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.”
Winston Dehaney and Tabbrel Williams topped the male and female sections of the second Manchester Capital Run in the parish capital of Mandeville, on Sunday.
Alphansus Davis High School was another big winner, as they secured five of the top six spots in the male and female sections to grab the team prize and the $70,000 prize money.
The 5K Run/Walk challenged most of the competitors, courtesy of the undulating nature of the course which boasted several hills to climb.
Dehaney started close to the front and took over the lead about halfway and never looked back. He crossed in 18 minutes and 39 seconds, ahead of Tyre Hopkins, who stopped the clock in at 19 minutes and five seconds, and Andrew Powell, who clocked 19 minutes and 27 seconds.
Hopkins and Powell hail from Alphansus Davis High.
"The first part was pretty hilly so even when I try to take it easy, it still took some energy out of me. (The route) it was tough. It did take some effort out of me, but it was a good run. I was hoping to be near to the front, but the first half is not what determines the winner, it is how you finish in the second half," Dehaney said.
On the female side, Williams, who won in a time of 22 minutes and 13 seconds, led a Alphansus Davis sweep, as her teammates Carlene Temple (22 minutes and 53 seconds), and Alikay Reynolds (23 miniutes and 57 seconds), were second and third.
Williams was delighted by her win.
"I love that this route was kind of very much long, and I am hoping that it will help to improve my time because that's what I came for, especially since I am running the 800 and 1500 metres. This is a really good training for my body and how to maintain my breathing and so forth," she shared.
The top three male walkers were Duwell Allen (27 minutes and 19 seconds), Kevoy Graham (29 minutes and 55 seconds), and Jowaine Williams (32 minutes), while the top three female walkers were Shinelle Jhagroo-Bryan (38 minutes and 20 seconds), Trudyann Peart (40 minutes and 36 seconds), and Dhavia Humpstead (40 minutes and 43 seconds).
Jasford Gabriel, principal of Manchester High School, who also walked the route, beamed about the success of the event.
"At Manchester High School, we deem ourselves as leaders in the education landscape and whatever we do we give it our all. So, this is significant in the context of what we want to do as a school in terms of building partnerships, creating opportunities for our students, and this will go a far way. The mayor was here, the custos was here, medical fraternity, civic community and many others, and so it's a great platform on which to build as we go forward," Gabriel said.
Gabriel gave credit to the many sponsors, who helped to ensure that the event was successful to assist the school's sports programmes.
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.
Defending champions Clarendon College and Glenmuir High are the first two teams to book their spots in the semi-finals of the 2023 ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup after quarterfinal round Group A wins over Manchester High and Christiana High, respectively, on Saturday.
Clarendon College moved to six points from as many games with a dominant 4-0 win over Manchester at Manchester High while Glenmuir are also perfect after two games after a 1-0 win over Christiana at Glenmuir.
The pair will meet on Tuesday at Manchester to determine the group winners. Manchester and Christiana will clash at Brooks Park in the other game.
In Group B, Dinthill Technical got their second win in as many games with a 3-0 win over Garvey Maceo at Ewarton Sports Complex.
In the day’s other game, B.B. Coke got on the board in the quarterfinal round with a 2-1 win over Cornwall College at Jarrett Park.
Dinthill Technical currently leads the group with six points from their two games with a goal difference of five while Garvey Maceo, despite their loss on Saturday, remains in second with three points and a goal difference of one.
B.B. Coke are third, also with three points and a goal difference of negative three, while Cornwall College are yet to get off the mark in fourth and have the same goal difference as B.B. Coke.
Tuesday’s final day of the quarterfinal round will see Dinthill face B.B. Coke at STETHS and Cornwall College battle Garvey Maceo at Glenmuir High.
Defending champions Clarendon College and last year’s semi-finalists Manchester High maintained their perfect win records in this season’s ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup with wins over Mile Gully High and first-time qualifiers Tacky High, respectively, to kick off the Round of 16 on Saturday.
Clarendon College are the early leaders in Group 1 on goal-difference after beating a stubborn Mile Gully High 2-0 at Glenmuir High for their 11th consecutive win of the season.
St Elizabeth Technical edged 10-man Cornwall College 3-2 at Jarrett Park in the day’s other Group 1 game.
Manchester High gave Tacky High a warm welcome to the Round of 16, beating them 4-1 in Group 2 and took their perfect run to 13 games.
The other Group 2 game saw Happy Grove suffer their first loss of the season, going down 2-4 to B.B. Coke after leading 2-1 at halftime.
Christiana High are the early leaders in Group 3 after a 3-2 win over William Knibb while Dinthill Technical and McGrath played out a goalless draw. Interestingly, Dinthill had already beaten McGrath twice this season.
In Group 4, a Demar Williams’ 20th minute goal was good enough for Frome Technical to beat Port Antonio High 1-0 at Carder Park while Garvey Maceo and Glenmuir played out a 1-1 draw.
Edwin Allen High and St. Elizabeth Technical will contest the final of the Ben Francis Cup Knockout after winning their respective semi-final fixtures on Tuesday.
The double-header at STETHS saw Edwin Allen secure a comfortable 4-0 victory over Manchester High in the opening fixture and the host school pulling out a 1-0 win over Frome Technical in the second.
The final will be played at STETHS on Friday, January 21.
The hosts will be looking to secure their seventh Ben Francis Cup while Edwin Allen will be seeking their first.
Kingston College is now the only team in schoolboy football this season to have a 100 per cent win record after beating Kingston Technical 3-0 for their second straight win as quarterfinal-round action in Manning Cup on Wednesday.
KC now leads Group 2 with six points from their two games.
Trailing Kingston College with three points from two games is Excelsior High School, which suffered a 2-1 defeat to Charlie Smith High that was getting their first win of the round.
Kingston Technical have yet to register a point after losing their first two games.
In Group 1 play on Tuesday, defending champions Jamaica College became the first team to advance to the semi-finals with a hard-fought 5-3 triumph over ST Andrew Technical High School (STATHS).
JC remains atop of the group with six points from their two games ahead of STATHS on three and Mona, also on three, after their crucial 2-0 win over St. Catherine High.
STATHS and Mona will do battle to see who joins JC in the semis.
Over in the DaCosta Cup, Dinthill Technical and Edwin Allen both got wins in Zone 1 action on Tuesday to set up a winner-take-all game to decide which of the two will advance to the semi-finals.
Dinthill defeated William Knibb 3-0 while Edwin Allen comfortably got by Christiana High 4-0 in a double-header at Manchester High.
Dinthill and Edwin Allen now both have six points from two matches with Dinthill currently ahead with a goal difference of 7 to 6 for Edwin Allen.
Mannings got their second win in Zone 2 with a 6-0 thrashing of Happy Grove at Drax Hall to remain atop the zone with six points from two games, two points ahead of Munro College, which outscored Vere Technical 4-3 and now have four points.
Happy Grove currently sits third with one point while Vere is fourth with none.
This is another scenario where the winner of the match between Mannings and Munro will advance to the semi-finals.
On Wednesday, Garvey Maceo and St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) played to a 2-2 draw at Kirkvine while Frome hammered St. Thomas Technical 9-2 at Drax Hall in Zone 3 action.
This was Garvey Maceo’s first draw this season after winning their first eight matches.
STETHS and Garvey Maceo both have four points after two games with STETHS leading the zone on goal-difference of five against two for Garvey Maceo.
Frome is third with three points and St. Thomas Technical are fourth with none.
STETHS will play Frome in their final match while Garvey Maceo will play St. Thomas Technical.
At Manchester High, Clarendon College got a 2-0 win over Manchester to get their second straight win in Zone 4 and move to six points.
The two teams that only got into the quarterfinal round of the Manning cup because Camperdown High and Tivoli Gardens were disqualified, won their opening matches of the Manning Cup quarter-finals.
Excelsior and STATHS had originally finished third and fourth in Group B of the Manning Cup preliminary round but advanced after Camperdown and Tivoli were disqualified from the tournament for using ineligible players.
STATHS won their Group 1 opener 4-1 over St. Catherine High on Friday while Excelsior High beat Kingston Technical 3-1 in their Group 2 opener on Saturday.
Jamaica College beat Mona High 2-0 in the other Group 1 match on Friday and Kingston College got by Charlie Smith 3-0 in the other Group 2 match on Saturday.
The quarter-final round of the DaCosta Cup also got underway on Saturday with Dinthill Technical blanking Christiana High 4-0. Meanwhile, Edwin Allen beat William Knibb 2-0 in the second Zone 1 game on the day.
Mannings were the only Zone 2 winners Saturday, beating Vere Technical 3-2.
Munro College, which have struggled for form played to a 1-1 draw with Happy Grove in the other Zone game on the day.
Munro entered that game on the back of two straight losses in their Zone C playoff games against Lacovia and B.B. Coke.
In Zone 3, Garvey Maceo continued their fantastic form this season by beating Frome 2-0 while STETHS easily got past St. Thomas Technical 6-1.
Elsewhere, defending champions Clarendon College and Manchester High got wins in Zone 4 action.
Clarendon College defeated Cornwall College 2-1 while Manchester High ran out 4-0 winners over McGrath High.
Quarterfinal action in both competitions resumes on Tuesday.
The sixteen teams to advance to the quarterfinal round of the DaCosta Cup were confirmed as zone play ended on Tuesday.
The teams will be divided into four groups of four.
Each team will play three matches and the winners of each group will advance to the semi-finals of the competition.
Group 1 will have William Knibb, Dinthill Technical, Christiana High and Edwin Allen.
Mannings, Happy Grove High, Munro College and Vere Technical make up Group 2.
Group 3 will see STETHS, Garvey Maceo, Frome Technical and St. Thomas Technical do battle while Group 4 is made up of Manchester High, Clarendon College, Cornwall College and McGrath High.
Quarterfinal round play in the DaCosta Cup kicks off on Saturday, December 11.
Charlie Smith defeated Calabar High 1-0 in game one of a group A doubleheader at Stadium East as ISSA Digicel Manning Cup action continued today.
Andre Gibbs got the goal for Charlie Smith in the fourth minute.
Charlie Smith now have three wins in five games and join group leaders, Kingston Technical, on nine points.
Jamaica College got their second win of the season in the second game of the doubleheader with a 6-0 thrashing of St. Georges College, who lost their second game in a row and are now in danger of missing out on qualification to the quarterfinals.
Captain, Duncan McKenzie, got a hat trick for JC with goals in the 11th, 25th, and 39th minutes with the other goals coming from Marlon Pennicooke in the 15th, Dwight Merrick in the 52nd, and Tarick Ximines in the 63rd minutes.
That win now moves JC to third in group A on seven points, one more point than St. Georges on fourth.
Kingston High and Bridgeport played out a 0-0 draw in the third group A game of the day at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.
In group C, Wolmer’s officially got their first points of the season with a 3-0 win over Clan Carthy at Jamaica College.
They originally won their first game against St. Mary’s College 13-0 but that result was deemed null and void after St. Mary’s College withdrew from the remainder of the competition.
They are now fourth in group C on 3 points with three matches left.
In daCosta Cup action, Garvey Maceo and Vere Technical officially booked their spots in the next round from zone F.
Garvey Maceo won five out of five for a perfect 15 points after beating Foga Road 3-1 at Foga Road in their 3:30 match.
Earlier, at Foga Road, Vere secured their spot in the next round with a 3-1 win over Kemps Hill.
Old Harbour beat Central High 3-1 in the other zone game at Garvey Maceo.
Garvey Maceo topped the zone with 15 points and will be joined in the next round by Vere who finished second with ten points.
In zone B, Mannings and Godfrey Stewart were both winners in a doubleheader at Llandilo.
Mannings got by Petersfield 2-0 in the 1:15 pm game, while Godfrey Stewart beat Green Island 3-0 in the 3:30 pm encounter.
Rusea’s beat Frome 1-0 at Wespow Park in the other zone game.
Mannings lead zone B with 10 points followed by Frome on nine with Petersfield third on seven.
Bellefield clipped Belair 1-0 at Manchester in zone D action.
A beatdown at Kirkvine saw Manchester High put 12 past Alston while conceding none in their 3:30 pm fixture.
Manchester now leads zone B with 10 points and are still yet to concede a goal in the group stage.
Christiana are second in the zone, also with 10 points while Bellefield are third with eight.
In the lone zone H match of the day, Brown’s Town beat St. Mary High 7-0.
In the first game of a zone C doubleheader at STETHS, B.B. Coke secured a 2-1 victory over Lacovia.
Danyea Whitely scored both goals for B.B. Coke, the first coming off a brilliant team move just before halftime, in the 46th minute, and the second coming from a close range left-footed strike in the 76th minute.
B.B. Coke have now scored 22 goals in three games while conceding just one and lead zone C with seven points.
B.B. Coke head coach Kirk Ricketts is looking for consistency from the team after getting to the top of the zone.
“To remain consistent, we are not leading by ten points so we must be consistent and take it one game at a time,” he says.
The second half of the doubleheader saw Munro College defeat STETHS 2-1 with goals from Ceon Falconer in the 54th minute and Xavier Bruce in the 74th minute.
Donte Campbell scored a penalty for STETHS in the 83rd minute.
The win moves Munro up to third in the zone behind B.B Coke and Lacovia with six points while STETHS now sit fourth on four points.
Zone B leaders, Mannings, were held to a 2-2 draw by Rusea’s at Green Pond and now have seven points from three matches.
Frome Technical moved to third in the zone behind Mannings, and Petersfield, with six points, after a 3-1 win over Godfrey Stewart in their 3:30 game at Llandilo.
At Wespow Park, Green Island beat Green Pond 2-1 to get their first points of the season.
In Zone D action, leaders Christiana were held to a 1-1 draw by Bellefield at Kirkvine in their 3:30 encounter.
Elsewhere, Belair secured a 2-1 over Alston in the first match of a doubleheader at Manchester High to move into fourth in the zone.
Manchester moved to second in the zone by securing the biggest win of the day in the competition, a 7-0 demolition of DeCarteret College in the second game.
Christiana leads zone D with seven points followed by Manchester, Holmwood, and Belair with four points each.
In a zone F doubleheader at Foga Road, Vere Technical and Foga Road both secured 1-0 victories over Old Harbour and Central High respectively.
Garvey Maceo secured a 3-0 win over Kemps Hill at home in the other zone F game on the day.
Garvey Maceo leads zone F with nine points from three matches, followed by Foga Road on six and Central High on four.
Dinthill Technical defeated McGrath 4-0 at home to move to seven points and remain at the top of zone H.
Ocho Rios moved to second in the zone on five points after a 6-0 win over St. Mary High in the second match of a doubleheader at Drax Hall. Charlemont beat Brown’s Town 1-0 in the first match and moved to third in the zone, also on five points.
Manning Cup
Moving over to Manning Cup action, the first match of the group A doubleheader at Jamaica College saw Kingston Technical, who beat JC 1-0 in their last game in a shock result, produce another solid display to brush aside Kingston High 5-0 and move to the top of the group with six points from three games.
Jamaica College used goals from Giovanni Mitto and Duncan McKenzie to beat Charlie Smith 2-0 for their first win of the season in the second match of the doubleheader.
JC remain fifth in the group with four points from three games.
Elsewhere in group A, St. Georges College got their second win is as many games with a 1-0 win over Bridgeport at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to move to second.
Charlie Smith sits third on six points and Calabar are fourth on four points.
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