Texas A&M Junior Charokee Young enters the South Eastern Conference (SEC) Indoor Championships at the Aggies Gilliam Indoor Stadium this weekend in perhaps the form of her life.

The former Hydel High School star, opened the season running 37.33 in the 300m at the Wooo Pig Classic, which ranks her 18^th in collegiate history and then in her first race over 400m, won in 52.00 at the Charlie Thomas Invitational.

She then clocked an impressive 51.24 in the 400m at the Don Kirby Open to win in what the fourth-best time all-time indoors at Texas A&M that established her as the Aggies leading quarter-miler, replacing the outstanding Athing Mu, who went pro before winning gold medals in the 800m at the US trials and the Tokyo Olympics.

Herself a former 800m runner, Young believes her progress this season comes down to building on her success last season when she finished the Texas Tech Invitational with two event titles, winning the 400m at a time of 52.64 and ran the second leg on the 4x400m that won at 3:31.09, the second-fastest 4x400m in the NCAA in 2021 as well as clocking a personal best 400m time of 51.93 at the Charlie Thomas Invitational, the fifth-best performer in Aggie history.

The season culminated with her booking a ticket to Japan for her first Olympics.

“I honestly feel like what drove my improvement this year is just adding to what I had already learned last year. So instead of starting from zero, I started from 50 per cent,” said Young, who is looking beyond the NCAA to don Jamaica's colours in the individual 400m at the World Championships in Oregon in July.

“I am still trying to learn more in trying to improve my races.

“I feel like my experience in Tokyo really motivated me for this year to work hard and just go out and give it my best shot. I am really working hard this year so I wouldn’t be like an alternate, hopefully, I will be able to cement my spot on the team. So I am working hard so I can run faster and hopefully get a better result.”

Wanting to succeed for both school and country can be challenging for collegiate athletes. Navigating indoor and outdoor seasons with each having both regional and national competitions can be physically and mentally taxing.

Young acknowledges that reality but believes she is now better able to find that balance that will allow excelling at both.

“I do agree that the NCAA takes a toll on your body but if you can complete an NCAA circuit, it shouldn’t be a problem to push a couple more months to go to the World Championships. Last year was my first time doing it, so this year I will have an idea what it feels like so I will be way more prepared this year than last year,” she said.

With that in mind, she said, her primary goal this season is to improve each time she steps on the track. It is clear in her mind that if she keeps doing that, then doing well for Texas A&M and Jamaica will be achievable.

“I really don’t have a set time I want to achieve this year, I just hope to keep getting better and better, so my main goal this year is to end with a season-best,” she said.

Elaine Thompson-Herah was beaten by Poland’s Ewa Swoboda in the Women’s 60m at the Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland on Tuesday.

The 5-time Olympic gold medallist ran 7.04 to finish second behind world leader Swoboda who ran 7.03 for victory.

The 24-year-old Polish sprinter now has the three fastest 60m times in the world this year.

In other action, at the World Indoor Tour Gold event, Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas won the Women’s 60m hurdles in a season’s best 7.90 ahead of Finland’s Reetta Hurske with 7.96 and Hungary’s Luca Kozak with 7.97.

Elaine Thompson-Herah said she would have loved to have gone under seven seconds in her 60m win in Birmingham on Saturday but she was to open her indoor season on a winning note.

Five-time Olympian and 2003 World 100 champion Kim Collins, in his new role of national sports coach, is planning to identify and develop emerging athletic talent on his island of St Kitts and Nevis that will eventually be competitive on the world stage.

Collins, 45, will have the support of his wife, Paula, who was appointed Athletics Coach by Jonel Powell, the Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture in St Kitts.

“Kim, as we all know, has his own wealth of experience from World Champion to Olympian and has been known to coach and train a number of younger athletes,” Minister Powell told media in St Kitts last week.

“Paula in her own right has lots of experience and is a certified coach and has been able to assist not just in athletics but others in terms of non-traditional areas, for example, nutrition and other forms of training.”

The celebrated retired athlete told Sportsmax.TV that among his immediate plans is unearthing the island’s best talents that will eventually be able to compete with the world’s best.

“With this new position, what my wife and I aim to accomplish is to go into the schools and observe primary school children, to see who is talented. We want to make sure the kids are doing the right events and that they love what they do,” he explained.

The plans are similar for those athletes at the secondary school level.

“Transitioning into the high schools, we want to see who will be able to go to the Carifta Games, those who can go to Division I universities overseas and then onto national athletes who will represent the federation in the various meets across the region as well as upcoming Pan American Games, World Championships and so on,” he said.

“So we are looking forward to making sure we can compete once again with the rest of the world and show them that St Kitts and Nevis can once again be great.”

For more than two decades, Collins was mainly the sole individual competitor for St Kitts and Nevis at the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2016 Olympic Games. He won the World 100m title in 2003 in Paris becoming the first and only athlete from his country to win a world 100m title.

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Shashalee Forbes and Ackeem Blake won their respective 60m races at the first meet in the JAAA/SDF Jubilee at Kingston’s National Stadium on Saturday.

Forbes, 25, the 2017 World University Games 100m champion, clocked a time of 7.16 running into a negligible wind of 0.2 m/s to edge Anthonique Strachan (7.17). Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Natasha Morrison finished third in 7.27.

Blake, meanwhile, clocked a decent 6.61 to defeat Kishane Thompson, who ran 6.67, the same time as Michael Campbell, who is making his way back from a horrific injury to his spine in a motor vehicle accident in late 2017.

In a battle between Olympic bronze medallists over 200m, Tiffany James got the better of Candace McLeod. James ran 23.85 to claim victory over McLeod who ran 24.06. Michae Harriott finished third in 25.17.

Zandrion Barnes won the men’s 400m in 45.99, well clear of Malik James King who ran a pedestrian 46.67 while Terry Thomas was third in 46.99.

In the field, the Julian Robinson-coached pair of Shadae Lawrence and Traves Smikle won the women and men’s discus competitions, respectively.

Lawrence, who made her first Olympic final in Tokyo last year, threw 62.56m to comfortably win her event ahead of Samantha Hall, who had a best throw of 55.65m. Cedricka Williams threw 53.38 for third.

Meanwhile, Smikle, her Reckless Control training partner uncorked a throw of 64.65m for victory over Chad Wright, who mustered 58.02m for second place. Moses Parkinson managed 46.80m for third.

Tissanna Hickling won the long jump with a decent effort of 6.43m. Jodian Stewart was second with her best jump of 6.31m.

Jamaican 400m sprinter Stephenie Ann McPherson ran a personal best 51.39 to win at the Muller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham on Saturday.

It was only her second race of the season indoors after opening her season on February 11 with a 52.82 clocking at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetville.

McPherson, 400m bronze medallist at the 2013 Moscow World Championships, finished ahead of Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands who ran 51.49 and Poland’s Justyna Swiety-Ersetic who ran 52.09.

Two other Jamaicans, Roniesha McGregor and Janieve Russell, finished fourth and sixth in 52.32 and 52.53, respectively.

It wasn’t the start she hoped for but Elaine Thompson-Herah was still better than the field as she raced to a season-best 7.08 at the World Indoor Tour Gold Meeting in Birmingham on Saturday.

The athlete dubbed the fastest woman alive lived up to the name as after a poor start that saw her trailing Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji, Thompson-Herah turned on the after-burners and stormed through the field to win over the Swiss, who ran a season-best 7.11 for second place.

Third was the vastly improved Daryll Neita, who crossed the line in a lifetime best 7.13.

Thompson-Herah’s winning time put her 0.01 ahead of Briana Williams as the fastest Jamaican woman over 60m this year.

The Jamaica Athletic Administrative Association (JAAA) has congratulated middle-distance runner Natoya Goule for establishing a new national indoor 800m record in France on Thursday.

Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare has been banned for 10 years by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the Athletics Integrity Unit.

The 33-year-old sprinter was banned for five years for the presence and use of multiple prohibited substances and five years for her refusal to co-operate with the AIU’s investigation into her case, the AIU said in a release on Friday.

According to the AIU, the sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that the athlete’s use of multiple prohibited substances as part of an organized doping regimen in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympic Games was egregious conduct that amounted to aggravating circumstances under the Rules thereby warranting an additional period of ineligibility on top of the standard four-year sanction.

The sole arbitrator also recognized the AIU’s right to carry out investigations, including the imaging of electronic devices, and to impose sanctions when an athlete refuses to co-operate with an investigation and thereby frustrates the AIU’s ability to fulfil its mandate to protect the integrity of the sport of athletics.

In this instance, the sole arbitrator concluded that the athlete’s refusal to cooperate had denied the AIU the opportunity to discover evidence of possible further rule violations by her as well possible violations of the rules by others, for which he imposed an additional sanction of five years, the release said.

“We welcome the decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal; a ban of 10-year is a strong message against intentional and coordinated attempts to cheat at the very highest level of our sport. This is an outcome that was driven by our intelligence-led target testing as well as our commitment to investigate the circumstances behind a positive test,” said Brett Clothier, Head of the AIU.

On October 7, 2021, the AIU had pressed charges against Okagbare in relation to separate disciplinary matters.

First, for the presence and use of multiple (two) prohibited substances (human Growth Hormone (HGH) and recombinant erythropoietin (EPO)) for which Okagbare had been provisionally suspended on July 31, 2021, the day on which she had been scheduled to participate in the semi-finals of the Tokyo 2020 women’s 100m.

Subsequently, in accordance with Rule 12 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, she was charged with a refusal to co-operate with the AIU’s investigation into her case. The athlete has the right to appeal against the Disciplinary Tribunal’s decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within 30-days.

Jamaican Olympian Natoya Goule set a new national record in an impressive win at the women’s 800m at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, in France, on Thursday.

Goule threw down an early-season marker after winning the event in 1:58.46, which was also a new world-leading time.  The Jamaican finished ahead of Ugandan World 800m champion Halimah Nakaayi who clocked an indoor personal best 1:58.58.  Kenya’s Eglay Nalyanya was third in 2:00.26.

Goule took charge after the pacemaker breezed through the first 400m at 57.56.  The Jamaican was through 600m in 87.64 but was trailed closely by Nakaayi who came into the event with the world lead.

The Ugandan looked comfortable and tried to push past Goule on the inside but was smartly closed off by the Jamaican and did not have the speed to go around down the stretch.

The event marked the first time the Jamaican was going dipping below 1:59:00 indoors and also beat her previous national record of 1:59.13 set in 2019.

Jamaican Olympic sprinter, Shericka Jackson, has secured another significant milestone in her career after becoming the first brand ambassador for the Scotia Group.

Jackson cemented her place in the bank’s 132-year history, in Jamaica, when she signed her first local corporate endorsement deal on Thursday.

The sponsorship arrangement with the financial institution comes months ahead of the 2022 World Athletics Championships scheduled for July 15-24 in the United States and will see the bank giving support to the athlete’s career for the next three years.

The partnership will see the two-time Olympian representing Scotiabank as she competes across the globe and continues to excel both on and off the track.

Audrey Tugwell-Henry, President and CEO, Scotia Group Jamaica, lauded Jackson for her career accomplishments and welcomed her to the Scotiabank family.

“We are beyond elated to welcome Shericka to the Scotiabank family and we are very honoured to be part of her journey. This is a proud ‘first’ for us at Scotiabank and we are very excited to be able to partner with such a dynamic athlete, who is loved both locally and internationally,” she said.

Noting that Scotiabank has been a long-time supporter of sports development regionally, Tugwell Henry shared that the Olympian will also be involved in promoting the many financial solutions that the Bank offers and will be involved in the company’s philanthropic efforts that uplift and inspire young people.

“At Scotiabank, we are big on both youth and sports development, which is evidenced through our various youth sports sponsorships and other community-based ventures over the years. This partnership also perfectly aligns with our overarching philanthropic focus. We look forward to involving Shericka in our future initiatives as she continues to inspire young people to strive for excellence,” Tugwell-Henry shared.

Speaking at the celebratory event held in her honour, Jackson expressed gratitude to Scotiabank for supporting her career and registered her readiness to represent the brand.

“I feel very excited and honoured to be welcomed to the Scotiabank family and I am tremendously grateful to the institution for investing in my abilities and dreams,” the Olympian stated.

“Growing up as a young person in Jamaica, I have always known Scotiabank to be a trusted financial force which has a longstanding reputation of being safe, dependable and innovative - much like my own ongoing ambitions in athletics, and so this partnership represents a perfect synergy for both of us,” Jackson added.

Jackson is a dynamic sprinter who has accumulated numerous medals in the 400 metres, 4x400m relay and most recently, 100, 200 and 4x100m events.  Last year, she won a bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, while forming part of the Jamaican sprint queen trio, that dominated the track throughout the season.  She also won gold for Jamaica at the Tokyo Olympics, running the anchor leg on the Jamaican 4x100m relay team.

She is one of few women to simultaneously run sub-11 and sub-22 seconds in the 100 and 200 m respectively, and have a personal best below 50 seconds in the 400-metre event.

Omar McLeod is now a member of the Olympic training group run by Petros Kyprianou and based at the Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Florida. Last week McLeod, 27, who was a part of the Tumbleweed group since 2019, told athletes in the group that he was leaving.

However, the 2016 Olympic 110m hurdles champion gave no indication of why he had decided to leave or where he intended to go. His agent Mario Bassani declined to shed any light on the move which apparently took many by surprise.

As it turns out, the 2017 World Champion did not move too far away as Kyprianou shed light on his destination with a post on social media on Monday.

“Welcome to the group Omar @_warrior_child_!. Very excited to take this journey with you! Very thankful to @episcopaleagles for helping create this Olympic training group. What a great place to work at…”

Kyprianou joined the coaching staff at the University of Georgia in 2008 as an assistant coach, eventually becoming head coach in 2015. During his time there he won several awards while leading UGA to 11 top-four NCAA finishes in the last five seasons.

In 2017, he was named Women Outdoor Coach of the Year. In 2018, he won the NCAA Indoor Women’s title as well as the Men’s Outdoor title, which resulted in him winning the awards of Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year and the Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year.

However, despite his success there, reports emerged in May 2021 that Kyprianou planned to leave Georgia when his contract expired in June that year.

The Athens Banner-Herald reported that in 2020, he turned down a multi-year extension offered by then-athletic director Greg McGarity and instead took a one-year extension.

In September, News4Jax reported that Kyprianou had joined the coaching staff at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville as the director of sports performance, a rare position in high school athletics.

 Among the athletes he coached at UGA were Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo, USA triple jump champion, Kenturah Orji and Jamaican Olympian Chanice Porter.

He has also coached the likes of British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, St Lucia’s Levern Spencer, Maicel Uibo, Lynna Irby and rising sprinter/long jumper Matthew Boling.

In a bid to provide its senior athletes with competition as they prepare for the National Championships and other international competitions including the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, later this year, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), in partnership with the Sports Development Foundation (SDF), has launched a series of four meets dubbed the JAAA/SDF Jubilee Series.

The first meet is set to take place on Saturday, February 19 at the National Stadium in Kingston and will begin at 5 pm and end at 7:30 pm.

Each meeting will have 14 individual events with four of them designated as Premium events. The selected premium events for the first meet are the 400m for men and women and the discus for men and women.

 At the end of the premium events, the top three finishers, providing they meet a set minimum standard, will earn a total of one hundred thousand dollars. Winners will receive $50,000, athletes finishing second will win $30,000.00 while third place athletes will bank $20,000.00.  

“It’s up to us to ensure that our athletes, especially those based locally, are given as much assistance as possible in their preparation,” said JAAA President Garth Gayle.

“We have limited resources but thanks to the SDF, who has decided to partner with us, we are able to offer some financial incentive.”

Denzil Wilks, General Manager of the Sports Development Foundation, said his organization is happy to play its part.

“Jamaica’s standing in this sport is second to none. This speaks volumes of the organization that runs the sport locally. The SDF has worked with the JAAA over the years and we have never been disappointed. We have always received value for money. This is just a continuation of that long-standing partnership,” he said.

 Junior athletes will compete earlier in the day between 8:30 and 5:00 pm.

No approval for spectators was granted for the first meet, with only athletes, officials and medical personnel to be allowed entry. Only one meet will be staged in February, with the other three scheduled for between May and June.

Registration for the meet closes on Wednesday, February 16 at 6 pm.

Britney Anderson has been on a tear this indoor season with three lifetime best times in her last three races.

Jamaica and Texas A&M high jumper Lamara Distin set the field alight with a new national record and world-leading mark at the Don Kirby Invitational on Friday.

The 21-year-old sophomore recorded a clearance of 1.92m, which bettered her own previous best of 1.88m that had seen her tied on the country’s national best list with two other jumpers, Kimberly Williamson and Sheree Ruff, for second place. 

Her new mark broke the record of 1.90m set in March 2002 by Maresa Cadienhead.  On the way to the record, Distin cleared heights of 1.78m, 1.83m, 1.86m, and 1.89m before soaring to the record and the event title.

The jump also moved Distin ahead of Texas Tech's Sydney Sapp in the NCAA leaders table after both were previously tied at 1.88m.