five action, as he proved too good for competitors in the men’s 110 metres hurdles at the Hasley Crawford Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago.
The outstanding Gordon raced to 13.16s, which lowered the previous mark of 13.32s set by Australia’s Andries Van der Merwe in 2011. Noah Hanson (13.20s) of England was second, with another Jamaican Daniel Wright (13.45s), third.
Wright had earlier topped the men’s 400m hurdles in 51.51s, ahead of Sri Lanka’s Liyanage (51.61s) and Oliver Parker (52.36s) of England
In the women’s 100m hurdles, Jamaica’s Bryanna Davidson (13.94s) missed the podium, placing fourth behind Australia’s Delta Amidzovski (13.25s), who won ahead of Thea Brown of England and South Africa’s Tumi Hope Ramokgopa, who both clocked in at 13.53s.
England’s Ayesha Jones launched the javelin to a new Commonwealth Youth Games record of 52.49m to win the event, as she bettered the 19-year-old mark of 51.99m set by Australia’s Annabel Thomson in 2004.
Jones won ahead of compatriot Harriet Wheeler (51.50m), while South Africa’s Lo-Ann Engelbrecht (50.12m) was third. Caribbean athletes Suerena Alexander (42.85m) of Grenada and St Lucia’s Naya Jules (38.60m) were fifth and sixth.
Another Commonwealth Youth Games record and, by extension, one-two finish, went to England, courtesy of Stephanie Okoro and Mia Walker in the women’s 400m hurdles final.
Okoro finished tops in a record 58.19s, erasing the old mark of 59.40s set by Jamaica’s Jhonelle Thomas in 2017. Walker (1:00.52) ensured the England quinella, as she held of South Africa’s Hope Ramokgopa (1:00.63).
Trinidad and Tobago’s Keneisha Shelbourne (1:04.28), finished fifth.
Jaidi James added silver to Trinidad and Tobago’s tally when he cleared 2.00m in the men’s high jump final. Carey Glyde of England won the event after her soared to 2.06m, while Sri Lanka’s Thenuja Rathnaweera, who also cleared 2.00m, was third on the count back.
In Para athletics action, England’s Maddie Down, cut the sand at 4.70m to win the women’s T-38 long jump final. She bettered the Australia pair of Niamh Mac Alasdair (4.09m) and Reese Prior (3.73m).
Action at the National Aquatic Centre was highlighted by a Caribbean sweep in the men’s 50m freestyle where homeboy Nikoli Blackman continued his rich vein of form.
Blackman, who started the twin island republic's medal haul on the opening day, ended in the same vein, as he copped another gold in 22.36s, ahead of Marvin Johnson Jr (22.54s) of Bahamas and another local favourite Zarek Wilson (22.95s), who added another bronze to his tally.
The women’s event was won by England’s Skye Carter in a Junior Commonwealth Games Record of 25.15s, which bettered previous mark of 25.19s, set by Australia’s Ami Matsuo in 2011. Theodora Taylor (25.54s) of Wales and Australia’s Inez Miller (25.59s), took silver and bronze.
In the men’s 200m butterfly final, Malaysia’s Li Hen Goh (2:03.63) outclassed rivals to win ahead of Reuben Rowbotham-Keating (2:03.84) of England and South Africa’s Dylan Eaton (2:06.07). Nigel Forbes (2:06.11) of Bahamas, just missed the podium in fourth, while Antigua and Barbuda’s Ethan Stubbs-Green (2:07.50), placed sixth.
There was an Australia one-two finish in the women’s event, where Mikayla Bird (2:12.66), finished ahead of Poppy Stephen (2:13.34) and England’s Ashleigh Baillie (2:16.74). Sierrah Broadbelt of Cayman Islands placed seventh in 2:23.45.
Earlier, Harper Barrowman of Cayman Islands, clocked 9:11.72 to secure bronze in the women’s 800m freestyle timed final. Hannah Erin Allen of Australia won the event in 8:48.66, ahead of New Zealand’s Hanna Adbou, who touched in 9:10.56.
Allen’s time was just shy of the Junior Games Record of 8:45.90 held by England’s Ariarne Darwent since 2015.
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the two lone Caribbean nations in the Fast5 Netball competition at Shaw Park Complex, both failed to make the medal round, finishing seventh and eighth, after going down 11-15 and 11-25 to Botswana and Canada, respectively.
Australia, England, South Africa and Scotland, are set to decide the medals.
At the end of day five, Trinidad and Tobago remained the top Caribbean Island with 11 medals in fifth on the medal standings, behind Australia (48), England (39), Scotland (20) and South Africa (17).
Cayman Islands is 10th with six medals, Jamaica 11th with four –based on quality –Guyana (three) 13th, Bahamas (four) 16th, Barbados and St Lucia, joint 21st, with two each and Grenada 25th, with a solitary bronze medal.
The curtains will come down on the Games on Thursday.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Excelsior headlines finalists for Boys Championships of America 4x100m final at Penn Relays
A host of Jamaican schools will line up in the final of the High School Boys Championships of America 4x100m final, as they successfully navigated the qualifiers on day two of the 128th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Friday.
Leading the qualifiers was the Excelsior quartet of Ryeem Walker, Damor Miller, Malike Nugent and Lennon Green, which clocked a brisk 40.62 seconds to top their heat.
They will be joined by local rivals Kingston College (41.30s), St Jago (41.35s), St George’s College (41.42s), Calabar High (41.70s) and Jamaica College (41.73s), and Wolmer’s Boys (41.84s). The other two lanes in the medal event will be occupied by Washington DC-based Archbishop John Carroll (41.49s) and Virginia-based West Springfield (41.77s).
Meanwhile, the High School Boys International final, also scheduled for Saturday, will see six Jamaican schools going up against those from Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent and the Grenadines and The Bahamas, respectively.
St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) headlines that field, after they posted the fastest qualifying time of 42.26s, followed by Cornwall College (42.53s) and the Bahamian school Queens College (42.61s). St Benedict’s, of out the twin island republic, and Munro College, both clocked 42.83s, while St Vincent Grammar (43.11s), Petersfield (43.14s), St Catherine (43.26s) and Vere Technical (43.55s), are the other qualifiers.
Bellingham alone won't win Euros for England - Desailly
England cannot rely on Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham alone to win them the Euro 2024 crown, according to France great Marcel Desailly.
Bellingham has enjoyed a sensational debut campaign at Madrid that has seen him score 21 goals in all competitions and assist eight more.
Despite still being aged just 20, the youngster will already have the weight of a nation on his shoulders in the European Championship finals.
Desailly is a big fan of Bellingham, but he suggests Gareth Southgate may have to consider tweaking formation if England are to succeed.
"Too much quality can kill the quality," Desailly told Stats Perform. "This is your problem, you see?
"All the players have to be able to perform at the same time and help each other. The Dutch have had this kind of problem in the past.
"The Dutch always have high levels of expertise, but every time it was difficult for them to all unite together at the same time and perform.
"The talent is there for England, even though Fabio Capello has said their defence is a bit weak, which I agree with.
"But too much quality kills the quality. Let's see how the coach is able to adjust the side and make certain choices.
"He may have to remove some of the players into a different tactical system to protect the team for the performances needed."
Bellingham's latest goal came in added time to earn Real Madrid a 3-2 win over Barcelona in a thrilling Clasico clash last weekend.
He is already being mentioned as a frontrunner to win this year's Ballon d'Or, which could depend on how England perform in the Euros.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund ace is also being likened to one of the all-time greats in Zinedine Zidane, but Desailly says there is a long way to go.
"In the game against Barcelona, he wasn't outstanding yet he was still key for his team," the World Cup 98 and Euro 2000 winner said.
"Carlo Ancelotti took Vinicius Junior off because he knew what Bellingham could give him in that position.
"He also has the legs to defend and score the killer goal, or use his cleverness for the collective of the team.
"He's a good player. But trying to compare him to Zidane? It is difficult for us to accept he could be at that level.
"There are differences between them, but the potential of the talents is quite similar."
Frazsiers Whip to represent Jamaica in inaugural Concacaf Women's Champions Cup
As expected, Frazsiers Whip will be Jamaica’s representative in the inaugural Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup, a new annual tournament that includes the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean and crowns the region’s women’s club champion.
The tournament is also the sole path through which clubs in Concacaf can qualify for the new FIFA Women’s Club World Cup, which FIFA has committed to launching in the near future.
By virtue of winning the 2022/23 Jamaica Women’s Premier League, Frazsiers Whip booked their spot for the first edition of the competition, which will feature 11 clubs from seven Member Associations.
The other confirmed participants are Canada’s 2023 League One Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship winners Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Costa Rica’s LD Alajuelense, Mexico’s Tigres UANL Femenil, as well as the United States trio of Gotham FC, San Diego Wave FC and Portland Thorns FC.
El Salvador and Panama are yet to confirm their representatives for their solitary spots, while Mexico’s two other representatives will be known at the conclusion of the Liga MX Clausura.
Interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert, who guided Frazsiers Whip to league honours, welcomed the move by Concacaf, which he believes will offer some exposure for local players, despite the gulf in class between other leagues around the region and Jamaica's Women's League.
"It's important for local football, however, I don't think any of our local teams will be able to match up with the teams from Mexico or United States. Those clubs are professional clubs playing in a fully professional leagues, while ours is nowhere close to their standard," Gilbert told SportsMax.TV in a recent interview.
"But it is good, it is more football and more exposure for our local players. At the same time, I think it sends a signal of how important it is for us to look at what we are doing in terms of resources and surfaces for our local teams. So, it is good move by Concacaf, and I think it's for us now here in Jamaica to look at what we are doing and try to improve the quality of our league," he added.
The official draw for the tournament is scheduled for June 6.
Action in the Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup is expected to get underway in August, with a Preliminary Round, followed by Group and Knockout Stage play. The Preliminary Round Play-in will be a single-leg match between two clubs, with the winner advancing to the Group Stage.
The Group Stage will feature 10 clubs divided into two groups of five clubs each. Each club will play every club in its group once, for a total of four matches per club (two at home and two away). At the conclusion of Group Stage play, the group winners and runners-up (four clubs) will progress to the competition’s final four.
The semifinals, third-place encounter, and final, where the first-ever Concacaf Women’s Champions Cup winners will be crowned, will be centralized in a venue to be announced.
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