On reflection, three-time Jamaica national 400m hurdles champion Janieve Russell can’t help but think that it was her destiny to compete in the event, after the fortuitous circumstances that led to her moving away from the long jump, a discipline near and dear to her heart.
After a superb run that led to her blowing away the country’s best athletes, in a season-best of 54.04 seconds, to claim the Women's 400m Hurdles title at the Jamaica National Championships, it was clearly a great choice but for a long time, one that wasn’t even on the cards.
In fact, Russell spent the majority of her junior career as a long jumper and competed successfully at the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships for her high school, Holmwood, in the event. The 2019 World 400m hurdles silver medalist now believes wholeheartedly that the track itself called her to her destined event after the unexpected way she ended up competing in it.
"I believe the track was choosing my destiny for me because I really love long jump; that was my main event back in high school and by some chance, I was entered to the 400m Hurdles because someone on the team had to pull out. And then, I just continued, went to MVP and the coach said you are going to stick to the hurdles, not the long jump,” Russell explained.
Russell has had a solid career, and in addition to the three national titles, has picked up wins at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup.
Winning her third national title was a special moment for Russell, who admitted that she fully expected to be up against a challenging field. Her top priority though was to finish in an automatic spot, then channel all her energy to focusing on Tokyo.
"It is a tough field in the 400m hurdles event this year, so I am just using these trials to work on my mental state and I am just really happy to come out on top because my aim was just to be in the top three and just be on the Olympic team,” Russell said.
Off the back of a rectus femoris injury (acute tearing injury of the quadriceps) that she suffered in 2016, Russell insists that she has gotten stronger physically and mentally.
"My MVP team and I have been working hard on our mental training, been working on my physical (fitness), ensuring that I am not injury prone, because, trust me, two weeks or one week before any trials I have always had an injury. I have been very careful this year, I have been eating properly, I have been doing everything by the book and I am just really grateful again to be out here by the grace of God to compete injury-free and to be on top."
Though she is a decorated nine-time gold medalist at the CARIFTA Games and a double gold medalist at the 2012 World Junior Championships, Russell’s ultimate aim is to match the feats of Deon Hemmings and Melanie Walker who both won gold medals for the country at the Olympic level.
"I will definitely try, as I said before it is a very tough field. I am just going out there with guts and to just represent my country, come out with a personal best and just do the best I can."
The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will run from July 23 to August 8.
Double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah legitimately feared missing out on a chance to defend her Olympic titles because of a longstanding, ongoing injury issue.
The athlete finished third in both the 100m and 200m at last month’s Jamaica National Championships but admits for a few weeks leading up to the event she was not sure she could have taken part.
The 29-year-old said that leading up to the national trials, she suffered from an Achilles injury that earlier forced her to withdraw from the Gateshead Diamond League event that she was scheduled to compete in on the 23rd of May.
“It’s that same Achilles injury, it’s been bothering me for almost five years now…it’s not that bad for surgery but it’s overworked I guess, so I have to monitor it properly, Thompson-Herah revealed.
The athlete put in a dominant performance at the Rio Olympics five years ago, where she won gold in both sprint events and silver in the women’s 4x100m relay.
The result at the national trials might not have been exactly what she wanted, but Thompson-Herah maintains she is grateful that she managed to at least finish third in both events, and with that securing the chance to win back-to-back Olympic titles.
“It’s been a challenging month, over the last month I have been in a lot of pain. I drew God closer and said God I am talking to you now, help me to do this at the trials,” Thompson said.
“I spoke to my coach and asked coach ‘will I be able to go to the trials?’ because I was in so much pain. But, I can’t complain, I am not frowning I am smiling through my pain, I have made my second Olympics and I am super excited, the work has to go on.”
Despite the fact that she was hampered by the injury, Thompson-Herah knows that she had to work that much harder, as the competition to secure spots on the team remains fierce.
“A lot of females are out here, and they are hungry for the Olympics, it’s the Olympics, everybody wants to go to the Olympics. I am the reigning Olympic champion, so everybody wants to get to that line (first), myself included.”
As the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games inches closer, quizzed about her expectations, Thompson-Herah insisted she would not be placing any pressure unnecessary expectations on herself, as she focuses on herself and her well-being.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t put any pressure on myself, my main focus is me and my health, I just put in some more work, reset and refocus.”
Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson continues to send clear signals that she will be a force to be reckoned with in the sprints this Olympics, after registering a convincing win over the Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo, at the Gyulai István Memorial meet, on Tuesday.
Jackson, who was formerly a 400m specialist, stepped down to the shorter distances this year and has had impressive results. The sprinter clocked new personal bests of 10.77 and 21.82 last month at her country’s national championships.
In Hungary, on Tuesday, the runner continued in that vein, dismissing the field to finish first in 21.96. Jackson seized control of the race early and comfortably held off a typically fast-finishing Miller-Uibo, who took second in 22.15. Dafne Schippers, the 2017 World Champion, was third in 22.70.
In other action, both Caribbean athletes in the men’s 110m hurdles failed to secure a podium spot. Jamaica’s Ronald Levy finished fourth with a time of 13.25 and Shane Brathwaite was 7th in 14.10. The race was won by the United States’ Grant Halloway who took the top spot with a time of 13.08.
In the women’s 400m hurdles, Jamaica’s Janieve Russell took third in a season’s best 53.68. The race was won by Netherland’s Femke Bol in a meet record 52.81.
Reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah scored an impressive win over compatriot and rival Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, in the women’s 100m, at the Gyulai István Memorial meet on Tuesday.
Two weeks ago, it was Fraser-Pryce who beat Thompson-Herah to claim the Jamaica 100m national title. This time around, Thompson-Herah turned the tables to lead virtually wire to wire to clock a fast 10.71. The time was a new meeting record and just one 100th of a second outside of her personal best.
Fraser-Pryce was second in 10.82, with Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou third in 10.86. Another Caribbean athlete, Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle Lee-Ahye was third in 11.09, her second-best time this season. Fraser-Pryce owns the fastest time in the world this year, and second-best all-time, after her 10.63 clocking last month.
Elsewhere, Stefanie-Ann McPherson continued her excellent run of form after clocking another sub-50 time to claim the women’s 400m. Running from lane 4, the Jamaican national champion had all but covered the field by the halfway mark and was comfortable in getting to the line in 49.99. The United States’ Wadeline Jonathas was second in 50.70, with the Netherlands ’ Lieke Klaver third in 51.29.
In other events, Jamaica’s Fedrick Dacres claimed third spot in the men’s discus after registering a best of 65.08. The event was won by Sweden’s Daniel Sthal who recorded 67.71. Lithuania’s Andrius Gudžius was second with a mark of 66.71.
The Olympic Games serve as the world’s biggest showcase of sporting talent.
For the Caribbean region, when we hear Olympics, the sport we mainly think about is track & field.
With the region’s rich and storied history of success in the sport, gold, silver and bronze medals are often used to measure the success of respective athletes. It is, however, far from the only stand.
For some countries, having a representative on the biggest global track & field stage in the world is worth just as much or more than any individual medal.
Antigua & Barbuda is one of those countries and the athlete who has represented them the best on the big stage is sprinter Daniel Bailey.
Bailey, the 100m sprint specialist, has represented his nation in four Olympic Games and five World Championships.
His best result came at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
The headliners were Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt and defending double sprint champion from the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Tyson Gay.
In the fastest race in history, Bolt ran 9.58 to destroy the world record, Gay ran an unbelievable 9.71 to finish second and Asafa Powell finished third in 9.84.
Bailey just narrowly missed out on a historic medal for Antigua & Barbuda, finishing fourth in that race with a time of 9.93. It wasn’t his first major championship appearance, but it was also when Bailey became a household name in men’s sprinting.
However, Bailey’s first time representing Antigua and Barbuda on the biggest stage of global athletics came five years earlier in 2004.
As a 17-year-old, he carried the flag for his country during the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics. It is a memory he will carry with him forever.
“I was elated. I was really, really excited to be holding the flag for my country Antigua & Barbuda. A couple of days before, we had a meeting to decide who would do it and when they shouted my name and said ‘Daniel Bailey, you’re going to hold the flag’, it was a special feeling because I know how much it meant for an upcoming athlete to be holding the flag for his nation,” Bailey said.
To put that into perspective, he carried the flag at those Olympics just one month after competing at the World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy where he finished 4th in the 100 metres in a time of 10.39.
At those Athens Olympics, Bailey finished 6th in his 100 metres heat in 10.51.
Four years later, at the Beijing Olympics, Bailey, then 21, was again the flag bearer.
During the Games, he advanced to the quarter-finals after finishing second to Bolt in 10.24 in the preliminary round.
Bailey then ran 10.23 to finish 4th but failed to advance from his quarterfinal, a race which saw him lined up against Jamaica’s former world record holder Asafa Powell and American Walter Dix, who eventually won the bronze.
A year after those Olympics would see Bailey enter the prime of his sprinting career.
He would finish 4th at the 2009 World Championships and then fifth at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu.
On July 17, 2009, in Paris, Bailey ran a personal best and an Antiguan national record of 9.91.
Bailey then carried his nation’s flag at the third straight Olympics in London 2012 where he competed in the 100 metres.
Running in heat 4, against Bolt once again, Bailey would run a time of 10.12 to finish 2nd and advance to the semi-finals.
Bailey then lined up against Bolt, American Ryan Bailey and Richard Thompson, the silver medallist from the 2008 games in his semi-final.
He finished 6th in that race in 10.16 and failed to reach the Olympic final once again.
Bailey admits that he had entered into those Olympics with high hopes but suffered some setbacks along the way.
“I had it in my mind to make my first Olympic final. I was really working hard that year and then I got an injury that set me back a little bit. The first week I got to London I caught a bad flu, and it took a toll on my body. I got eliminated in the semi-finals, but I think my overall performance was good based on what was happening.”
Fast forward four years to the 2016 Rio Olympics and Bailey became one of the few athletes in history to ever be their country’s flag bearer at four straight Olympic Games opening ceremonies.
That year, he competed in Heat 2 of the men’s 100 metres and finished 2nd in 10.20 behind eventual silver medallist Justin Gatlin and advanced to the semi-finals.
He was then slated to appear in semi-final 3 but did not show up for the start due to injury.
Bailey may not have had the medal haul of many Caribbean greats but he has competed at the highest level of the sport for more than a decade and is a role model for sprinters hailing from smaller Caribbean islands like his native Antigua & Barbuda.
“You have to love it and enjoy it,” were Bailey’s words of wisdom for a new generation of up-and-coming athletes.
“My word to the up-and-coming athletes is to go for your goals. Whatever you believe in, nobody can stop that. Always work hard and smart and remember that dedication is the key to success at all times.”
One could easily have forgiven then 22-year-old Guyanese boxer Michael Parris if he had been left frozen by the large crowds, cold climate, and politically charged atmosphere of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.
Sixty-six countries, including the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, and Haiti had boycotted the games entirely because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Security at the athletes' village was robust, with armed soldiers and barbed wire unfamiliar sights for the quadrennial spectacle of global goodwill.
At the time, Parris, now looking back, admits that all of that mattered very little. After all, he was there for one thing and that was to win gold for Guyana, a country which despite its reputation for being rich in earthly minerals, had yet to mine a spec of precious metal on the Olympics stage.
With that singular focus in mind, Parris recalls spending the majority of his time at the Games training in his hotel room, with the air conditioning stuck at its lowest setting, to help with acclimatisation. Even so, once the moment arrived, once he stepped out onto the global stage, the gravity of the moment did not entirely escape him.
“I was nervous. Nobody was calling for Guyana. I lost at least a bucket of sweat from my face and arms. The crowd was just so big, and you see maybe one little Guyana flag. It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, someone from Guyana will always be there. I saw a little flag somewhere in the crowd,” Parris recalled of stepping into the middle of the ring.
“But, when I was fighting, I never focused on the crowd, not even the coach. When I was in the ring I only focused on the other fighter, his movement, my movement, to see when I had hurt him,” he added.
Parris began the bouts with a win over Nigeria’s Nureni Gbadamosi, in the round of 32, followed by another win over Syria’s Fayez Zaghloui in the round of 16. Another solid performance saw the referee stop the contest between himself and Mexico’s Daniel Zaragoza, in the quarterfinals, before he faced Cuba’s Juan Hernández in the semi-finals.
Unfortunately for Parris, the competition ended there, with the Cuban going on to outpoint him before defeating Venezuela’s Bernardo Piñango in the final to claim the gold medal.
Even if the mission wasn’t fully accomplished, the job had been well done. Parris’ performances assured him of a bronze medal. The long journey, which began in sunny Georgetown, Guyana had culminated with a spot on the podium nearly 5,000 miles away, in the chilly Russian city. Forty years have passed since the monumental occasion, but for Parris, looking back, winning the country’s first and only Olympic medal to date still fills him with a deep sense of pride.
“I didn’t know if I was standing or sitting, or what, when the flag went up in the air. The excitement, I don’t even remember if I was standing. To see the flag raised, of 100s of other countries the Guyanese flag was up there. It was just so good. Some of our other athletes had flags waving as well, I was checking up on them and they thought they should have won medals as well and such,” Parris recalled.
“It was really exciting everything about it. Everything, the crowd, the first time the Guyana flag was raised at a Games. Many athletes went to the games before me. The first time I went, thankfully, I qualified and was able to bring back the bronze,” he added.
Parris’ achievement is yet to be equalled. Even the late Andrew ‘Six heads’ Lewis, who went to be WBA World Welterweight Champion, did not match his achievement at the Olympic level. Lewis failed to advance past the first round at the 1990 Olympics after losing to Germany’s Andreas Otto.
Parris is convinced that the country’s lack of outright success, since then, at the Olympic level, is not due to a lack of talent but more a case of not being enough done to fully harness the potential of young Guyanese athletes.
“We need to find a way to support our athletes. We need to look closely at these athletes, support them and you’ll get the best out of them. Support them and expose them, they need financial programs and stuff like that. Any sports you can think of Guyanese are good at it, whether it be running, swimming, cricket they just need the backing.”
He admits, however, that he has recently been encouraged by the approach taken by a newly elected government, which came into power last year, and the appointment of sports minister Charles Ramson Jr.
“I have been encouraged that we have a young sport’s minister, with this new government. He looks like he is ready to push things ahead, so we may get a few more Guyanese medalling at the Olympic Games soon,” Parris said.
If there is one regret, Parris, now 63, says is that he has not been able to work with some of the country’s youth boxers, as he was never given the opportunity. Still, he does his part to attempt to inspire the next generation.
“It’s been a great feeling, but the only thing I wish is when I came back with the medal, I would have loved to give something back to the youth. I never got the chance because no one called upon me to say come and help us with the coaching program or whatever. When they have summer camps now though, sometimes I drive around with the medal to show them so they can see it and feel it. I want to inspire them. I want them to know they can do it as well.”
Veteran jockey Shane Ellis stylishly completed his 21st Classic triumph as the unfancied colt Calculus swept to a commanding upset win in Saturday’s Jamaica St Leger in his first run for trainer Gary Subratie.
The 4-5 favourite Miniature Man was a disappointing sixth as Calculus rebounded from a seventh-place finish in the early June 2000 Guineas to land the Betmakers JA$4.5 Million (US$30,126) St Leger by 6-3/4 lengths. He scored at 7-1 odds and handed Trinidadian owner Chevan Maharaj his second St Leger win at Caymanas Park in three years.
As Ellis surged to his fifth St Leger success and trainer Subratie his second in a row, the 3-2 second favourite Further and Beyond was second and the Fillies Guineas winner She’s a Wonder (9-2) third a further length and a quarter behind.
“Number five is very very sweet,” said Ellis after triumphantly reuniting with Maharaj, whose colt Supreme Soul had given the ex-champion jockey his first Triple Crown victory in 2019.
It was Ellis’s first race aboard Calculus as the colt, bred by Sensational Slam out of the Bernardini mare Trinket, recorded his third win from eight lifetime starts.
Out of the starting gates, the 2000 Guineas champion Miniature Man cruised out of the three-box to lead and went to the mile pole in front, chased by the 93-1 outsider Simba the Lion and last year’s champion two-year-old Further and Beyond.
Ellis made a sharp move forward leaving the six-furlong marker and in a flash had surged from seventh to fourth on the heels of the front running trio.
Calculus and Further and Beyond quickened away from a fading Miniature Man for a duel leaving the half-mile while She’s a Wonder accelerated into a challenging third position coming off the final bend.
Ellis was off the rail as he engaged reigning co-champion jockey Dane Nelson aboard Further and Beyond on his outside while She’s a Wonder darted to the rail for her homestretch challenge.
The battle was brief as Calculus responded to a few left-handed cracks of the whip and pulled clear for the big win that Ellis thinks makes him favourite for the August 6 Jamaica Derby.
“He’ll be the one to beat for sure,” said Ellis, who already has five Derby wins.
Calculus clocked two minutes 08 and 4/5ths of a second for the 10-furlong trip.
“It feels very good, I love my fans because they know when it comes to big races, Shane Ellis is the man,” added the 47-year-old who also won St Leger races aboard Typewriter (2012), Relampago (2014), Marquesas (2018) and Supreme Soul two years ago.
Subratie, who won last year’s St Leger with 31-1 outsider Nipster, only took charge of Calculus – coming from the Anthony Nunes stables -- in recent weeks. The colt arrived at his stables on June 7 when Maharaj purchased him from another T&T owner Shivam Maharaj.
In spite of Calculus’s failure to win from three starts since his Sir Howard Stakes Guineas prep victory in mid-March, Subratie said he anticipated a strong St Leger effort.
“I expected him to run very well because he has beaten those horses, some of them before. He had some issues, it took a couple of weeks to kind of figure it out,” Subratie said, adding that Calculus will be the horse to beat in the Derby. “Most definitely he just showed it.”
West Indies Women secured an insurmountable 2-0 lead over Pakistan following a 7-runs DLS method win over Pakistan Women in the three-match T20I series in North Sound on Friday.
Electing to bat first the Windies Women complied just 125 with the DLS further reducing the target to 110. Pakistan were 103 for 6 when the rain stopped the match.
The West Indies effort was built on the backbone of Chedean Nation and Kycia Knight, who put together a 32-run stand from 26 balls for the fifth wicket. The batsmen were 28 and 30 not out respectively, after forming the partnership at 69 for 4 in the 14th over.
In pursuit, Pakistan got off to a tough start after the top three were sent back to the pavilion with just 25 runs on the board. Pakistan had five run-outs, with Nida Dar top-scoring with 28. West Indies Women coach Courtney Walsh admits he is hoping for a clean sweep.
“I don’t expect any complacency to set in. Winning is a habit to have and I want us to go out and focus on us winning the series comprehensively,” Walsh said, following the match.
Haiti kicked off the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims with a commanding 6-1 victory over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Haiti were in control from the start and nearly broke the deadlock in the 21st minute, but Saint Vincent and The Grenadines GK Nigell Charles made a diving save to his right to deny Carnejy Antoine.
The 1-0 breakthrough would come soon enough, though, with Duckens Nazon stroking home a penalty in the 26th minute after Derrick Etienne Jr. was brought down in the area.
The first goal loosened up the Haitian attack and Frantzdy Pierrot doubled the advantage to 2-0 in the 33rd minute with a strong header off a deflection from the Vincy Heat defense.
The Haitian attack kept coming in waves and another penalty call saw Etienne Jr. convert a spot-kick in the 37th to extend the lead to 3-0.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines did not get their heads down and Kyle Edwards was able to get on the end of a free-kick and touch past Haiti GK Josue Duverger before slotting into the net to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the 42nd minute. Edwards’ goal was the first-ever for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in three games at the Gold Cup.
Some individual magic from Nazon in the 59th yielded the fourth goal for Haiti, as the veteran forward gathered a pass, made a move to elude a defender, and fired in to make it 4-1 to Haiti. It was Nazon´s sixth goal in 10 Gold Cup games.
Haiti were keen to not extend Saint Vincent and the Grenadines a lifeline and continued to pressure, rounding out the 6-1 triumph via an own goal in the 72nd and an Antoine finish in the 90th.
Bermuda rolled into the Second Round of the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims thanks in part to a Nahki Wells hat trick in an 8-1 victory over Barbados on Friday night at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
With the result, Bermuda advance to face Haiti in the Second Round of the Prelims with a berth in the 2021 Gold Cup group stage at stake on Tuesday. It will also serve as a rematch of their 2019 Gold Cup group stage match won by Haiti, 2-1.
The 8-1 scoreline also tied a Gold Cup record for most goals in a match (9).
It was a dream start for Bermuda, who raced out to a 1-0 lead just 17 seconds into the match when Wells turned a Zeiko Lewis cross into the net, a call that was confirmed by VAR.
The Wells goal also made some history, as it marked the fastest goal in Gold Cup history.
Bermuda were hungry for more and a hard hit from Lewis was cleverly back-heeled by Wells, leaving Barbados GK Liam Brathwaite flat-footed, to give Bermuda a 2-0 lead in the 14’.
The Bermuda attack was rolling and Reggie Lambe stretched the lead to 3-0 in the 29’ with an excellent left-footed finish.
Captain Dante Leverock was next to get into the act for Bermuda, as he smashed a header into net for a 4-0 lead.
Despite the deficit, Barbados kept plugging away and they were handsomely rewarded in the 45+1 minute when Hadan Holligan banked in a right-footed shot off the post to cut the gap to 4-1.
Bermuda halted any Barbados momentum and restored their four-goal advantage when a deep cross resulted in an own goal and a 5-1 lead in the 60th minute.
The Gombey Warriors were eager to add more and it became 6-1 in the 66’ with Kane Crichlow’s right-footed finish, followed a minute later in the 67th by Lewis making it 7-1 with a left-footed shot.
Wells then completed the 8-1 scoreline for Bermuda in the 87th when he converted from the penalty spot to nail down his hat-trick.
Trinidad and Tobago are a step closer to a return to the Concacaf Gold Cup after topping Montserrat 6-1 in the First Round of the 2021 Gold Cup Prelims on Friday night at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The win sends Trinidad and Tobago to the Second Round, where they will face the winner of Saturday’s Cuba-French Guiana contest.
The first goal arrived in the 21st minute through Trinidad and Tobago’s Kevin Molino from the penalty spot after a foul on DF Aubrey David in the Montserrat area. Molino stepped up and coolly converted from the spot to hand the Soca Warriors a 1-0 advantage.
Montserrat looked to respond but instead, it was 2-0 to Trinidad and Tobago in the 35th when Marcus Joseph caught Montserrat GK Corrin Brooks off his line and flighted in a shot from 40 yards out for the goal.
Trinidad and Tobago then extended the lead to 3-0 in the 45+2’minute when Ryan Telfer got loose behind the Montserrat defense and hammered in a right-footed shot.
Montserrat came out with plenty of fight to start the second half and pulled a goal back for 3-1 in the 55th minute when Lyle Taylor headed in after Spencer Weir’s shot deflected off the crossbar.
But Trinidad and Tobago restored the sizeable advantage two minutes later in the 57th minute when Judah Garcia gathered in a long ball and finished to make it 4-1.
Momentum was clearly on the side of the Soca Warriors and Reon Moore stretched the lead to 5-1 in the 68’ with a right-footed finish.
The night was then punctuated by Moore tacking on another in the 82’ to round out the 6-1 scoreline.
2011 World 100m gold medallist, Yohan Blake, has promised a return to ‘beast mode’ for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, reviving an association with a moniker he had given up several years ago.
Just a few months before competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Blake publicly stated that he wished not to be called 'the beast' anymore, an on-track persona that had seen him become the second fastest man ever over 200m, after clocking a lifetime best of 19.26secs in 2011.
On the back of a few serious injuries, however, Blake has failed to hit those heights since. At Jamaica’s National Championships, after a disappointing second-place finish in the men's 100m finals, he was motivated to take the top spot in the 200m.
Unfortunately, things did not go as he had planned. He was second-best yet again in his second final of the meet.
With legendary sprint sensation Usain Bolt having retired in 2017, many will be fancying their chances of winning a prized gold medal, and among the hopefuls is Blake himself.
And, for the 32nd staging of the Olympic Games, Blake says he is taking back the 'beast mode' this summer.
"It was a transition that I thought that in myself that the beast represents evil but when I look at it, it’s just a fiction and for me, it’s just acting,” Blake said of the decision.
“It is not like I am taking on the beast, but I am drawing back for the beast, so the beast is going to be back at the Olympics,” he added.
"I am feeling my old self, I am feeling everything and with God all things are possible. I am getting in my finishing touches and going back to my coach.”
Blake said that finishing second in both sprint events will not impact his confidence going into Tokyo because he is confident in his abilities.
"I know what I can do and definitely, I should have won that 100 with ease, but for some reason, God doesn't want the spotlight to be on me as yet. I just want to sneak up because I know I am not leaving that stadium without a medal."
No athletes were able to reach Olympic qualifying standards in any events during the Barbados National Championships over the weekend. This was the final opportunity for Barbadian athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, which are less than a month away.
Some of Barbados’ top athletes such as Sada Williams, Tristan Evelyn, and Johnathan Jones (who have already qualified) did not compete, but there were still a number of locally well-known athletes who turned out in hopes of making it to Tokyo.
One of the most anticipated showdowns was between national record-holder Kierre Beckles and overseas-based Hannah Connell in the women’s 100-metre hurdles. Connell was heading into the event with a season’s best of 13.07 seconds in comparison to Beckles’ 13.51 seconds. In the end, the veteran Beckles, who represented Barbados at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, came out victorious but fell short of the qualification standard after running a time of 13.51.
The biggest upset of the championships came in the men’s 100-metre finals when favourite Mario Burke was beaten by Kuron Griffith. Burke, who will be representing Barbados in Tokyo, ran a disappointing 10.39 seconds with a wind reading of -1.9. Despite winning the event, Griffith was not able to reach the qualifying standard, finishing in a time of 10.30 seconds. In the women’s 100-metres, Jovanna Gustave finished first in a time of 12.09 seconds, which is also outside of the qualifying standard.
There is no other opportunity for Barbadian athletes to meet the qualifying standard with the National Championships being the last sanctioned meet before the June 29th deadline for qualification. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will begin on July 23rd and run until August 8th.
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