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Offline Socapro

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Meanwhile in Jamaica T&F News Thread!
« on: April 03, 2014, 12:02:40 PM »
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140403/sports/sports6.html

'Franno' Pleased With MVP Transition
Published: Thursday | April 3, 2014 (Jamaica Gleaner)

After losing track 'senators' such as Asafa Powell, Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Melaine Walker, Michael Frater and Sherone Simpson, head coach Stephen 'Franno' Francis admitted that the MVP Track Club is at a transitional stage, but assured that the University of Technology-based outfit will continue to produce world-class talent.


Despite a number of their biggest crowd pullers walking through the gates for one reason or the other, the gloss has remained at the club for the most part, with world-beater Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Kaliese Spencer, Nesta Carter and hotshot quarter-miler Stephenie-Ann McPherson still on the cards.

Francis conceded the impact of the departures but assured that the club will continue its tradition of building star athletes.

STILL BUILDING

"Even though we have suffered some losses of people who were well known, I think that we have been able to build," said Francis. "Here we are fortunate because we have been able to build athletes from what sometimes isn't thought to be good material, and that, plus the fact that we continue to get kids that people think are talented, ensures that we will have good representation for Jamaica and others as the years go by."

World Championships 4x100m relay gold medallist Carrie Russell, now fully recovered World Junior Championships 200m finalist Julian Forte and former Vere Technical standout Shericka Jackson are among the athletes who are expected to have a serious impact on the sport in the coming years.

"I am very excited about the current kids we have here, but I think there are probably about seven people who will become world class this year. Some are close and others are coming from further back, but it's a very good mixture and I think over the next two years (they will start excelling)," Francis noted.

IRREPLACEABLE STARS

"It's difficult to replace a Melaine Walker or a Brigitte Foster-Hylton or Asafa Powell, but I think we will have people who will be as competitive as they are and will have chances to win medals at the World Championships next year, the Commonwealth Games (this year), Olympics (2016) and the World Championships after that (in 2017)," Francis added before commenting on Forte's improvements since pulling up at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, Spain, with a commanding lead in the 200m final.

"So far, so good. Like most high school athletes, you have to be very careful when they come out of high school because there is a different emphasis in the preparation and if they continue in the same way, they will have long-term damage. You expect to have hiccups in the first few years, but I think this year he (Forte) is going to perform very well," said Francis.

"The signs are very good and I think he has overcome that (Barcelona injury) a long time ago and is now looking forward to the future and what that will hold for him," said Francis.

Twenty year-old Forte has personal best times of 10.12 (100m) and 20.38 (200m). He did, however, run 9.98 seconds in a 100m in Sweden last year but was helped by an illegal +3.0 wind factor.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2014, 12:10:30 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline willi

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Re: Meanwhile in Jamaica T&F News Thread!
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2014, 10:43:39 AM »
Its hard to be a pure sprinter in Jamaica now. 3 Oly spots and Blake and Bolt sew up 2. Thank God for W. Champs

Then you have Asafa/Carter/Forte/Jason Young/Warren Weir/ Livermore/Murphy/Skeene/Dexter Lee/Lerone Clarke/Ashmeade/Roach/the yute Franno lost to Braumann in the US last year...Jacques harvey/Bailey-Cole/ 2 or 3 more from Akan Track club/Todd/ Forsythe/and I am sure I miss a few.

Offline Socapro

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Re: Meanwhile in Jamaica T&F News Thread!
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2014, 03:28:31 PM »
Its hard to be a pure sprinter in Jamaica now. 3 Oly spots and Blake and Bolt sew up 2. Thank God for W. Champs

Then you have Asafa/Carter/Forte/Jason Young/Warren Weir/ Livermore/Murphy/Skeene/Dexter Lee/Lerone Clarke/Ashmeade/Roach/the yute Franno lost to Braumann in the US last year...Jacques harvey/Bailey-Cole/ 2 or 3 more from Akan Track club/Todd/ Forsythe/and I am sure I miss a few.
And even when Bolt and Blake retire it is not going to get much easier to make the Olympic team.
You guys are loaded in the sprints right now and for the foreseeable future.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Socapro

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Re: Meanwhile in Jamaica T&F News Thread!
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2014, 04:00:54 PM »
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/-Super-Donkey--Francis-sets--Bar--yet-higher_16401294

'Super Donkey' Francis sets 'Bar' yet higher
By Howard Walker Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, April 04, 2014


Not many people have the distinction of breaking a Usain Bolt record, so when Javon 'Donkey Man' Francis stopped the clock at 44.96 seconds, the packed National Stadium was abuzz with excitement and disbelief.

Seconds later, the display clock just beyond the finish line updated the official time to 45.00 seconds. History had been created. Francis had just broken Bolt's 11-year-old record of 45.35 seconds, done in 2003.

There was applause, jovial high-fives, hugs; some people were just staring in disbelief; others were just happy to share in this historic moment.

Francis, the man of the moment, immediately went to the ground and proceeded to do a few hand-press exercises. He was imitating Bolt, who had done the same exercise after landing gold in the 200m final at the London Olympic Games.

"I just wanted to give God thanks that I went out there and did my best. You have people from all over who come to Champs to watch me run and I give God thanks that I broke that record," said the lion-hearted, soft-spoken Francis.

Francis, who turned 19 years old in December, had won the RJR Sport Foundation's People's Choice Performance of the Year Award in January for his amazing anchor leg in the 4x400m relay at the 2013 Moscow World Championships. The then 18-year-old propelled Jamaica from fifth to second with an astonishing 44.00-second relay split to win the hearts of the Jamaican populace.

With that run under his belt, he opened his 2014 season with an impressive 45.95-second run at the Youngster Goldsmith Meet in February, and the reality of breaking Bolt's Class One 400m record looked a mere formality.

But with that record under his belt, 'Donkey Man' or 'Super Donkey' as he called himself after his Moscow exploits, wanted to leave Champs in further glory with a 200m victory, and even erasing Bolt's other record of 20.25 seconds.

However, that was not to be and after trailing winner Jevaughn Minzie close to the line, Francis eased up with an apparent injury.

For a fleeting moment, it was as if the hearts of everyone inside the National Stadium and those in TV land had stopped, as they took their eyes off the winner and focused on Francis limping across the finish line in eighth spot. Jamaica's precocious quarter-miler was injured, and the question was how badly.

"It's not really serious, it's just a cramp, pretty soon I will get over it," Francis told the Jamaica Observer at the school's devotion on Monday morning.

"I am going back to the drawing board, train hard because I want to make that trip to the Bahamas for the World Relays," he explained.

Francis, who was winning the 400m for the third consecutive year, was just happy he finally got the record, and more importantly, contributing again to Calabar High's winning their third consecutive title and 24th overall.

"My last year at Champs, I feel so happy about it. We won Champs and a lot of persons expected us to come second or third, after we didn't get any points on the first day. The first points we got was from the throw Basil Bingham gave us. We decided we were going to dig hard and defend our title," he noted.

Like previous Champs stars before him, a lot is expected of the fearless competitor. Many have faltered along the way, but there is something special about this youngster that suggests that he's destined for the very top. The Utmost for the Highest, as his school motto reads.

Javon Francis reacts in astonishment after seeing the 44.96-second flashtime at the end of the Class One 400m final last Saturday. The time was eventually rounded up to 45 seconds. At right is St Jago's Nathan Allen, who clocked 46.16 seconds.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Socapro

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Fraser-Pryce Is The Greatest - Francis
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2014, 12:10:37 PM »
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140407/sports/sports1.html

Fraser-Pryce Is The Greatest - Francis
Published: Monday | April 7, 2014 (Jamaica Gleaner)


Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the greatest female championships sprinter on the planet.   That is the assessment of her coach Stephen Francis, who also took time to laud her ability to stay at the top of her game since she broke on the scene in 2008.

Three gold medals at last year's IAAF World Championships in Moscow, first woman to hold 100m, 200m and 60m world titles simultaneously, IAAF World Female Athlete of the Year, fastest Jamaican in the 100m in history, Diamond League winner.

Still, for Francis - the man who has led her development, Jamaica's sprinting darling is already the best when it comes to showing up when it matters most.

Some way off Florence Griffith-Joyner's 10.49 seconds 100m world record, Francis also feels that his charge, who has personal best times of 10.70 seconds (100m) and 22.09 (200m) - has not had the best of luck with wind speed and her time, but that she will get closer.

BACK-TO-BACK OLYMPIC TITLES

"I don't think there is any question that where championships are concerned, that she (Fraser-Pryce) is certainly the greatest female sprinter in the world in history, certainly in the 100m," said Francis. "No other woman has done what she has done."

What she has done is to win back-to-back Olympic 100m titles - a feat first accomplished by Wyomia Tyus and matched by Gail Devers; two of the last three World Championships 100m titles - while adding the 200m gold last year in Moscow. She also added a 200m silver medal to her name at the 2012 Olympic Games at her first bite at the event at a major championships.

"She's been unlucky with wind; she's never had races with +1.5 or +1.9 and certainly no races with +5 that ends up at +0.0 so that she can run 10.49 or whatever," Francis added in a cheeky reference to the current 100m word record. "If she gets lucky (with wind), super times will come with it."

"What Shelly has done which has pleased me most; she has mastered the trick of staying good. I tell them all the time that it's far easier to get good than to stay good. And a lot of natural factors, which mitigate against you staying at number one, there are a lot of things that push you down, but I think she managed to conquer those things and has herself focused and developed a mindset that keeps her where she is. She does everything that she used to do to an even greater extent," Francis said.

"If she can keep it up then I don't know how much limit she has. She is always willing to work, willing to do what needs to be done. She is not very concerned about enjoying the fruits of her success as opposed to making sure that she continues to be successful," Francis' analysis continued.

The coach believes that the athlete will seal her spot as the greatest female sprinter with a third consecutive Olympic 100m gold and her first 200m Olympic gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

"I think the most pressing thing for her is to be the first woman to win three (Olympic) gold medals in the 100m, secondly to see if she can run the double in Brazil - that would be a big goal for her. So I think over the next couple of years, we will do all work required to reach that goal and we'll see what happens," said Francis.

De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Socapro

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Hurdler Cato Clocks World Lead
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2014, 12:17:04 PM »
Looks like Jehue may have some Jamaican competition this year?!  ;)

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140407/sports/sports8.html

Cato Clocks World Lead
Published: Monday | April 7, 2014
Raymond Graham, Gleaner Writer


JAMAICAN athletes living overseas enjoyed good results over the weekend as several of them scored solid wins with Olympian Roxroy Cato leading the way with a world leading time on Saturday.

Cato representing St Augustine College at the Florida Relays in Gainsville, Florida captured the men's 400 metres hurdles in 48.67 seconds.

The Bahamas' Jeffrey Gibson competing for the George Williams Express Track Club was second in the event in 48.95 seconds with Eric Alejandro, competing for Mizuno finishing third in 49.12 seconds.

At the same meet, there was a top three finish for former St Jago hurdler, Yanique Haye-Smith.

Competing for the George Williams Express Track Club , Haye-Smith clocked 57.71 seconds for third in the women's 400 metres hurdles, as the event was won by Kendra Harrison from the University of Kentucky in 56.60 seconds.

Harrison's time is the third-fastest time in the world so far, behind World leader, Rushell Clayton (56.41) seconds of the University of West Indies and Janieve Russell of the University of Technology, who were one-two in the event over the weekend at the Inter-Collegiate Track and Field Championships.

There were three wins for Jamaicans at the Crimson Tide Invitational Meet in Alabama on Saturday.

Fresh off her NCAA indoor 60 metres triumph, former Herbert Morrison Technical athlete Ramona Burchell, competing for the University of Alabama, started her outdoor campaign on a successful note after winning the women's 100 metres in 11.42 seconds.

Her teammate, Yanique Malcolm, formerly of St Jago High was also successful after winning the women's 800 metres in 2:06.83.

On the male side there was a win for former Wolmer's Boys' jumper Kamal Fuller. A senior at the University of Alabama, Fuller captured the men's long jump with a leap of 7.61metres.

World Championships represen-tative Natoya Goule was a winner at the Auburn Tiger Classics as she won the women's 400 metres in 52.85 seconds. At the same meet, former Convent of Mercy, Alpha hurdler Danielle Williams picked up two second-place finishes. Competing for the Lennox Graham - coached Division II Johnson C Smith University, Williams clocked 11.52 seconds in the women's 100 metres before returning to stop the clock at 13.35 seconds. Her teammate, Samantha Elliot, formerly of Immaculate Conception High was third in 13.46 seconds.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2014, 12:18:35 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Socapro

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Re: Meanwhile in Jamaica T&F News Thread!
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2014, 08:35:25 PM »
http://spikes.iaaf.org/post/warren-weir-training-with-the-gods-jamaica

TRAINING WITH THE GODS
10 APR 2014 Sports Forever


We knew it wouldn't be long before the cult of Warren Weir spread beyond Jamaica. And this month, his cheeky face will adorn the cover of UK magazine Forever Sports. In an exclusive extract for SPIKES, Weir talks Racers Track Club, big brother Bolt, and the importance of Coach Mills.

Jamaica’s Racers Track Club is the Hogwarts of sprinting. Those who attend arrive as talented runners and more often than not, go on to perform magic.

The school’s most famous student is Usain Bolt: the fastest man who has ever lived. Weir is working his way through the grades. He describes schooling with the two fastest men on the planet as “training with the gods of track and field”.

“When you’re training with the best, every day is a learning lesson. No matter how much you think you know there’s always room for improvement out there.”

The team are based at the Usain Bolt Track at the University of West Indies, set among lush green mountains. Boards around the track read: ‘training ground for legends’.

he coach in charge at Racers Track Club is Glen Mills.

“Coach Mills is not just a coach,” says Weir. “He’s a father figure to us, he’s a friend to us, and he’s a brother to us. He plays a dominant role in our lives. We believe in Coach Mills. He knows his stuff. Trust me.”

It was Coach Mills who sat down with him in 2011 to discuss the future. Weir was originally a sprint-hurdler, but after a stress fracture in 2010, he noticed he was getting pain in his knees. It was decided that he should stop hurdling and try the 200m.

“It was the best decision I ever made. Coach Mills is a guru, he knows what he’s doing.

“If he can get this long, tall guy to run 9.69 seconds, and he tells you to go and run a certain event: you don’t question it. You go and run that event.”

The other gurus in his life are Blake and Bolt, who are also his biggest rivals on the track. There’s no slipping up in the company of the best in the business.

Whether it’s his coach or his classmates, there’s always someone telling him when he needs to “fix-up that, or fix-up this”.

“It’s a wonderful feeling, and it’s a wonderful place to train,” says Weir.

Bolt’s help isn’t just confined to the training track, either.

“Seeing as he [Bolt] has been around longer than me, when I go to certain meets he’ll say to me: ‘Right, listen. This is the plan. This track has a deep corner. Take this lane, don’t take that lane’. He shows me the ropes.

“He gives me a lot of advice. He’s my bigger brother.”

Read the full interview in the May issue of Forever Sports, out now. Photographs by Andrew Shaylor.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Socapro

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Woman of substance Part 4: Fraser-Pryce keen to make a difference
« Reply #7 on: April 24, 2014, 09:16:06 PM »
Woman of substance
Part 4: Fraser-Pryce keen to make a difference

By Kwame Laurence kwame.laurence@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Apr 24, 2014 at 10:20 PM ECT


Each time Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce steps on the track, she brings more to the table than her speedy pair of legs. The 27-year-old sprinter has a passion for hair, and decided to sport a pink variety at the 2013 World Championships, in Moscow, Russia.

With the hair matching her pink spikes and nail polish of the same colour, Fraser-Pryce drew a lot of attention. But while the glamour is a big attraction, her exploits on the track truly define this Jamaican.

Fraser-Pryce is a woman of substance. Her accolades provide the proof. The MVP Track Club athlete is a two-time Olympic 100 metres champion, striking gold at the 2008 Beijing Games and then successfully defending her title four years later in London.

In 2009, Fraser-Pryce captured the 100m title at the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany, and helped her country earn 4x100m gold. Four years later, the pink-haired “Pocket Rocket” left Moscow with three gold medals. She regained her 100m title, added the 200m crown, and then anchored Jamaica to sprint relay success.

Add the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championship 60m gold medal to her already impressive list, and it’s hard to think of a woman who can match Fraser-Pryce’s sprint resume. Success did not come easily for the lady from the rough inner-city Kingston community of Waterhouse.
“I’m driven from inside and circumstances and different situations that happened in my life.”

Though she has climbed to the top, Fraser-Pryce has not eased off the gas pedal. She turns up at the UTech (University of Technology) track at 6.30 a.m. to train under the watchful eyes of MVP coach Stephen “Franno” Francis.

“Franno” watches on as the sprinters work on their starts. He has an impressive group training at UTech, including two-time Olympic men’s sprint relay champion and double World Championship gold medallist in the same event, Nesta Carter. But the coach’s prize charge is undoubtedly Fraser-Pryce.

“What has pleased me most is that she has mastered the trick of staying good. A lot of natural factors militate against staying at number one, but I think she has conquered those things and developed a mindset that keeps her where she is.

“Shelly-Ann does everything she used to do, and to a greater extent. That to me is her biggest achievement. She is not very concerned about enjoying the fruits of her success, as opposed to making sure she continues to be successful.”

Following her triple gold feat in Moscow, Fraser-Pryce, with little time to soak in the success, re-focused on the challenges ahead.
“I sat in the room and I was like ‘oh my gosh, how am I going to top this next year?’ And immediately my mind takes me back to training, hard work, going in the gym, lifting. My husband (Jason Pryce) would always say, ‘you never enjoy anything.’ And it’s true, I don’t get a chance to enjoy because I’m working.”

With the early-morning training session at UTech over, Fraser-Pryce switches her attention to the hair salon. But she does not have an appointment to put in pink hair extensions.

Chic Hair Ja is a new Kingston salon, having opened its doors on January 17. On entry, the colour pink jumps out at you. And the owner, a petite woman standing at just five-feet tall, cuts an elegant picture in her pink polo shirt.

Oh, I forgot to mention the young entrepreneur’s name. It’s a familiar one. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

“I love hair.”

But this new business enterprise is not all about glamour and fashion.

“I didn’t have to go into hair,” Fraser-Pryce explains, “but I have a passion to also create jobs. There are lots of young ladies and young men in Jamaica who leave school with degrees, and they’re sitting at home. But if I can create a business so that other persons can get employment, then I think it goes somewhere.”

Fraser-Pryce is fun to be around. Her effervescent personality draws people in, and you can’t help but be charmed by her smile and laugh.
But there’s also a serious side.

“My dream and my passion has always been helping children. That’s why I got my degree in Child and Adolescent Development. I actually want to become a child psychologist, and I want to help children that are faced with childhood disorders like dyslexia, autism, learning disabilities.”

Fraser-Pryce is not yet a child psychologist. She has found a way, however, to make a difference in the lives of young student-athletes, through the Pocket Rocket Foundation.

“I started the foundation to try to alleviate some of the stress and the problems that their families have in taking care of them.
“When I started high school in 1999 at Wolmer’s, I was privileged and blessed at the same time to have met a woman by the name of Jean Coke, then part of the Old Girls’ Association. She saw something in me that I didn’t see at all, and she started to fund my education, my books, my uniform, my lunch, everything.

“She showed me compassion and love in so many ways. And that’s where everything fuelled from. The fact that she had done that for me made me in some sense obligated to make sure I did the same thing for other student-athletes who are coming from an impoverished situation.”

Kimone Shaw was among seven Pocket Rocket Foundation scholarship recipients. The diminutive sprinter captured girls’ under-18 100m gold for Jamaica at the 2014 Carifta Games in Martinque, last weekend.

Shaw is a big fan of Fraser-Pryce. “She’s the best person ever that a young athlete can look up to,” says Shaw. “She always does everything to the best, so I’m just doing the same to make her proud.” Though the foundation was launched just last year, it is already having impact.

Seven student-athletes have been equipped to excel, and one of them, little Kimone Shaw has been inspired to follow in the strides of her benefactor, Jamaica’s fun-loving, fast and focused Pocket Rocket.

kwame.laurence@trinidadexpress.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: Trinidad Express writer Kwame Laurence is among a select group of sports journalists chosen to be part of the latest IAAF Day in the Life series, a project featuring some of the Caribbean’s best athletes as well as other major players in the sport of track and field. Next Friday, a fire from within.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Socapro

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Fraser-Pryce headlines Invitational meet
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2014, 08:51:37 PM »
Fraser-Pryce headlines Invitational meet
Story Created: May 2, 2014 at 9:55 PM ECT (T&T Express)

l  KINGSTON


World and Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will showcase her talents before an adoring home crowd when she headlines the Jamaica International Invitational at the National Stadium here today.

The pint-sized powerhouse, who also won the 60-metre title at the World In­­door Games in March, will no doubt have the spotlight for herself as she pits her speed against a competitive field in the 100 metres.

Meet director, sprint legend Don Quarrie said organisers were expecting the one-day championship to be of the highest quality.

“We anticipate a good turnout from the crowd and good performances from the athletes, which we hope will include world-leading times,” he said.

“The sprinting events are our major events, which everyone anticipates, but there are other major events. The shot put is filled with talents, which shows we are hosting field-eventers in Jamaica.”

Fraser-Pryce should find challenges from Nigerian Blessing Okagbare, fellow Jamaican Kerron Stewart and the American pair of English Gardner and Alexandria Anderson, who both ran under 11 seconds last season.

The invitational, an IAAF World challenge meeting, will be important for Fraser-Pryce as it will also serve as a warm-up to the opening Diamond League meet of the season, next Friday, in Doha, Qatar.

In the men’s 100m, Jamaicans Nesta Carter and Warren Weir will square off against American Justin Gatlin. The 24-year-old Weir, who shot to prominence at the London 2012 Olympics with a surprise bronze in the 200 metres, will test his mettle, this time over the straight sprint.

Gatlin, meanwhile, took bronze in London in the 100m and followed up with another third-place finish at last year’s World Championships in Moscow, and will be cham­ping at the bit, too on Saturday. His US counterpart, Wal­ter Dix, will also line up at the start, along with Jamaican Kemar Bailey-Cole.

The men’s and women’s 400 metres are also expected to serve up some excitement, with Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross of the US facing a challenge from Jamaican Stephenie Mc-Pherson in the women’s section.

Meanwhile, reigning men’s World champion La­Shawn Merritt will go head to head with Olympic bronze medallist Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2014, 08:53:55 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

Offline Socapro

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Javon Francis: Baby Bolt
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2014, 09:43:52 PM »
Speed, Unlimited
Javon Francis: Baby Bolt
May 12, 2014. By Constance C. R. White

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Because this 19-year-old is the guy you’ll be cheering for in the next Olympics.

The stadium was quiet as eight schoolboys settled into the blocks for the start of the 400-meter finals at Jamaica’s annual Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association Boys and Girls Athletic Championships earlier this year — “Champs” for short. The favorite? Nineteen-year-old Javon Francis. Case closed. Spectators sat in their seats munching on food and chatting with friends when the starter gun went off.

But something unexpected was taking place. Francis, who was scheduled to run the 200 meters later that evening, attacked the race like a demon. By the 200 mark, he had closed in on the rest of the pack, and 50 meters later, he had left everyone behind and the whole stadium was on its feet, exuberant, deafening, urging him on. They knew. He was going after the famed Usain Bolt’s high school record.

Francis didn’t just break Bolt’s record. He “shattered” it, noted four-time Olympic medalist and NBC sports analyst Ato Boldon in an email. The young man lapped the track in 45 seconds flat and, seemingly overnight, Francis became an international sensation, landing on the must-watch list of track-and-field insiders. 

After smashing through the finish line, he dropped to the track and did three clean pushups, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

But it’s not only that Francis broke Bolt’s record, making him a king among princes in a country that seems to mint prodigious track talent. This past summer at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, he ran a lightning-fast split to pull his team from fifth place to second, just behind Team USA.

“Every time I wear these particular spikes, I know I’m going to do something phenomenal,” Francis told OZY. He was wearing his lucky shoes, given to him by a friend, on both occasions.

It was a head-turning performance by any measure. And Francis, then 18, was the youngest member of his team and challenging world-class veterans like USA’s LaShawn Merritt, 27.

Tall and slim with well-defined muscles, Francis displays the kind of confidence and bravura of a seasoned pro. “I’m like a lion and I’m like a donkey — both are strong,” he said. He’s even nicknamed “Donkey Man.”

He’s also a performer: After smashing through the finish line in record speed at Champs, he dropped to the track and did three clean pushups, sending the crowd into a frenzy before doing his best imitation of Bolt’s lightning stance.

At the World Games, when his coach informed him he would be anchoring the 4x400 relay, Francis told the Jamaica Star, “My smile got bright because I said to myself, ’Yes! This is what I want: to show the world who Javon Francis is.’”

Francis spent most of his childhood in the countryside of Bull Bay, a village where catching fish is both a living and a sport — and how he and his friends passed the time when there was nothing much else to do.

But starting in elementary school, he began running the 100-meter dash, he said, before specializing in the 200 and 400. Today, he lives with a guardian and attends high school in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital, while his family and best friend remain in Bull Bay.

If his streak continues, Francis will leave school this June and turn professional, joining the Jamaican running club Akan, headed by his high school coach, Michael Clarke.

Observers have tried to figure out just what’s in the Jamaican jerk sauce that produces athletes like Francis.

Speaking by phone from Kingston, Clarke said he was not surprised that Francis toppled Bolt’s 10-year record. His training times have been building toward this for some time and, according to Clarke, we may not yet have seen the best of him. “He doesn’t do any weight training,” Clarke said, which is unusual for athletes at his age and level. And even when he broke Bolt’s record, “He was [operating at] 80–85 percent” due to a leg injury, said Clarke. “That tells you how far he can go.”

And how far a nation that derives so much pride from its athletic prowess can go. The island of fewer than 3 million people dominates the sprints every four years in the Olympics; Usain Bolt sits atop an elite group that also includes Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell.

Observers have tried to figure out just what’s in the Jamaican jerk sauce that produces athletes like Francis. In Jamaica, running is like football in the American South or soccer in Brazil, but other theories abound.

Some have pointed to the 104-year-old “Champs” tradition, an incubator for top athletic talent and an annual culmination of a nationwide track-and-field training effort in schools. Jamaicans may love soccer (called football) and cricket, but track and field engages a larger number of children at an earlier age.

And then there’s the political explanation: In the ’70s, when Jamaica flirted with socialism, Cuba gifted the country with a new school, G.C. Foster, which began to offer professional training in physical education. Suddenly, the island’s athletes had a training ground — and so did their coaches.

Despite all this success, ”Jamaica’s men have not been as good as they should have been in the 400-meter event at the pro level over the last decade,” said Boldon. “Javon appears ready to buck that trend.”

Clarke — who will coach Francis if he makes it to the 2016 Olympics — is evidence of the school’s success. He’s one of the country’s most successful coaches, having led three different schools to Champs victories.

With the next Summer Games two years away, Francis speaks of Olympic glory without hesitation. “I want to go to the Olympics and get a gold medal for my country — for my mum and dad.”

And to show the world who Javon Francis is.
« Last Edit: May 12, 2014, 09:46:43 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Anguillan sprinter Zharnel Hughes says his mom is Jamaican
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2014, 09:50:13 PM »
The Jamaican in me
Anguillan sprinter Zharnel Hughes says mom is daughter of the soil

BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, May 12, 2014


ALL things being equal, in sprinter Zharnel Hughes lies a future Olympic champion and a pilot. In pursuit of both dreams, he has showed the aptitude to achieve them, having been deemed the consummate hard worker, technically gifted individual, one who listens and executes well.

That's a lot, it seems, to say about one young man still in bloom. But for those who know him well, or for those who have followed his exploits closely, Hughes's plaudits are justified.

The Aguillan is regarded as one of, if not the best, young sprinter in the Americas. Already, he is the 2013 Carifta and Pan American Junior champion. And according to watchers of the sport, there is more to come from him. Much more.

But what a lot of people didn't know is that Hughes of Anguilla has a Jamaican connection — his mother.

Just a day before Mothers' Day was celebrated in Jamaica, Hughes, who has lived in Jamaica for the past two years, revealed to the Jamaica Observer on Saturday, that he missed his mother Zarnalyn Ebanks "everyday".

"Living in Jamaica for a while is a great experience and I missed home a lot not seeing my mother and brother as often. But besides that, school is going great, track is going awesome. I like Jamaica and I have no complains about it," said Hughes as he sits quietly watching his Racers teammates compete at the JAAA All Comers Meet at the National Stadium on Saturday.

But only a few weeks back, Hughes had set the Stadium alight by running the fastest time for a schoolboy at the fabled Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championship, clocking 10.12 seconds, and in the process, erasing Yohan Blake's record of 10.21 seconds done in 2007.

He did that as a Kingston College student.

But for some strange reason, he was never truly embraced and revered by local fans, who felt more or less slighted by a foreigner stealing the thunder from home bred talent. And that's something he has been doing for two years now.

People were saying Jevaughn Minzie of Bog Walk High should have won and broken the 100m record. They wanted a local hero to follow in the footsteps of the great Usain Bolt, and Yohan Blake.

But 18-year-old Hughes, as many will now come to know, is a son of the soil. His mother Zarnalyn is from St Elizabeth and his father Howell Hughes is from Anguilla. Zharnel's name is an amalgamation of parts of both his parents' names.

"She is from St Elizabeth and has been living in Anguilla for nearly 19 years. My mother is mostly the big supporter. My father does support me, but my mother is the biggest one. Not only them, but my other family members also supports me," said Hughes, who revealed that he has a cousin in the Jamaican army.

"My mother wasn't an athlete, but a few of her family members were track and field athletes. My father's side are runners, most of everyone on my father side are athletes. It's just that most of them quit and I decided that I won't go down that road," he noted.

But with his birth country Anguilla not having an Olympic association and being a British territory, the sprinting prodigy looks set to choose Great Britain over his mother's country of Jamaica for the 2016 Rio Games.

"The options are there, it's just that I haven't decided which one I want to do as yet," said Hughes, who wants to be a pilot when his track career is over.

"I have them all in consideration, but it's a possibility that team GB just might be the team because Anguilla is a British territory and most likely we have to join them since we don't have an Olympic status. It's most likely Team GB, but like I said, it's under consideration," he reiterated.

The supremely talented athlete who is currently sitting his CAPE exams, explains the difficulty in balancing schoolwork and training.

"It is hard to come home and study, but you have to make the sacrifices in order to do well in school and on the track. So, like I said, it's hard sometimes but that's how it is," he noted.

"To be honest, it is quite difficult especially coming from training on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My coach call them 'Drop Dead Tuesdays' and 'Killer Diller Thursdays'," smiled Hughes, as his coach Patrick Dawson nods his head in approval.

"He is a very disciplined athlete. Very manageable, basically he is a coach's dream. He is a coachable athlete and that's the kind of athlete that coaches look for. Outside of that, he is very talented, and when you put all those components together, he is an excellent athlete," said Dawson.

"With his potential and talent, I see no reason why he can't go on to become an Olympic or World Champion. He trains among the professionals and he realised that when you get to that level, the training is even harder," Dawson explained.

In July, Hughes will be participating in the World Junior Championship in Oregon, USA, before embarking on the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

"I am looking forward to that for sure. Preparations for that is coming great. I started back training and everything is going good so far. Thank God for that. I am looking forward to World Juniors," he pointed out.

Hughes has fond memories about his first experience at Champs, considered the best of its kind in the world.

"Champs was an awesome experience. I am very much sorry that I won't be taking part again. I should have come here earlier," he said laughing.

"But it's awesome. I loved the participation... everybody was taking part and the atmosphere was just amazing. It was the biggest (championship) I ever been to thus far. But I look forward to come back next year. I won't be running but supporting this time.

"I do love the crowd, the athletes, I can tell you that Jamaica is the promised land for sprinters," said Hughes. 
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Is Javon Francis Jamaica’s Next Big Thing?
« Reply #11 on: May 19, 2014, 02:39:50 AM »
Is Javon Francis Jamaica’s Next Big Thing?
Inspire your world....

By Tyler Dragon (thrivesports.com)
Updated: May 17, 2014


For the past decade, Jamaica – the island of less than three million people – has dominated the sprints.

The Caribbean island has produced the likes of Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Yohan Blake, and Asafa Powell, all of whom have won multiple Olympic and World Championship medals.

The country always seems to produce world class sprinters – and another appears on the horizon.

Meet 19-year-old Javon Francis, who has been pegged the next Jamaican big-time sprinter. Francis was raised in the countryside of Bull Bay, Jamaica, a village known for its catfish. He began running the 100-meter sprint in elementary school, before switching to the 200 and 400 meters.

Francis moved to Kingston to further his career, while his family still resides in Bull Bay.

Since his arrival to Kingston, Francis has vastly moved up the Jamaican sprinting ranks.

Nicknamed ‘Donkey Man’ for his tall and slim but muscular frame, Francis is now creating shockwaves around the track & field community.

Francis gives Jamaica something that even Bolt hasn’t produced.

The teenager is a 200- and 400-meter specialist. The country lacks superior talent beyond the 200 and with Francis now on the rise, it looks like Jamaica will also have a 400-meter contender.

At Jamaica’s annual Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association Boys and Girls Athletic Championships, Francis put the world on notice that he’s coming.

Could Javon Francis be #Jamaica's Next Big Running Star? http://t.co/prKI1n5KWl pic.twitter.com/OEx7Og0gLG

— Panamericanworld (@panamworldnews) May 13, 2014


In front of a packed crowd in Kingston, Francis ran the 400 meters like no one had ever seen in Jamaica high school history. By the 200-meter mark, he had already made up the stagger, and 50 meters later all his competitors were looking at his back bib number. The only competition Francis had left was the clock. The Jamaica high school record was 45.35 seconds for 400 meters, and it was held by Bolt.

With about 100 meters left, the crowd sensed that they might be witnessing something special. As Francis crossed the finish line, the official clock read 45.00 seconds.

Francis shattered Bolt’s high school record.

Shortly after crossing the finish line in typical Bolt fashion, Francis decided to put on a little after show for the crowd. The newly crowned record holder did three pushups, before rising to his feet to do his best imitation of the Bolt lightning pose.

A new Jamaican star was born.

“I’m like a lion and I’m like a donkey, both are strong,” a confident Francis told the media.

Francis, ‘the donkey’ has the perfect nickname, because he will need strong shoulders to help carry the load once Bolt decides to call it a career. Bolt has said numerous times that the 2016 Rio Olympics will be his last. If 2016 is indeed Bolt’s last year, Jamaica might just need a new star to cheer for.

Watch Francis break Usain Bolt’s 400 meters record below:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/DnZZ8aS9N1U" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/DnZZ8aS9N1U</a>

Francis plans to leave school in June to elect to run professionally. It has been reported that he will join the Jamaican running club Akan, which is headed by his high school coach, Michael Clarke.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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‘Fastest Human’ to run for first time in Poland
« Reply #12 on: May 24, 2014, 08:39:33 PM »
‘Fastest Human’ to run for first time in Poland
Story Created: May 24, 2014 at 9:10 PM ECT (T&T Express)


Sprint legend Usain Bolt will run in Poland for the first time when he competes at the fifth edition of the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in August.

The reigning World and Olympic double sprint champion will join some of Poland’s finest athletes for the August 23 meet, including two-time Olympic shot put champion Tomasz Majewski and world hammer silver medallist, Anita Wlodarczyk.

Bolt said he was keen on the new experience. “I’m looking forward to running in Poland for the first time,” the 27-year-old Jamaican said. “I have never raced in a football stadium before so that will be something new and unique. I like to support new events and help grow the sport all over the world.”

The meet, staged in memory of Polish hammer thrower Kamila Skolimowska who won gold at the 2000 Olympics, will take place at the newly-laid track in Warsaw’s National Stadium. Skolimowska, the youngest ever Olympic hammer champion, died five years ago at age 26 during a training camp in Portugal.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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‘Chinese coaches in Jamaica for sprint lesson
« Reply #13 on: June 18, 2014, 11:46:21 PM »
‘Chinese coaches in Jamaica for sprint lesson
June 18th 7:53pm (TrackAlerts.com)


KINGSTON, Jamaica - Six Chinese Coaches arrived in the island Saturday night to take up scholarships offered to China by the Jamaican government.

The six represent a portion of the 10 scholarships, which were offered by the Jamaican Government last year.  The other four who will arrive in September will be full time students at the college and will focus on sprinting.

The group leader Anli Wang, who spoke on behalf of the awardees, said that he hoped this would be the start of a long-term scholarship and exchange programme between the two countries. He said also that they were excited to learn all that we know about sprinting.

The six coaches are Hongtao Chen, Yan Juntao, Yingbo Zhang, Hiu Yang, Anli Wang and Li Xiumei who is the lone female in the group.

All the members of the group expressed the desire to meet Usain Bolt. They remember him well from his record-breaking form in that country at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

According to Edward Shakes, principal of GC Foster College, Jamaica's Technical Director and lecturer at the college, Maurice Wilson, will be in charge of the one-month programme that will be presented to the coaches. They will focus on the sprints.

He also said the coaches will attend the upcoming national senior trials to get first hand experience of what our trials are like.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Powell, Simpson clear to run at Jamaica Trials
« Reply #14 on: June 18, 2014, 11:49:52 PM »
Powell, Simpson clear to run at Jamaica Trials
June 18th 2:16pm
By Vijay, TrackAlerts.com writer


LAUSANNE - Asafa Powell and his former training partner Sherone Simpson can run at next week's Supreme Ventures/Jamaica Senior Championships.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) gave the go ahead for the sprinters to run, effective immediately. CAS, however, noted both could still be asked to serve the 18-month suspension given by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel earlier this year.

The 31-year-old Powell and three-time Olympic medalist Sherone Simpson tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrine at Jamaica's national trials last June (2013). The Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel suspended them for 18 months.

Both appealed to CAS for a reduction in the suspension. A hearing in this matter, CAC said, has been scheduled for 7 and 8 July 2014.
   
CAS on Wednesday cleared both athletes to run while adding:

"The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld today the application for a stay of the execution of the suspension currently served by the Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson pending the resolution of the arbitration conducted before the CAS. The athletes are free to compete from now on but may have to serve the remaining part of their ban later if the sanction is eventually confirmed by CAS.

Both athletes filed appeals at CAS against the decisions of the Jamaica Anti-doping Disciplinary Panel Tribunal of 8 and 10 April 2014 to suspend them for a period of 18 months, starting on 21 June 2013.
 
The athletes put forward that the offense committed is minor and request that the suspensions be reduced to 3 months."

The National Trials is set for June 26-29.
« Last Edit: June 19, 2014, 07:18:12 AM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Commonwealth Games: Fraser-Pryce in fitness race for trials
« Reply #15 on: June 19, 2014, 07:11:01 AM »
Commonwealth Games: Fraser-Pryce in fitness race for trials
18 June 2014 Last updated at 17:54
By Leon Mann (BBC Sports News)

Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce could miss the Commonwealth Games if she does not recover from injury for next week's national trials.


The Olympic and world 100m champion, 27, has left Jamaica to receive medical attention for a pain in her left leg.

The Jamaican trials take place between 26 and 29 June and athletes must finish in the top three to guarantee selection for next month's Glasgow Games.

Her manager Bruce James said he still expected her to compete at the trials.

"The only thing which would stop her from competing next week is if the medical team says it's not in her best interest to do so," James told BBC Sport.

"Outside of her medical situation, she will compete at the trials and we expect her to be selected to represent Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games."

James said the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) could select the sprinter even if she did not compete at the trials, but added that he would prefer her to race at the trials to "remove any doubt".

The two-time Olympic sprint champion pulled out of last week's Diamond League meeting in New York because of injury, having previously finished a disappointing eighth in the 200m in Eugene (29 May) and seventh in the 100m in Rome (5 June).
« Last Edit: June 19, 2014, 07:13:03 AM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Re: Meanwhile in Jamaica T&F News Thread!
« Reply #16 on: June 19, 2014, 03:13:02 PM »
Powell, Simpson clear to run at Jamaica Trials
June 18th 2:16pm
By Vijay, TrackAlerts.com writer


LAUSANNE - Asafa Powell and his former training partner Sherone Simpson can run at next week's Supreme Ventures/Jamaica Senior Championships.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) gave the go ahead for the sprinters to run, effective immediately. CAS, however, noted both could still be asked to serve the 18-month suspension given by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel earlier this year.

The 31-year-old Powell and three-time Olympic medalist Sherone Simpson tested positive for the banned stimulant oxilofrine at Jamaica's national trials last June (2013). The Jamaica Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel suspended them for 18 months.

Both appealed to CAS for a reduction in the suspension. A hearing in this matter, CAC said, has been scheduled for 7 and 8 July 2014.
   
CAS on Wednesday cleared both athletes to run while adding:

"The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld today the application for a stay of the execution of the suspension currently served by the Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson pending the resolution of the arbitration conducted before the CAS. The athletes are free to compete from now on but may have to serve the remaining part of their ban later if the sanction is eventually confirmed by CAS.

Both athletes filed appeals at CAS against the decisions of the Jamaica Anti-doping Disciplinary Panel Tribunal of 8 and 10 April 2014 to suspend them for a period of 18 months, starting on 21 June 2013.
 
The athletes put forward that the offense committed is minor and request that the suspensions be reduced to 3 months."

The National Trials is set for June 26-29.

what about Kelly-Ann!!!  >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

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Re: Meanwhile in Jamaica T&F News Thread!
« Reply #17 on: June 19, 2014, 03:23:36 PM »

what about Kelly-Ann!!!  >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

I am sure I answered you in this thread Report: Five Jamaican athletes fail drug tests (Powell included) Please click link for my update and take a read so I don't have to repeat myself here.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Competing at Commonwealth Games not in Blake or Bolt's best interest
« Reply #18 on: June 22, 2014, 10:58:23 PM »
Not in his best interest
Published: Sunday | June 22, 2014
By Andre Lowe (The Gleaner)


Many of Jamaica's big stars will undoubtedly turn up, but track and field fans in Glasgow will have to do without sprinting superstars Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt as next month's Commonwealth Games, set for the Scotland, looks set to miss two of the sport's biggest names.
Bolt is still working his way back after injury troubles earlier this year while Blake and his team of handlers - after serious and lengthy consideration - have decided that competing at the Commonwealth Games, at this point, was not in his best interest.

Blake, who is coming off an injury-ravaged season himself - spoiled by hamstring worries in April 2013 - was said to be seriously considering competing at the July 23 - August 3 event, with his manager Cubie Seegobin confirming that Glasgow was at one point a target for the 24-year-old.

However, Seegobin told The Sunday Gleaner that after careful assessment primarily between himself, the athlete and coach Glen Mills, it has been determined that the best option would be to skip the Commonwealth Games and focus on regaining his best form with high-level competition, for what will be a high-pressure and busy 2015-2017 triple championships spell.

Optimism

Blake, along with his poster-boy clubmate Bolt, were not entered to compete at this week's Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association/Supreme Ventures Limited National Senior Cham-pionships, which serves as a trial for selecting teams to a number of events this year, including the Commonwealth Games.

Organisers noted that all of the island's big names with the exception of Bolt and Blake had submitted entries to compete.

There was optimism from members of the organising committee that Blake, who has this season already competed internationally at the Manchester Great City Games (150m), the IAAF World Relays (4x200m, 4x100m) and the New York adidas Grand Prix (100m) would be entered before last Friday's 4 p.m. deadline.

There has also been suggestions that Bolt, who is yet to feature this year after also suffering an injury setback earlier this year, may submit a medical exemption application, which would allow him to skip the trials but compete in Glasgow once his fitness is proven ahead of the competition.

But the word so far is that the 27-year-old double world record holder and Olympic and world champion, like Blake, will not feature in Glasgow.

Meanwhile, Seegobin confirmed that Blake will not be turning out at the trials this week and will also certainly miss the Commonwealth Games next month.

In good condition

"His (Blake's) entire team seriously considered him competing at the trials and Commonwealth Games, it was something that we were looking at for a long time but in the end, the team decided that they would do what's in the best interest of the athlete," Seegobin said, ruling out any suggestion that the decision may have been based on Blake not being in a good enough physical condition.

"He's (Blake) healthy, you saw what he did in Nassau and how he has looked since coming back, but he is looking forward to the next three years, so this year is about getting him back in the saddle and getting him back to running really fast again," Seegobin added, referring to Blake's 19.00 seconds anchor leg split that led Jamaica to a world record 1:18.63 run in the 4x200m at the IAAF World Relays.

"We only have about seven to eight races scheduled for him this year, although he is ready and able to run very fast like he did in Nassau at the World Relays."

Blake is set to feature on the circuit at the Lausanne Diamond League stop on July 3, where he will line up in the 200m, the Glasgow Grand Prix on July 11-12 and the London Anniversary Games on July 20.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2014, 11:43:58 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Stewart For 100m
« Reply #19 on: June 24, 2014, 07:39:45 PM »
Stewart For 100m
Published: Tuesday | June 24, 2014
Raymond Graham, Gleaner Writer

EXCEPT for Olympic and World Championships 100 metres champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce - who will not be competing - it will be a loaded field for the women's 100 metres at this weekend's Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) Supreme Ventures Natio-nal Senior Championships inside the National Stadium.


The athletes are seeking selection to represent the country at next month's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland and a top-three finish will guarantee the runners a spot for the event in Glasgow.

Two former champions in Sherone Simpson and Veronica Campbell-Brown will attract a lot of attention, as both had been out of competition for a while due to suspension.

For Simpson, it will be her first race of the season, while Campbell-Brown has been putting on some fine performances. Actually, she is the country's top athlete in the event this year following her 10.86 seconds in Clermont, Florida in early June, just inside the legal wind limit of 2.0 metres per second.

That time also places her as number two in the world, just behind Trinidad and Tobago's Michelle-Lee Ahye, who clocked 10.85 seconds over the past weekend at her country's National Championships.

For Simpson, however, she could be a bit rusty, not having not competed for nearly a year. It will take a yeoman effort for her to improve on her second-place finish a year ago.

With her fast time coming into the Championships, Campbell-Brown will start as favourite to win another national title, but could play second fiddle to defending champion Kerron Stewart.

With a season-best 11.08 seconds at the Rome Diamond League meet, where she finished second to the in-form Tori Bowie of the United States, Stewart is a class act and normally performs well at the National Stadium. She showed that a year ago when she blew away the field to win in a fast 10.96 seconds, despite not being at her best coming into the Championships. She looks set for another fine performance.

Both Stewart and Campbell-Brown could fall victims to the vastly improved Samantha Henry-Robinson, who is showing good form this season and who looked like a winner at the adidas Grand Prix Diamond League meet in New York. There, she got a great start before being caught late by Bowie. She is the second-fastest Jamaican this season - after her 11.00 seconds in Clermont, Florida, and could improve big time on her eighth-placed finish a year ago.

The likes of Simone Facey, with a season-best 11.09 seconds, along with National Collegiate Athletics Association Division One 100 metres champion Remona Burchell (with a best of 11.03 seconds), local-based runners Schillone Calvert and Carrie Russell have shown good form this season and anyone could spring a surprise.

However, once Stewart is fit, she is the one they all have to beat, as she looks set to take her second national title in a row.

Top Three:

1 Kerron Stewart

2 Veronica Campbell-Brown

3 Samantha Robinson-Henry
« Last Edit: June 24, 2014, 07:42:58 PM by Socapro »
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Asafa Powell & Richard Thompson in 100m at Paris Diamond League
« Reply #20 on: June 24, 2014, 07:52:00 PM »
Powell in 100m at Paris Diamond League
Monday, 23 June 2014 (Watchathletics.com)


Former 100m World record holder,Asafa Powell, who was suspended for a banned stimulant for 18 months but last week was allowed to compete pending his appeal, will run the 100m on July 5  at the Diamond League meetin Areva Grand Prix in Paris.

Powell in Paris will face Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre, and world leader Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago.

After Powell was reinstated to compete by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last Wednesday, the Jamaican track and field federation announced that the sprinter will also compete at the Commonwealth games trials in Kingston from June 26 to 29.

Powell last year on June 23 at the Jamaican national champinships failed a drug test  for illegal stimulant oxilofrine and was suspended for 18 months. The Jamaican thought that the penalty was unfair since his offence was minor and appealed the decision in CAS which allowed Powell to compete. His appeal will have a special meeting by CAS on July 7 which will determine Powell's future.
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Frater says he has not retired …. Plans to compete at 2016 Olympics in Brazil
June 24th 4:50pm
By Adrian Robinson, TrackAlerts.com writer


KINGSTON, Jamaica - Jamaican sprinter Michael Frater has reiterated that he has not retired from track and field.

The 31-year-old Frater made the comment a few days before the Jamaican Athletics Trials.

 “I have not retired, definitely not.  I have much more to give, said Frater who is also the 3rd vice president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA).

Frater said he has plans to compete at the World Championships next year in China and also the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

Frater has not competed since the 2014 Penn Relays in the USA in April.

Frater, a two-time Olympic Games 4x100m relay gold medallist, said “I felt very good competing at the Penn Relays, but I had another injury setback but I am taking it in strides.”

He was also a member of Jamaica’s team to the inaugural IAAF World Relays in the Bahamas in May, but did not take the track.

Frater, who won silver in the men's 100m at the 2005 World Championships, is now a member of the Racers Track Club, the home of the world’s fastest man Usian Bolt.
« Last Edit: June 25, 2014, 01:52:59 PM by Socapro »
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J’ca getting tough on banned supplements
« Reply #22 on: June 26, 2014, 08:00:51 PM »
J’ca getting tough on banned supplements
Story Created: Jun 25, 2014 at 11:44 PM ECT (T&T Express)

KINGSTON


The Jamaica government says it is pondering new laws to tackle the illegal importation of banned substances as the country continues its effort to recover from a doping scandal that has tainted the island’s athletics programme.

Minister with responsibility for Sports, Natalie Neita Headley, made the announcement in Parliament Tuesday night amid an increase in the number of Jamaican athletes testing positive for banned substances.

“Legislation is being considered to address the illegal importation of banned supplements,” Neita Headley told the parliament. “Let me admonish coaches, administrators and athlete-support personnel that they are equally culpable if they are found guilty of providing banned substances to junior athletes”.

Top Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson were among those who tested positive for an illegal substance last year. They have both appealed their suspension and have since been allowed to compete pending the outcome of the appeal hearing. Powell’s case will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on July 7 and 8.

“Sport supplements have also been found to contain ingredients that are not stated on labels and some have been linked to the cause of death among athletes worldwide,” the minister disclosed. “Given the recent increase in the number of Jamaican athletes who returned Adverse Analytical findings in the last year, I must take this opportunity to once again encourage our athletes, juniors and seniors, to avoid adopting this trend of reliance on supplements and to focus instead on building a diet based on good nutrition and healthy practices”.

A partnership has been established with the Canadian centre for ethics in Sport  (cceS) and  the Jamaica Anti Doping Commission (Jadco) to help Jamaica’s anti-doping programme meet the full requirements of the 2015 World Anti-Doping code by January 1 next year.
« Last Edit: June 26, 2014, 08:09:52 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Puma signs Jamaican rising star Javon Francis
« Reply #23 on: July 01, 2014, 11:08:34 AM »
Puma signs Jamaican rising star Javon Francis
July 1st 9:58am (TrackAlerts.com)

IAAF World ChampionshipTM Silver Medallist a Strong Addition to PUMA’s Athlete Roster


Herzogenaurach, Germany - PUMA is proud to announce a new partnership with rising Jamaican Track & Field star, Javon Francis.   The 19 year old IAAF World Championship silver medallist who competes in the 200m, 400m and the 4x400m relay, has huge potential for a glittering career in Track & Field, and is a strong addition to the Global Sports Brands athlete portfolio.

The youngest member of the Jamaican Team at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Francis anchored the men’s 4x400m relay team to a silver medal, starting his lap in fifth place to power through and finish second with an inspired performance.  Voted 2014 People’s Sportsman of the year in Jamaica, Francis is already well established at a young age as both a track sensation and extravagant performer.

Francis clocked his best times in the 200m and 400m at the ISSA Boys’ and Girls’ High School Championships, beating an existing record in the 400m by The World’s Fastest Man, Usain Bolt.

“It’s an exciting time,” said Francis about the signing by Puma, one of the world’s leading Sports Brands, designing, developing, selling and marketing footwear, apparel and accessories.
 “I am grateful that PUMA recognises my talent and have offered me such support, especially because of the commitment PUMA has for track and field in Jamaica.  This partnership is a big moment for me, and I’m proud that they see such potential in me,” he said of the brand that offers performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in categories such as Football, Running, Training and Fitness, Golf, and Motorsports.

Christian Voigt, Senior Global Head of Sports Marketing at PUMA commented, “We’ve watched Javon develop through the high school programme in Jamaica, seeing him develop into a fine young athlete with considerable potential.  His talent, enthusiasm and character suggest he’s a star in the making, and he’s a wonderful fit for PUMA in our new Forever Faster era.  We are very happy to have Javon with us, and are excited to see him grow throughout the years ahead.”
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Dwyer upsets Weir at Jamaica Trials
« Reply #24 on: July 01, 2014, 08:55:40 PM »
Dwyer upsets Weir at Jamaica Trials
July 1st 6:57pm (TrackAlerts.com)


KINGSTON, Jamaica - Several new national champions were crowned over the weekend, including all the winners from the last three events contested at the 2014 JAAA Supreme Ventures National Senior Championships, which ended at the National stadium on Sunday night.

In the men’s 200m, Rasheed Dwyer, conditioned by Maurice Wilson, at Sprint Tech, created the championships’ biggest upset, by beating Olympic Games and World Championships medallist Warren Weir, to win the men’s 200m in a personal best time of 20.04 secs.

Weir, who failed to keep pace in the latter stages of the race, finished second in 20.17, while Jason Livermore ended third in 20.25.

Anneisha McLaughlin, who dominated the first half of the 2000’s as a junior, finally got her first senior title and it came through very hard work in the last 20 metres, where she did just enough to get past her former Holmwood teammate, Schillonie Calvert - 22.79 to 22.88.

Sherone Simpson, who competed pending the outcome of her doping ban appeal was fourth and after failing to make it to the 100m finals on Friday, will miss out on a place on the team for the Commonwealth Games, beginning in Glasgow on July 23.

The Championships’ final track event, also produced a first time winner, as Monique Morgan, the best Jamaican this year topped the women’s 110m hurdles final in 12.96, over Danielle Williams 12.99 and Indira Spencer 13.00.

Kimberly Williamson, who won the women’s high jump title with a clearance of 1.84 metres, was also a first timer senior champs winner.

In other events on Sunday, Akheem Gauntlett timed his 400m race to perfection for a personal best 45.00, to take his first national title ahead of Rusheen McDonald, who unlike the previous two rounds, went out hard but faded into second in 45.25, just ahead of Hugh Graham Jr., who was very impressive in the two earlier rounds, 45.43.

The women’s 400m stayed with a member of the old guard, Novlene Williams-Mills, who was put under pressure right throughout, but proved she will not be easy to beat by winning in 50.05.

Christine Day, who kept pace with Williams-Mills throughout, produced an impressive 50.16, a personal best effort, for second, to finish ahead of Stephenie-Ann McPherson 50.50. Anastasia Le-Roy with 50.84 and Shericka Jackson 51.32 and Chrisann Gordon 51.39, the fourth, sixth and 7th placers, also produced lifetime bests.

Odayne Richards won the men’s shot put with 20.56, Kimberly Williams the women’s triple jump with 14.07 and Kateema Riettie, the women’s javelin with 46.69m.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Bolt ends season early
« Reply #25 on: August 26, 2014, 04:14:29 PM »
Bolt ends season early
Story Created: Aug 25, 2014 at 9:11 PM ECT (T&T Express)


Sprint superstar Usain Bolt has ended his injury-plagued season early, after competing in just three races.

Organisers for Thursday’s Diamond League meeting in Zurich have announced that Bolt has withdrawn from the event’s 100-metre race and will not compete again this season.

The decision comes a day after the Olympic champion and world record-holder won a 100m race in Warsaw, Poland, clocking 9.98 seconds, the first time this year he ran a 100 race in under 10 seconds.

“…it is now time to shut it down while he is healthy and injury free with a view on his preparations for the 2015 season” a statement quoted Bolt’s coach Glen Mills as saying.

His absence will be a major blow to European meet organisers.

“Usain’s body has delivered tremendous performances over the last years. But, it is a body and not a machine,” said Zurich meet director Patrick Magyar.

“If an athlete of that level and his coach feel more rest is needed, we are certainly not going to question this and fully support this decision.”
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Jamaica doubles doping officers
« Reply #26 on: September 04, 2014, 10:04:05 PM »
Jamaica doubles doping officers
Story Created: Sep 4, 2014 at 9:10 PM ECT (T&T Express)

KINGSTON


Jamaica’s anti-doping agency has doubled the number of doping control officers on the Caribbean island that has produced the world’s most dominant sprinters.

The four newly trained doping control officers give the country eight, the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission said yesterday.

Training was done through a partnership between JADCO and the Canadian Centre for Ethics and Sport. The new staffers are certified to carry out doping control for two years.

Jamaica’s anti-doping programme was audited by the World Anti-Doping Agency last year after a former director revealed it didn’t drug-test its athletes for months before they dazzled at the 2012 London Olympics.

Yesterday, JADCO also announced it received funding from the United Nations to train more sample-collection personnel. It said it hopes to add blood collection to its doping procedures in the coming months.
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Bolt to stop in 2017
« Reply #27 on: February 15, 2015, 02:44:01 AM »
Bolt to stop in 2017
Story Created: Feb 2, 2015 at 11:58 PM ECT (T&T Express)



Multiple world record-holder and six-time Olympic gold medal winner Usain Bolt will retire after the 2017 World Championships in London, the Jamaican told British newspaper The Daily Mail.
 
The 28-year had previously hinted the 2016 Rio Olympics would be his last competition but sponsorship commitments dictated he will continue until 2017 where he will focus solely on the 100 metres.
 
“That was the initial plan (to sign off after Rio),” he told the Daily Mail yesterday.
 
“But my sponsor has asked me to go on for another year, to 2017 and London. But I’ll be doing one event, the 100.
 
“I’ve already discussed it with my coach. I can concentrate on that, and on retiring on a winning note.”
 
Bolt holds the world records for the 100 metres, 9.58 seconds, the 200 metres, 19.19 seconds, and the 4x100 meters relay, 36.84 seconds, and talked of his drive to beat those times in 2015.
 
His 2015 season culminates at the
 
World Championships in Beijing from August 22 - 30.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2015, 02:51:36 AM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Fraser-Pryce targets sub-10.7 this year, OMINOUS!
« Reply #28 on: February 15, 2015, 04:46:23 PM »
Fraser-Pryce targets sub-10.7 this year
OMINOUS!

BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 (Jamaica Observer)


FRASER-PRYCE… I am working towards it, especially in the gym, and hopefully it will bear fruits

BE afraid, be very afraid.

 That's the warning to the women's sprinting world after double Olympic 100m champion, Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce declared that she wants to lower her personal best and national record of 10.70 seconds this year.

 "Last year or the year before I didn't have a personal best, so I want to do that this year. My personal best is 10.70, so as you can imagine, I want to go faster than that," said Fraser-Pryce, shortly after winning the 60m in 7.11 seconds at the Queen's/Grace Jackson meet on January 31.

 "This year I want to run well. I am training well and I want to be stronger this year. That's the emphasis Stephen (Francis, coach) and I have talked about... me getting stronger. So I am working towards it, especially in the gym and hopefully it will bear fruits," she added.

 She continued: "As it relates to leading up to the World Championships, I am not sure if I will be doubling, but I am preparing, just in case, to do both events."

 In 2013, Fraser-Pryce became the first female sprinter to win gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in a single World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

 The 'Pocket Rocket', as Fraser-Pryce is called for her explosive starts, has dominated the 100m for the last six years, winning back-to-back Olympic 100m titles in 2008 and 2012.

 "I have won back-to-back Olympic titles, but I have never won a back-to-back World Championships title," she noted.

 The dynamic sprinter, who burst onto the international scene as a 21 year-old seven years ago, has since reaped 11 global medals, but she is still hungry for more success.

 "So, of course, there is still something that I am hungry for and something I am looking forward to.

 "I am looking forward to hopefully making the Olympic team in Rio. I am still young, I think, at 28, so I am just looking forward to the rest of the year."
« Last Edit: February 15, 2015, 04:51:24 PM by Socapro »
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Javon Francis stars on return at Camperdown Classic
« Reply #29 on: February 16, 2015, 12:19:53 AM »
Javon Francis stars on return at Camperdown Classic
BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, February 15, 2015 (Jamaica Observer)


Javon Francis (left) of Akon Track Club winning heat two of the men’s 400m open in 46.29 seconds ahead of Edino Steele of Racers Track. Kerron Stewart of Racers on her way to winning heat two of the women’s 400m open in 55.17 seconds. (PHOTOS: BRYAN CUMMINGS)

JAMAICA'S 400m prodigy Javon Francis made a successful return to the track clocking the fastest time of 46.29 seconds in the men's 400m open in at the Camperdown Classic yesterday.

 However, the world's fastest man Usain Bolt, who was slated to open his seasonal account also in the 400m, as well as 2008 Olympic 400m hurdles gold medallist Melaine Walker failed to show up for the meet.

 Francis, formerly of Calabar High, but now representing the Michael Clarke-led Akon Track Club, had not run since smashing Bolt's record at Champs last March with a blistering 45.00 seconds. He looked smooth in dismissing Racers' Edino Steele in heat two.

 Drawn in lane seven behind Steele in lane eight, by the time the runners completed 100 metres, Francis, or 'Donkey Man' as he is affectionately called, effortlessly galloped past Steele -- who has a best time of 45.38 seconds -- and cruised home to loud applause from the fans.

 It was a welcomed return to the track for the promising athlete, and he was beaming from ear to ear when he spoke with the Jamaica Observer under the watchful eyes of his agent, Juliet Campbell, former 200m and 400m Jamaican sprinter.

 "It was my first race for a while and I feel happy, and I am glad I came out here and performed at my best," said a smiling Francis.

 When asked if he was satisfied with his time of 46.29 seconds, Francis said he was happy. "I could have run much faster, but I am really happy because I was injured last year and I came out here and made a mark that Javon Francis is here back.

 "My plans for this year is to stay healthy and I will be at Gibson Relays coming up soon, so my fans will see me there and I am working hard," he noted.

 Olympic 200m bronze medallist Warren Weir also won heat one in 47.33 seconds, as did 2014 Commonwealth Games 100m champion Kemar Bailey-Cole, who recorded 48.64 seconds in winning heat four. Delano Williams of Racers won heat six in 46.8 seconds.

 Kerron Stewart, the 2008 Olympic 100m silver medallist, won heat two of the women's 400m open in 55.17 seconds, but was slower than that of heat one winner and 400m hurdler, Ristananna Tracey, who clocked 54.63 seconds.

 Meanwhile, Calabar High led by a sizzling second leg from Michael O'Hara, blitz to a wonderful 39.82 seconds in winning heat two of the boys' Class One 4x100m relay.

 Last year they did 39.35 seconds and established a new record at Champs, which makes this time a splendid one so early in the season. JC were second fastest winning heat one in 40.79 seconds.

 St Jago's Class Three girls ran 46.62 seconds, and were quickest overall ahead of Vere Technical's 47.89 seconds. The Monk Street-based school showed their growing depth and was also quickest in Class Two with 47.44 and Class Four with 48.35 seconds.

 Daniel Wint of Manchester High stopped the clock at 1:55.28 minutes and was quickest in the Class One 800m, while Rojaire Bingham of Mona High was second with 1:55.40 ahead of Shemar Walker of JC in 1:55.57 minutes.

 Nicholas Maitland of Racers won the men's 800m open in 1:55.67 minutes ahead of Michael Stone of UWI in 1:55.90 minutes. Jamar McNaughton of UWI won heat two in 1:57.31.

 Rushell Clayton of UWI was quickest in the Class One 800m open with 2:13.09 minutes. Vere Technical's Sasha-Gaye Whyte was second in 2:13.74, while Cameka Witter of St Andrew Technical High in 2:14.12 minutes won heat Two.

 In the Class Two 800m, JC's Maleik Smith was fastest overall, winning heat three in 1:57.59 minutes. Leon Clarke of St Jago was second in 1:57.62 in capturing heat one. Kingston College's Damoy Boyd was third fastest in 2:00.02 minutes.
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

 

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