No doubt the friendly, but highly-charged rivalry between Jamaica's two world record holders. [Yohan Blake] and Bolt will be the focus of attention after what has been a highlight year for both. But other Caribbean sprinters such as St. Kitts' [Kim Collins] and Trinidad and Tobago's [Richard Thompson] and fellow Jamaican Powell cannot be ruled out of the medal mix in the 100 and 200 meters. The 22-year-old Blake made a show of his aspirations when he easily won last year's World Championships after Bolt was disqualified: he then made a permanent dent in Bolt's armor of invincibility by clobbering him twice (100m and 200m) at Jamaica's Olympic trials earlier this month. Other Caribbean athletes poised to make their mark in London are Grenada's Rondell Bartolomew, (400m), Ryan Braithwaite à former World Championship gold medalist of Barbados, (110m Hurdles); St. Vincent and the Grenadines' Kineke Alexander (Women's 400m), Antiguan sprinter Daniel Bailey, (100m), and Guyana's Aliann Pompey, a former Commonwealth Games gold medalist (Women's 400m).
[Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce] burst on to the scene as a fresh-faced youngster in 2008, winning the local national trials before going on to shock the nation and the crown by claiming the title at the Beijing Olympic Games. Fraser-Pryce clocked an impressive 10.78 seconds to lead a Jamaican sweep of the event finishing ahead of compatriots Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart.
[Jason Morgan], who finished 10th in qualifying at the IAAF World Athletic Championships in Daegu, South Korea, last year with a throw of 61.75m, well below his best, has been improving each week so far this outdoor season. He opened up with a 62.07m throw to win at the McNeese University Cowboy Relays at Lake Charles, Louisiana, in early March. Then, on March 17, he hurled the implement 63.82m for another win at the Louisiana Classics. That throw ranked him seventh in the world this season.
Cases brought by the Jamaica AntiDoping Commission (JADCo) Disciplinary Panel against track athletes [Dominique Blake] Blake and Ricardo Cunningham have been adjourned until December 3-5 and November 1, respectively, because of the absence of adequate documentation and witnesses. Blake and Dixon were clearly not in favour of an adjournment at the outset, with Dixon pointing out·' "My client is here now, she does not reside in Jamaica and we are here now and believe we can present a good rebuttal. We are prepared to present a case to you." Blake in turn is to file with the JADCo Secretariat a comprehensive brief no later than November 7, 2012.
"The thing that stands out most, because it is something that people have been asking for, is the opportunity to see the top MVP - remembering that MVP has Asafa [Asafa Powell], Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, among others, versus the top Racers track club team, remembering they have Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake," [Paul Francis] disclosed. MVP fastmen Powell, Carter and Frater are already confirmed for their 4x100m team, and comeet organiser and MVP president, Bruce James, is anticipating Racers team comprising of and Olympic champion Bolt World champion Blake.
Olympic 400m champion Sanya Richards-Ross presents cheque worth US$10,000 (J$900,000) to her alma mater on Wednesday, October 17. "I expect it to help in a big way. You hear of the parents who have very talented kids but sometimes just can't afford it, and it really breaks my heart because I am very thankful that my parents made the sacrifice to keep me in school. So if I can help the next Sanya Richards -Ross then it's all worth it," Richards-Ross noted.
Olympic 200m bronze medallist Warren Weir, and Kemar Bailey-Cole, a 4x100m relay gold medallist and Jamaica's newest member of the sub-10 seconds 100m club, with a best of 9.97, lead that group, which also includes Jason Young, who has a personal best of 19.86 200m, and World Junior Championships 100m finalist Jazeel Murphy. "It's going to take a little time and depends on how well he adapts to the corrections and training and so forth though," [Mills] warned, before explaining some of the issues the lanky sprinter has had to overcome.
With Bolt emerging as the overall 100m champion of the recently concluded Diamond League series he, along with defending 100m world champion Yohan Blake, qualified for a bye to the World Championships. "I think Blake has earned his right to compete in the 100m by winning the 100m at the last World Championships, so I was always going to run the 100m," he added. "For the 200m, that will have to be determined based on what the JAAA decides, because I think that they are the ones who pick which wild card they want," [Bolt] said.
