Britney Anderson and Adelle Tracey had third-place finishes at the World Indoor Tour Gold 2023 Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland on Wednesday.

The 2023 Gibson McCook Relays will take place at the National Stadium in Kingston on February 25.

The meet is celebrating 50 years of existence and will return with 43 events in a 12-hour extravaganza.  

PUMA, Television Jamaica, Wisynco and Digicel are the major sponsors along with 28 other business partners which have covered all 45 events for the meet. 

Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Prof Rainford Wilks in expressing his delight is excited about two new events.

“The 60 meters open for Elite Men and Women should add to the thrill of the meet. We are also pleased with the planning for the milestone event.” 

Back to its original schedule, which sees the meet starting at 9:00 am the morning session will have 20 heats and five finals up to 2:30; while in the afternoon session 40 finals are set to start from 4:00 pm. 

The meet, known for its on time running, sees the last event the 4 X 400 meters High School Boys go off at 9pm. 

The World’s fastest man, Dr the Hon Usain Bolt is the patron for the meet. At a press briefing, Bolt expressed his undying love for Jamaica and reflected on his own performances at the meet. Bolt last competed at that event in 2017 for the Racers Track Club en route to the World Championship in London the same year. 

This year's staging continues with a full week of activities including a Church Service on February 19, the Howard Aris Memorial Lecture at UTECH on February 21 and an Awards Banquet at the Jamaica Pegasus on February 23 before the meet on February 25 at the National Stadium.

Tickets go on sale on Monday, February 20 at the ticket office at the National Stadium. Two categories are available for the grandstand: Finish Line - $5,000, Regular Grandstand - $3,500, Bleachers - $500. 

Chairman Wilks would like to remind fans “this Gibson McCook Relays is where athletes from all ages compete.”

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced that a delegation of 23 comprising eight students and two coaches each from Edwin Allen High School and Kingston College and three executive members from Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) will leave for Trinidad and Tobago on February 7, 2023, to participate in the Secondary School Relay Festival on February 9, 2023. 

The participation of the Jamaican team at the Relay Festival follows a sports study tour by the Minister of Sport and Community Development for Trinidad and Tobago, the Honourable Shamfa Cudjoe, and a team of officials. 

Minister Cudjoe and members of her delegation had met with Minister Grange, a technical team from the Ministry and its agencies, representatives from the Jamaica Athletics Administration Association (JAAA), ISSA, the University of Technology (Utech), GC Foster College of Sport and Physical Education, and the Ministry of Education and Youth. They also visited four high schools and a primary school. 

Minister Grange said, “It is expected that this bilateral cooperation between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago will bear much fruit for both our countries.” 

The Jamaicans will be competing in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays at the festival.  Barbados and Guyana are the other countries that have been invited to send teams to participate in the Relay Festival. 

The exchange activities are also being celebrated as part of the 60^th Anniversary of Independence of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. 

The delegation will return to Jamaica on Friday, February 10, 2023.

Jamaican Olympian Jonielle Smith won her 60m season opener at the 2023 Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational in Boston on Saturday.

It seems as if Julien Alfred sets a new personal best and national record every week.

On January 21, the 21-year-old St Lucian clocked 7.05 and then 7.02, then world-leading times at the Martin Luther King Invitational in New Mexico.

She then set a new personal best and national record of 22.56 over 200m, also in New Mexico on Friday, February 3 at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic.

A day later, on Saturday, she blazed to a new 60m record lowering her own mark to 7.00, the second fastest time in the world this year behind Aleia Hobbs’ 6.98.

The Texas Longhorn senior was miles ahead of Samira Mood of the University of Southern California (USC) who ran a creditable 7.19 and LSU Junior Favour Ofili 7.21.

Aldred’s Texas teammate Kevona Davis was fourth in 7.22.

Several other Caribbean athletes excelled at the two-day meet that began on Friday.

Lamara Distin, the NCAA champion established a new Jamaica national indoor record of 1.94m to easily take gold on Friday. Her Texas A&M teammate Bara Sajdokavic took the runner-up spot with her clearance of 1.87m.

LSU’s Morgan Small was third with 1.81m.

Wayne Pinnock, who transferred from Tennessee to Arkansas during the summer, was an easy winner of the Men’s Long Jump soaring out to a mark of 8.10m.

Kelsey Daniel of New Mexico Junior College was next best with his effort of 7.99m while Texas freshman Solomon Washington was third with 7.85m.

World U20 champion Jaydon Hibbert, a freshman at the University of Arkansas, demonstrated his class with two jumps of 16.73m to win the triple jump competition.

His nearest rival was Russell Robinson of Miami, who leapt out to 16.33m. LSU’s Apalos Edwards secured third place with his best effort of 16.13m.

Texas Longhorn Ackelia Smith of Jamaica produced a mark of 13.92m to win the women’s event ahead of Texas Christian University’s Grace Anigbata (13.24m) and Miami’s Ashley Moore (12.97m).

Meanwhile, Omar McLeod, who was returned to Arkansas to train after failed campaigns over the past two seasons, finished second in the 60m hurdles.

The 2016 Olympic champion clocked 7.61 behind USC’s Omotade Ojora, who ran 7.58 for the win. Texas Tech’s Caleb Dean was third in 7.62,

Demisha Roswell had to settle for second place in the women’s event in a close battle with LSU Junior Leah Phillips, who won in 8.02.

The Texas Tech senior crossed the line in 8.03.

Wisconsin’s Destiny Huven was third in 8.08.

Devynne Charlton was the only Caribbean athlete to win an event but several others were on the podium at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix at The Track at New Balance in Boston on Saturday.

The 27-year-old Bahamian, who won silver at the 2022 World Indoor Championships, clocked a season-best 7.87 whole holding off the challenge of Sharika Nelvis of the USA (7.93) and Celeste Mucci of Australia, who ran a personal best of 7.95.

Jamaica’s Danielle Williams ran 7.97 for fourth in the keenly contested battle for the minor place.

Meanwhile, 2022 World Indoor 400m champion Jereem Richards was nipped on the line by Noah Williams of the USA in a tight three-way finish.

The Trinidadian led most of the way but tightened up over the last 50m when Williams jumped at the chance to get past him on the inside to take the race by 0.04s.

Both were given the same time of 45.88. However, on closer inspection, Williams clocked 45.876 to Richards’ 45.880.

Vernon Norwood finished third in 45.92.

Jamaican’s Leah Anderson and Janieve Russell finished second and third, respectively, in the Women’s 500m in which Fembke Bol unleashed a new world’s best performance.

The Dutch athlete, who won silver in the 400m hurdles in Oregon in 2022, demonstrated superior speed and strength to pull away from the field and win in 1:05.63 to become the first woman to run faster than 1:06.00 in the event.

It was a new personal best, national record and world record.

Anderson made a late surge to get by Russell in the final stages to establish a new Jamaican national record of 1:08.34.

Russell, the now two-time Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles champion, faded to third in 1:09.18.

The Women’s 60m dash was billed as a clash between World 200m champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica and World and Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

Somebody forgot about Aleia Hobbs, who just last week ran 6.98 over 60m, tied for the ninth fastest time ever with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah.

But while both Jackson and McLaughlin-Levrone failed to make the final finishing fifth in the respective heats, Hobbs dominated the field to take the final in 7.02 ahead of training partner Mikiah Brisco, who ran a season best 7.10.

Celera Barnes ran 7.21 for third in the American sweep.

Noah Lyles edged Trayvon Brommel by the smallest of margins to win the men’s event in a personal best 6.51 (6.507). Brommel 6.51 (6.509) took the runner-up spot.

Ghana’s Benjamin Azamati clocked 6.62 for third.

Jamaica’s Aisha Praught-Leer broke Kenya Sinclair’s 18-year-old national indoor mile record to finish fourth at the 2023 Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational at Boston University on Saturday.

The 33-year-old American-born athlete, who won gold in the 3000m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia, ran a personal best 4:31.48 to finish fourth, bettering her previous best time of 4:32.86 done in Birmingham eight years ago.

Sinclair’s previous national record of 4:32.33 was set in 2005 in Gainesville.

Saturday’s race was won by Abigail Nichols in 4:29.12 ahead of Harvard’s Maia Ramsden (4:30.19) and Alli Cash (4:31.40).

Shaunae Miller-Uibo will not be defending her 400m title at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest in August. She will also not be running the 200m because she is going to be a mommy!

Elaine Thompson-Herah made her indoor debut in Norway at the 2023 Karsten Warholm Invitational on Thursday, winning the Women’s 60m dash in a relatively pedestrian 7.30.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games 100 and 200m champion had made her season debut at the Queen’s/Grace Jackson Invitational last weekend, running 7.15 for an outdoor 60m run.

In Norway, Thompson-Herah took some time to get going but hit her stride about 20m from the tape and eased to victory over Helene Renningen, who crossed the line in 7.40.

Ukraine’s Viktoriya Ratnikova was third in 7.53.

Warholm impressed his home fans with an fast 45.31 run to win the 400m just 0.3 off his personal best time. His compatriot Håvard Bentdal Ingvaldsen was more than 1.5 seconds behind in 46.94 just edging out fellow Norwegian Andreas Grimerud, who clocked 46.99 for third.

Jamaica’s youngest Olympic gold medalist Briana Williams has awarded scholarships to three Excelsior High School student-athletes valued at JMD$210,000.

Williams, who moved to Jamaica to train last year, is already dedicated to giving back to the community.

Following a Christmas treat that the 20-year-old Olympic champion staged for children in Montego Bay environs last December, Williams will now provide $70,000 each in scholarships to Shakira Rhoden, Shelly-Ann Taylor and Janelia Williams.

Rhoden and Taylor are members of Excelsior’s reigning Anthrick Corporate Area Development Meet 4x100m relay team.

Kayla Harris, who was also a member of that team, awarded her scholarship to teammate Janelia Williams.

Janelia Williams is an ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Athletics Championships (Champs) silver medalist in the 200m.

 The athletes came to Williams’ attention when she read a published interview following the team’s victory at the Anthrick Development Meet in 2022.

In it, they indicated that the multiple Carifta Games gold medalist was a role model.

 When Williams read the article, as well as saw an Instagram post with the athletes, she was thrilled,

“I was so honoured when I read the article in the newspaper stating that I inspire these girls. I wanted to meet them, but leave more than inspirational words. I wanted to support their academic journey,” Briana said.

The scholarship was made possible through Briana’s sponsor GraceKennedy Limited and will be disbursed to the school to cover the cost of books, tuition and other necessities for the 2023 academic year.

 The Briana Williams scholarship will now be an annual offer to aid student-athletes in their academic and sporting pursuits.

"I am committed to giving back to athletes in Jamaica because I know what it's like. It's not easy being a student-athlete.” She shared.

"My sponsor GraceKennedy and I will make this an annual scholarship to deserving student athletes who showcase their athletic talents and are also having good grades."

She encouraged over 100 members of the Excelsior High track team who were present at the ceremony to remain committed to the sport.

"We are committed to helping the next generation in this sport and I want to encourage you to work hard and don't let anybody quell your dreams,” she said.

"Put in the work, listen to your teachers, your coaches and rewrite your goals and recite them every day and don't give up.”

 In 2020, Williams provided 25 tablets to student-athletes forced to attend classes from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She also donated furniture and school supplies to educator Stacey-Ann Donaldson who has a reading and homework centre in Rose Gardens, Kingston.

Williams ran the first leg of Jamaica’s gold-medal winning 4x100m effort at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021). She also won silver as a member of Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon. 

The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has announced the new Board of Directors of Independence Park Limited.

The Board will be chaired by Dr. the Honourable Michael Fennell with Mr. David Shirley as Deputy Chairman.

The other members are:  Mrs. Annmarie Heron, Assistant Commissioner of Police Terrence Bent, Lieutenant Colonel Eldon Morgan, Ms. Stefani Dewar, Mr. Lenford Salmon, Mr. Carlton Dennis, Ms. Audrey Chin, Mr. Edward Barnes, Dr. Peter Charles, Ms. Shaneek Clacken and Major Desmon Brown.

The Board will serve for a period of two years with effect from 16 January 2023. Independence Park Limited operates, promotes, and manages sports facilities including the National Stadium Complex and Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium.

Elaine Thompson-Herah began her 2023 campaign with a victory over 60m at the Queen's/Grace Jackson Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

For more than a decade now, Jamaica’s women have bossed the 100m.  Veronica Campbell-Brown won Jamaica’s first global 100m gold medal in Osaka in 2007 and since then Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah have basically made the 100m their own with the former winning five world titles and two Olympic titles while Thompson won back to back 100m titles in Brazil in 2016 and 2021 in Tokyo, Japan where she established a new Olympic record of 10.61.

However, with their dominance of the blue-ribbon sprint at its zenith, the women from the land of wood and water seem poised to begin dominating yet another event, the 100m hurdles. Since the 1990s, Jamaica has done reasonably well at the sprint hurdles.

Michelle Freeman was the first Jamaican woman to reach a global final and eventually won won global medals in 1993 and 1997. Dionne Rose and Freeman were Jamaica's first ever Olympic finalists, finishing fifth and sixth, respectively in 1996.

The following year Freeman and Gillian Russell, a 1995 World Championships finalist, went 1-2 at the World Indoor Championships.

Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Delloreen Ennis-London picked up from them with the former winning silver  at the 2003 World Championships, bronze in 2005. Ennis-London won a silver and bronze at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships respectively.

Foster-Hylton made the breakthrough at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin with a fantastic run to give Jamaica gold, Ennis-London won the bronze. Danielle Williams won Jamaica’s second 100m hurdles gold in Beijing 2015 in Beijing and followed with a bronze medal in 2019.

Two years later, Megan Tapper created history for Jamaica when she became the first-ever Jamaican woman to win a medal in the 100m hurdles at an Olympic Games when she captured bronze in Tokyo, Japan.

Then at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, Britany Anderson, a finalist in Tokyo in 2021, won silver in the sprint hurdlers.

Tapper and Anderson are among a growing cadre of Jamaican female sprint hurdlers who are among the very best in the world. Among them are Ackera Nugent, the World U20 60m hurdles record holder who opened her 2023 season with a time of 8.00 indoors and Demisha Roswell, who ran a personal best 12.44 and is the fastest Jamaican woman in the world this year over the 60m hurdles with a 7.98 clocking this past weekend.

There is also hope that former national record holder Janeek Brown will make a successful return to the event this season after two years of disruption in her personal life and athletic career. Perhaps, the most talented of the lot is 17-year-old Kerrica Hill, who last year succeeded Nugent as World Under 20 champion and who recently turned professional.

In 2022, Jamaica had four of the 10 fastest women in the world. The USA also had four while Puerto Rico and Nigeria had one each.

 If Jamaica’s women are to reach the pinnacle and find some level of dominance it will require a lot of technical work and consistently fast hurdling to get there but if the 100m women are anything to go by, nothing is beyond their reach.

Mississippi State Junior Rosealee Cooper won the Women’s 60m hurdles at the Clemson Bob Pollock Invitational in South Carolina on Friday.

The 22-year-old former St. Jago High standout ran 8.07 to win ahead of Tennessee’s Charisma Taylor (8.10) and Amber Hughes (8.20) who ran unattached.

Jamaican 2015 World Champion in the 100m hurdles, Danielle Williams, was also in the race but was disqualified after a false start. She had earlier run 8.07 in the prelims to advance as the fastest qualifier.

Elsewhere, Antiguan Tennessee Junior Joella Lloyd ran 7.21 to finish third in the 60m behind teammate Jacious Sears (7.17) and Nike’s Kayla White (7.20).

Lloyd represented Antigua & Barbuda in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as well as the World Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2022.

Jamaican Arkansas Sophomore Ackera Nugent continued her excellent form to start her 2023 indoor season by running a personal best 7.88 to win the 60m hurdles on day two of the Razorback Invitational in Fayetville, Arkansas on Saturday.

Nugent, who transferred to Arkansas from Baylor before the season, finished comfortably ahead of Leah Phillips of LSU (8.02) and Jayla Hollis of Florida (8.19). Phillips’ time was also a personal best.

Nugent’s 7.88 is the third fastest time in the world this year behind Masai Russell’s 7.75 and Alaysha Johnson’s 7.82.

In the Men’s equivalent, Nugent’s Arkansas teammate and former Jamaica College star Phillip Lemonious was third in the men’s 60m hurdles in 7.73 behind American World Championship 110m hurdles silver medalist Trey Cunningham (7.60 meet record) and Arkansas teammate Matthew Lewis-Banks (7.72).