Jamaican World under-20 400m record holder Roshawn Clarke is pleased after securing his first win on the Diamond League circuit in Zurich on Thursday.

The former Camperdown High star produced a fast 47.49 to take the win ahead of Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba (47.58) and Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (48.02).

Thursday was Clarke’s fourth Diamond League appearance. He made his debut on the circuit at last year’s edition of the Zurich Diamond League on August 31, 2023.

“It means a lot because I came out here trying to get myself into the Diamond League final so I was trying to rack up as much points as possible and I came out with the win,” he said in a post-race interview with Citius Mag.

“I’m very pleased with my first Diamond League win and it came in Zurich. What better place?”

The 20-year-old was a finalist at the Olympic Games in Paris but unfortunately failed to finish after clipping the eighth then smashing into the ninth hurdle while in a battle with Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos for the bronze medal.

Clarke spoke about using that disappointment as motivation to finish out the season on a strong note.

“Strong-minded. I had disappointment in Paris and that has kept me pushing to make myself even better,” he said.

“I want to come back stronger. I did not finish in the final at the Olympics so I use that as motivation to keep my season going,” he added.

Speaking of finishing out the season strong, Clarke’s winning time on Thursday is the second fastest time of his young career, bettered only by his national record and world junior record 47.34 which he ran in the semi-finals at the World Championships in Budapest last year.

Running a time that fast at this stage of the season on the back of that disappointment in Paris is a sign of Clarke’s mental fortitude that should see him being a medal threat in the event for a long time.

Clarke’s mind will now shift to the Diamond League final in Brussels from September 13 to 14.

“My goal is to go out there, run my race, run as best as possible and try to come out with a personal best in my last race for the season,” he said.

Olympic finalists Roshawn Clarke and Shiann Salmon both produced their best performances of the season in winning efforts at the Zurich Diamond League on Friday.

Clarke, who was a DNF in the Olympic final in Paris last month, ran a season’s best 47.49 to win in a stacked men’s 400m hurdles ahead of Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba (47.58) and Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (48.02).

Salmon, sixth place in the final in Paris, dipped below 53 seconds for the first time in her career with an excellent personal best 52.97 to win ahead of Olympic silver medallist Anna Cockrell (53.17) and Shamier Little (54.07).

Also, among the winners on Friday was Olympic silver medallist Wayne Pinnock who produced a best jump of 8.17m to take top spot over rival and Olympic and World champion Miltiadis Tentoglu (8.02m) and Simon Ehammer (7.98m).

Two-time World Champion and Olympic bronze medallist Anderson Peters threw 85.72m to take the win in the men’s javelin ahead of Germany’s Julian Weber (85.33m) and Japan’s Roderick Genki Dean (82.69m).

In a much-anticipated Olympic final rematch in the women’s 100m, American Sha’Carri Richardson (10.84) this time secured victory over St. Lucian Olympic champion Julien Alfred (10.88) and British 2019 World 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith (10.89).

Puerto Rican Olympic bronze medallist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ran 12.36 to win the women's 100m hurdles ahead of Cyrena Samba-Mayela (12.40) and Olympic champion Masai Russell (12.47).

2021 Olympic champion Hansle Parchment ran a season’s best 13.18 for fourth in the men’s 110m hurdles won by Olympic champion Grant Holloway in 12.99. Sasha Zhoya took second in a personal best 13.10 while Freddie Crittenden ran 13.15 in third.

Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic ran a respectable 19.87 for fifth in the men’s 200m. Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo took the win in a fast 19.55, just ahead of American Kenny Bednarek (19.57). Erriyon Knighton ran 19.79 in third while Fred Kerley ran 19.81 in fourth.

The next stop on the Diamond League circuit will be the Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 13 and 14.

Head coach of the Jamaica Men’s National Football Team, commonly referred to as the “Reggae Boyz,” Steve McClaren, spoke glowingly of his squad’s energy and enthusiasm ahead of their 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League opener against Cuba at the National Stadium in Kingston on Friday.

McClaren, who was most recently part of Manchester United as a first team coach, was hired by Jamaica in July to replace Heimir Hallgrimsson, who has since taken up the role as manager of the Republic of Ireland.

The 63-year-old former Newcastle United and FC Twente coach will open his stint as manager of a Reggae Boyz unit who finished third in last season’s Nations League under Hallgrimsson, their best ever finish in the competition.

“Looking forward to it,” McClaren said in a pre-match press conference on Thursday.

“It’s been a long build-up since I first came over to Jamaica,” he added.

One thing that McClaren spoke glowingly of about his players is the energy and spirit he’s seen amongst the group ahead of Friday’s game, an important factor in any winning unit.

“It was nice to get into camp, meet the players, get on the grass and lose my voice from shouting too much. It’s been great. From the first day the players came in, it’s been great energy and spirit amongst them. They’ve shown that on the training field and we need to transfer what we’ve done this week onto the field tomorrow to get a result against Cuba,” he said.

Ahead of his first game in charge of the Reggae Boyz at home, McClaren, despite his 23 years of managerial experience, is feeling the nerves as is customary with anyone starting a new job in any profession.

“Always. I like that. It means you’re ready for the game. That’s what football is all about, doesn’t matter what level. When you play, you don’t quite know what’s going to happen. It’s football,” he said.

“We can control the controllable which we’ve tried to do. We just have to keep things simple. I’m going to concentrate tomorrow on the performance. If we get the performance from the players, normally you get the win,” he added.

When questioned about the style of coaching fans can expect to see from him going forward, apart from jokingly saying a “winning” coach, McClaren emphasized a focus on the basics and building on what has been done over the last two years.

“I’m quite a flexible, adaptable coach. I like the fundamentals. I like the basics. I like people knowing and doing their jobs, working hard, having a good attitude and being hard to beat. I think that’s the platform of all performances,” he said.

“If you’re easy to beat, too stretched and can’t defend, you don’t win football matches. That is what the team have developed over the last two years and I like that. It gives us a platform. We need to build from that platform now,” he added.

From September 6 to September 8, Jamaica’s top table tennis players will descend upon the National Indoor Sports Center in Kingston for the 2024 Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA) National Senior and Junior Table Tennis Championships.

In what promises to be an unforgettable weekend of table tennis excitement, players will be competing in categories ranging from Under-9 Girls and Boys all the way up to the Men’s and Women’s Open categories.

“This will be the largest participation in over 20 years,” according to JTTA President Ingrid Graham.

She also noted that this will be the largest number of participants ever in both the Men’s Open and Under-19 sections.

These championships will also see Jamaican citizens overseas coming to the island to compete for the top spot in their respective categories.

“We have over 10 Jamaican citizens living in London, Canada and the USA coming over to participate,” Graham said.

Sponsors for the championships include OSIL, Western Sports, Graham International Consulting, SDF, JOA, Insport, Virginia Deer, Mother’s, Altamont Court Hotel, Auto Channel, Jamaica Post and GEWO Jamaica.

Doors open at 9:00 am Jamaica Time each day.

For the first time since the 2022 season, Deandra Dottin will be a part of Australia’s Women’s Big Bash League after being selected by the Melbourne Renegades in the player draft on Sunday.

The Renegades will be the fourth WBBL franchise Dottin has represented in her career after previous stints with the Perth Scorchers, Brisbane Heat and Adelaide Strikers.

Dottin, who was recently selected in the West Indies squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup set for October 3-20 in the UAE, will be reunited with Windies teammate Hayley Matthews with the Melbourne-based franchise.

Matthews will be looking to rebound from a tough 2023 season with the bat for the Renegades by her standards where she scored 255 runs in 14 innings at an average of 19.61 with no fifties and a highest score of 46.

She was better with the ball, taking 14 wickets at an average of 27.64.

The 2024 WBBL will run from October 26 to November 30.

The Renegades will play their first game against the Sydney Sixers on October 27 at the Adelaide Oval.

West Indians Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford were among a number of players selected by various franchises in the player draft for the 2024-25 edition of Australia’s premier T20 showcase, the Big Bash League, on Sunday.

Hope, picked in the BBL draft for the first time, will represent the Hobart Hurricanes.

He was their pick in the platinum category, with the influence of head coach Ricky Ponting, who was Hope’s coach at the Delhi Capitals in the 2024 IPL.

Rutherford, who will also be experiencing the Big Bash for the first time, was selected by the Sydney Thunder in the silver category.

All-rounder Fabian Allen was snapped up in the silver category by the Adelaide Strikers while Akeal Hosein, who took 15 wickets in 10 games for the Melbourne Renegades last season, will be representing the Sydney Sixers this time around as one of their pre-draft signings.

Barbados-born England all-rounder Jacob Bethell is also set for his first BBL stint after being selected by the Melbourne Renegades.

The 2024-25 Big Bash League will run from December 15 to January 26.

Saturday’s final day of the 2024 World Athletics Under-20 Championships was a productive one for Jamaica in the 4x100m relay as both the female and male quartets claimed gold medals.

The women combined to run a season’s best 43.39 to win gold ahead of Switzerland (44.06) and Canada (44.60).

200m bronze medallist Shanoya Douglas ran the first leg before handing off to Alliah Baker. Baker ran a solid leg before handing off to Briana Campbell who then gave the baton to individual 100m champion Alana Reid who then brought it home.

The men’s race was as exciting as they come with Deandre Daley producing a brilliant anchor leg to secure gold for Jamaica in 39.18 ahead of Great Britain (39.20) and Thailand (39.39).

Jamaica were on the back foot early after the opening leg from Jace Witter before the second and third legs from Gary Card and Nyrone Wade, respectively, meant that Daley got the baton in fourth and in striking distance of the top three.

Similar to what he did at the 2023 Carifta Games in Nassau, Daley then produced an excellent anchor leg comeback to secure the gold for Jamaica.

Elsewhere, Jamaica’s Shaiquan Dunn threw 59.79m for seventh in the final of the men’s discus. The USA’s Bryce Ruland took gold with a personal best 62.59m ahead of The Netherlands’ Jarno Van Daalen (62.22m) and Finland’s Mico Lampinen (62.20).

The USVI’s Michelle Smith narrowly missed out on a medal in the women’s 400m hurdles final, finishing fourth in 57.21. France’s Meta Tumba took gold in a national under-20 record 55.59. Poland’s Wiktoria Gadajska ran a national under-20 record 56.87 in second while South Africa’s Hannah Van Niekerk was third in a personal best 56.98.

The Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) trophy will once again reside in Barbados as the Royals won their second consecutive title with a four-wicket win over the Trinbago Knight Riders in the final at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Thursday.

After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, the Royals bowlers made use of some good conditions with the early wickets of TKR captain Deandra Dottin for six and ace Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues for two.

With the loss of their two premier batters, the Knight Riders never recovered, eventually crawling to 93-8 from their 20 overs.

Shikha Pandey (28) and Jannilea Glasgow (24) were the main contributors with the bat as Aaliyah Alleyne bowled beautifully on her way to 4-21 from her four overs.

Captain Hayley Matthews took 2-13 from her four overs in support.

The Royals then made tough work of what should’ve been an easy chase, eventually reaching 94-6 with five overs to spare.

Chamari Athapaththu led the way with a patient 39* off 47 balls including seven fours.

The Royals were, at one point, cruising at 66-1 in the 11^th over before losing five wickets for just 19 runs before Athapaththu and Afy Fletcher brought them over the line.

16-year-old Samara Ramnath bowled well for the Knight Riders with 2-18 from her four overs.

Jamaica’s Malone Bird made it all the way to the round of 16 in the Boys U-11 Singles category at the Pan American U-11 and U-13 Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic last week.

Bird, after getting through the preliminary group phase, made it through to the round of 16 thanks to a straight-sets win over Puerto Rico’s Caleb Portalatino (11-6, 11-6, 11-9).

His tournament than came to an end after suffering a straight-sets loss (11-6, 11-5, 11-6) at the hands of Brazil’s Joao Ribeiro who went on to lose in the quarterfinals.

The whole thing was won by the USA’s Chirag Pradhan who defeated his countryman Jacob Kordus by three sets to two.

Jamaica also failed to advance from the first round of the U-11 Boys’ doubles as Malone and Shacoil Bird lost in straight-sets to Argentina 11-7, 11-6, 13-11.

President of the Jamaica Table Tennis Association, Ingrid Graham, expressed joy at the performance of the brothers at the tournament.

“Win or lose, they are young and this is priceless exposure for the future. Very close matches and they are right there,” she said.

She also expressed gratitude to a number of sponsors that made it possible for the boys to represent the country in the Dominican Republic.

“We would like to express thanks to the SDF, JOA, OSIL, Sterling Travel, Friends of Table Tennis, Growth Sport and Western Sports for their support to make this possible for these young men to attend these games,” she said.

Defending champion Kerrica Hill was the fastest woman through to the semi-finals of the Women’s 100m hurdles on day three of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru on Thursday.

The 19-year-old, who has raced sparingly this season, produced a comfortable 13.18 to win the first of eight heats on Thursday morning.

Joining her in the semis will be Barbados’ Maya Alexis Rollins and Jamaica’s Habiba Harris who ran 13.71 and 13.74 to finish fourth and second in heats eight and seven, respectively.

The Men’s sprint hurdles saw Jamaicans Richard Hall and Daniel Beckford both advance to the semi-finals.

Hall was the tenth-fastest qualifier overall after running 13.58 to win the third heat while Beckford advanced in a non-automatic spot after running 13.74 for fourth in heat one.

Elsewhere, 100m silver medallist Adaejah Hodge was the fastest through to the 200m semi-finals after winning her heat in 23.19.

Jamaica’s Shanoya Douglas and Sabrina Dockery also advanced to the semis scheduled for later on Thursday.

Douglas ran 23.51 to comfortably win her heat while Dockery ran 23.80 for second in hers.

In the Men’s equivalent, Guyana’s Jackson Clarke won heat two in 21.37 to advance while Bahamian Carlos Brown Jr finished second in heat six in 21.31 to get through.

Barbados’ Aragon Straker (21.23) and Jamaica’s Romario Hines (21.35) both advanced as non-automatic qualifiers.

Hosts West Indies secured a 3-0 series sweep over visiting South Africa with an eight-wicket victory in a rain-affected third T20 International at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba on Tuesday.

In the match that was shortened to 13 overs per side, the West Indians restricted to South Africa to 108-4 from their 13 overs thanks to an excellent 2-14 from two overs for man-of-the-match Romario Shepherd.

Tristan Stubbs was the main scorer for South Africa with 40 from 15 balls including five fours and three sixes while Ryan Rickelton made 27 off 24 balls at the top of the innings.

Chasing a revised target of 116 in their 13 overs, the hosts made light work of it, using only 9.2 overs to secure the win and the series sweep.

Man-of-the-series Shai Hope led the way with 42* off 24 balls while Nicholas Pooran continued the excellent form he’s shown in the last few months all over the world with 35 off just 13 balls including two fours and four sixes.

Shimron Hetmyer also looked good for his 31* off 17 balls.

Two of the medal favorites in the Women’s 100m at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in Lima, Peru, Jamaica’s Alana Reid and BVI’s Adaejah Hodge, both successfully advanced from the heats on Tuesday’s opening day of the youth track and field showcase.

Hodge was first up, competing in the first heat alongside Caribbean counterpart Kishawna Niles from Barbados.

As expected, Hodge cruised to 11.45, the fastest time in the heats, to win ahead of Niles who will also be in the semifinals after running 11.63 in second.

Reid, Jamaica’s national junior 100m record holder, was up next in the third heat.

The former Hydel High standout, who represented her country in the Women’s 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympics recently, ran a comfortable 11.46 to win her heat.

Dominican Republic’s Liranyi Alonso (11.77) and Puerto Rico’s Frances Colon (11.83) also booked spots in the semi-finals.

On the Men’s side, Jamaica’s Gary Card and Deandre Daley secured safe passage through to the semifinals.

Card, who has a personal and season’s best of 10.07 which he did to defeat Daley at the JAAA National Junior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston in June, eased to a time of 10.40 to win the fifth heat.

Daley, a 10.08 performer at his best, recovered from a stumble at the start of his race to cruise home in 10.37 to win heat six.

Bahamian Carlos Brown Jr (10.48) also made it through to the semis scheduled for later on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Jamaica’s quartet of Demarco Bennett, Nastassia Fletcher, Marcinho Rose and Alliah Baker advanced to the final of the Mixed 4x400m relay with a time of 3:24.77 to finish second in their heat behind Germany who won in 3:24.10.

In the field, Jamaica’s Shaiquan Dunn threw 19.53m to advance to the final of the Men’s shot put.

In the triple jump, Jamaica’s Chavez Penn barely booked a spot in the final, jumping 15.32m to take the twelfth and final spot, finishing just two centimeters ahead of Colombia’s Santiago Theran.

Trinidad & Tobago's Janae De Gannes produced 6.03m to advance to the final of the women's long jump.

Dominican Olympic triple jump champion Thea LaFond-Gadson will receive her country’s highest national award, the Dominica Award for Honour, Dominican Prime Minister the hon. Roosevelt Skerrit announced on Tuesday.

LaFond-Gadson made history at the Paris Olympics in August, jumping a personal best and national record 15.02m to claim her country’s first ever Olympic medal.

This performance was the culmination of a brilliant 2024 for the 30-year-old when it comes to major championships.

She also took gold at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March, her country’s first medal at a global championship.

In addition to her national award, LaFond-Gadson will also receive $400,000, a lot at Warner and a diplomatic appointment as a sports ambassador.

“We once again congratulate Thea on her achievement and wish her continued success in her athletics career,” Skerrit said.

Newly crowned Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo has his sights set on Usain Bolt’s 200m world record in the near future.

Bolt, who retired in 2017, has now held the title as the fastest man ever over 200m for 15 years thanks to his otherworldly 19.19 done to win gold at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

The 21-year-old Botswanan ran a personal best and African record 19.46 to claim his first Olympic title recently in Paris.

Tebogo’s time is the ninth fastest in history and makes him the fifth fastest man ever over the distance.

Most recently, Tebogo cruised to an impressive 19.64 to take the win at the Lausanne Diamond League on Thursday.

In an interview with The Inside Lane after Thursday’s race, Tebogo was asked about Bolt’s world record.

“I see it but I don’t want to put myself under that pressure. If it comes it will come eventually,” he said.

In terms of a timeline, Tebogo said the ideal time to try and go after it would be in about three or four years.

“We don’t have to push it this year or next year. Probably when we are 24, that’s when we could attempt something like that,” he said.

“I don’t think it will take long. Looking at what I did today and what I did in the 200m final in Paris, I don’t think it will take that long because I could see it. It’s about 10 metres away from me,” he added.

Tebogo’s next race will be at the Silesia Diamond League on Sunday.

Jamaica’s Malone Bird successfully made it through to the second stage of the Boys’ U11 Singles competition at the Pan American Under 11 and Under 13 Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

Bird made it through the group phase after securing one win and one loss in his two matches on Wednesday.

After suffering a straight-set loss at the hands of Canada’s Daniel Liang (11-4, 11-9, 11-7) in his first game, he rebounded with a four-set win over Guatemala’s Omar Ixcaragua.

Bird won the first two sets 11-7 and 11-8 before Ixcaragua tried to mount a comeback with an 11-4 third set victory before the Jamaican shut the door with an 11-6 win in the fourth set.

Unfortunately, the second half of the Bird brothers, Shacoil, didn’t have the same success and failed to advance to the next phase after suffering a pair of straight set losses to Brazil’s Joao Ribeiro (11-7, 11-3, 11-7) and Ecuador’s Juan Gonzalez (11-9, 11-6, 11-1).

The draw for the second phase of the singles will be held on Friday. The Bird brothers will also take on Argentina in doubles on Friday.