Manchester High School recently launched the second staging of the Manchester Capital Run, with strong support from the business community and other organizations in the parish.
Mayor Councillor Donovan Mitchell led the charge from a long list of sponsors when he announced that his organization will contribute $500,000 towards the school's 5K Run/Walk, which is scheduled for this Sunday December 10 at 6:30 am.
Member of parliament Rhoda Moy Crawford, and track and field coach Jerry Holness, former head of the school's sports department, have also thrown their support behind the event.
The Honourable Custos Rotulorum Lt. Col. Garfield Sean Green and Mrs. Natalee Nugent-Welcome of the Ministry of Education both endorsed the event and promised to be at the start line along with some their contemporaries to go the full distance, as well as to welcome the finishers they lead home.
Manchester High school chairman, Vincent Marshall also promised to run for the cause.
Principal Jasford Gabriel expressed confidence that they could achieve the $10 million target for this edition which follows the inaugural staging in 2017. The funds will help to defray the high cost of maintaining the various sports programmes at the school.
According to Gabriel, Manchester High competes in Track and Field, Football, Cricket, Netball, Badminton, Table Tennis and several other sports, which are all costly to maintain in terms of transportation, nutrition, medical, field/court costs, coaches and other support staff fees. Importantly, he said that sports help the students in many ways including time management, behaviour and their focus at school.
Race director and coach at Manchester High Kadia Flemmings said the competitors will share in a number of prizes including cash and trophies for overall winners, male and female in walk and run, age categories, high school team categories along with corporate groups.
The fees are adults - $1,800, students - $700, and $1,500 per person in groups.
Flemmings pointed out that it was only fitting that the school hosts its own 5K run/walk, as it has a rich history of performance in the middle and long distances. He mentioned Linton McKenzie, Delroy Hayden, Norval Jones, George Turbo Powell, Winston Skinnyman Taylor, Hilda Baker, the Turners sisters, and in more recent times Olympian Natoya Goule-Toppin, who specializes in the 800 metres.
Manchester High boasts a several Olympians, most of whom endorsed the event. The Olympians, who attended the school include Elaine Thompson-Herah, Sherone Simpson, Nesta Carter, Chanice Porter, Sheri-Ann Brooks, Omar Mcleod and Lorraine Fenton-Graham.
This event will start at Ward Avenue and end at Manchester High School gate. The route reads: Ward Avenue to Andrews Memorial Church, left onto West Road out to Greenvale Rd, make a left and travel straight to Manchester High School.
Broadbell, Peters, Camacho-Quinn register wins as Caribbean enjoys fairly good Lausanne outing
Grenada’s javelin bronze medallist Anderson Peters and Jamaica’s 100m hurdles bronze medallist Rasheed Broadbell continued their rich vein of form from the Paris Olympic Games as they secured victories on what was a fairly decent outing for Caribbean athletes at the Wanda Diamond League Meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday.
Peters launched the instrument to a new meet record of 90.61m to better the previous best of 90.16m set by Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott in 2015. The Grenadian stalwart won ahead of India’s Neeraj Chopra (89.49 m), with Germany’s Julian Weber (87.08m) in third.
On the track, Broadbell again demonstrated his class to win the 110m hurdles in 13.10s, upstaging American World and Olympic champion Grant Holloway (13.14s), while compatriot Hansle Parchment (13.23s) closed well for third.
Puerto Rico’s Olympic bronze medallist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.35s) was also in winning form in the women's 100m hurdles, as Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent produced a credible performance on her Diamond League debut for third. Nugent, who failed to finish at the Paris Olympic Games after hitting an obstacle, clocked 12.38s, the same as second-placed American Grace Stark.
Reigning World champion Danielle Williams (12.53s) was fifth.
Puerto Rico's Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won the women's 100m hurdles.
Jamaica’s trio of Rushell Clayton (53.32s), Janieve Russell (54.38s), and Andrenette Knight (54.93s) were second, third, and fourth, respectively, in the women’s 400m hurdles won by Dutchwoman Femke Bol in a new meet record of 52.25s. She lowered her previous best of 52.76s set last year.
Another Jamaican, Tia Clayton (11.10s), placed fifth in the women’s 100m, won by Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith in a season’s best 10.88s. American Tamari Davis (10.97s) and Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji (11.06s) were second and third.
Meanwhile, Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando (19.94s) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards (21.10s), both season’s best times, were fourth and fifth in the men’s 200m. The event was won by Botswana’s Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo in 19.64s, ahead of the American duo of Erriyon Knighton (19.78s) and Fred Kerley (19.86s).
In the women’s 800m, St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Shafiqua Maloney (1:59.28) and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin (1:59.68), were sixth and eighth, respectively, as Kenya’s Olympic bronze medallist Mary Moraa (1:57.91) finished tops. Great Britain’s Georgia Bell (1:58.53) and Jemma Reekie (1:58.73) were second and third, respectively.
Jamaicans Rushell Clayton and Janieve Russell were second and third in the women's 400m hurdles.
Elsewhere in the field, Olympic silver medallist Wayne Pinnock secured Jamaica’s best finish in the long jump as he cut the sand at 8.01m, again finishing behind Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou (8.06m) of Greece, while Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer (7.99m) was third.
The other Jamaican competitors, Tajay Gayle (7.92m) and Carey McLeod (7.82 m), were fourth and seventh, respectively.
Danniel Thomas-Dodd’s struggles continued as she placed fifth in the women’s shot with a best heave of 18.78m. The event was won by American Chase Jackson, who achieved a season’s best mark of 20.64s to top Germany’s Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye (19.55m) and Canada’s Sarah Mitton (19.52m).
Jamaica’s Lamara Distin only managed to clear 1.88m for seventh in the women’s high jump, which was won by Urkaine’s Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh at a height of 1.99m. Australia’s Olympic bronze and silver medallists, Eleanor Patterson (1.96m) and Nicola Olyslagers (1.92m), were second and third, respectively.
Kerrylee Ricketts' mastery and Shanieka Ricketts' determination deliver historic Olympic silver
In a groundbreaking moment for Jamaican athletics, Shanieka Ricketts soared to win her first Olympic medal, a silver, in the women’s triple jump at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Her season-best leap of 14.87m not only secured her place on the podium but also marked the first-ever Olympic field event medal won by a Jamaican woman. Dominica’s Thea LaFond claimed gold with a personal best of 15.02 m, creating a historic moment for both athletes and their nations.
Coach Kerrylee Ricketts, the guiding force behind Shanieka’s journey, reflected on the meticulous preparation and decades of experience that culminated in this historic achievement. “Both of us are really happy, elated to be on the podium, first Olympic medal. We are so happy and over the moon,” he expressed, capturing the joy and fulfillment of their shared success.
Like all elite coaches, Kerrylee’s coaching philosophy centres on peaking at the right moment. “In terms of getting her ready, the programme is always written for her to peak at major championships. For the most part, we target whichever major championship, so we train through most of our competitions,” he explained.
With 20 years of coaching experience, Kerrylee has honed his craft through trial and error, learning valuable lessons along the way. “This year is my 20th anniversary of coaching jumps, and I have had time to practice, to get things right. I’ve made mistakes and learned from them both at the senior and junior levels," he recalled. "I’ve coached at St Elizabeth Technical High School, which is where I am back at the moment, having returned from England after living there for more than a decade.”
His foundational years at the high school level, particularly at St Elizabeth Technical High School and Manchester High School, provided him with the insights needed to succeed. “One of the things I learned at the high school level was to get it right for Champs. Champs is basically the level where I first got it right, got the knowledge and understanding of how to get it right when I want to get it right for the athletes.”
Transitioning to coaching professionals, Kerrylee applied his tried-and-tested methods to Shanieka’s training regimen. “When I started coaching pros with Shanieka, I basically had a programme structure already in place, a formula of how to get this done", he said. "And I have learned along the way as well even with Shanieka because sometimes it hasn’t been perfect all the way, but what I have learned is how and when to tweak the programme or when to prepare her to get her best at these major championships.”
Despite facing less-than-ideal weather conditions in Paris, Kerrylee maintained focus on their goal. “This year was no different. We were targeting her to get a season-best, a personal best, or whichever came at the Olympics. Sadly, the weather wasn’t conducive. We are grateful for the silver medal. It was our first Olympic medal, Jamaica’s first female field events medal as well, so we appreciate the fact that we did that and that she contributed to the overall medal tally for Jamaica.”
The emotional victory brought tears to both Shanieka and Kerrylee, who have been married for the past eight years. “Shanieka is happy, she is elated. Both of us cried. A lot of people counted us out, but we never counted ourselves out because we knew what we were doing and what the plan was. Medals are never won in May but major championships are always in August or September, and that is when we peak,” he said.
Kerrylee highlighted their disciplined approach, focusing on their own performance rather than early-season results from competitors. “We never want to look at who is jumping big early. We stay in our zone and keep our eyes on the target," he said. "Last year (at the World Championships in Budapest), it wasn’t a good World Championships for us when she was fourth, even though she really had some good jumps. She had a season-best there, she had jumps that could have seen her on the podium, but she was giving up too much (distance) on the board.”
In Paris, despite facing a challenging negative breeze during the competition, Shanieka’s preparation paid off. “That was something we tried to fix (Saturday), but we had a lot of negative breeze in our faces, and that restricted us from getting some good jumps, but it was a good night. We are happy. We came here for a medal, and we got a medal, and we are grateful for that.”
Ja's Goule-Toppin, Cuba's Gaspar, St Vincent and the Grenadines' Maloney through to women's 800m semis; other Caribbean athletes to contest Repechage round
Jamaica’s Natoya Goule-Toppin and Shafiqua Maloney of St. Vincent and the Grenadines secured their spots in the women’s 800m semi-finals at the Paris Olympic Games after both ran well-paced races to advance from their respective heats at the Stade de France on Friday.
Goule-Toppin comfortably won the sixth and final heat in 1:58.66 in a gate-to-wire performance. She was followed by Australia’s Claudia Hollingsworth (1:58.77) and Kenya’s Lilian Odira (1:58.83).
Prior to that, Maloney clocked a new national record of 1:58.23 for third place in heat five, behind Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma (1:57.90) and Kenya’s Mary Moraa (1:57.95).
Earlier, Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie comfortably topped heat one in a flat 2:00.00, ahead of fast-finishing Slovakian Gabriela Gajanova (2:00.29) and American Juliette Whittaker (2:00.45).
Cuba’s Daily Cooper Gaspar proved better than the rest in heat two, as she won in 1:58.88. South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso (1:59.84) and Switzerland’s Rachel Pellaud (2:00.07) took the other qualifying spots.
In heat three, Ethiopia’s Worknesh Mesele finished tops in a personal best of 1:58.07, ahead of Frenchwoman Renelle Lamote (1:58.59) and Great Britain’s 17-year-old prodigy Phoebe Gill (1:58.83). Cuba’s Rose Mary Almanza placed sixth in 2:00.36 and will contest the Repechage round.
Another Great Britain stalwart, Keely Hodkinson (1:59.31), outclassed rivals in heat four, with American Nia Akins (1:59.67) and Benin’s Noelie Yarigo (1:59.68) also progressing. Jamaica’s Adelle Tracey was eighth in that heat in a season’s best 2:03.47 and will have to contest the Repechage round for another shot at the semi-final.
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