ON YOUR MARKS

JAAA National Champs starts today

THE COUNTRY’s top junior and senior athletes will be in action over the next four days at the JAAA/Supreme Ventures National Junior and Senior Championships, which will take place at the National Stadium. Junior athletes will be seeking places on two teams : the IAAF World Under 20 Championships to be held in Tampere, Finland, July 10-15, and the World Youth Olympic Games, to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 1117.

Top events on the seniors’ calendar are the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Colombia; the NACAC Under-23 Championships in Toronto, Canada, and the World Cup in London, England, on July 14 and 14.Competition on today’s opening day is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with the qualifying rounds of the men’s 100 metres. The best seven (based on time) will advance to the quarter- finals, where they will join the 24 seeded athletes. The quarter-finals start at 8:55 p.m.

COMPETITIVE FIELD

The top men in the 100m are expected to be 2011 World Champion Yohan Blake, 2014 Commonwealth gold medallist Kemar Bailey Cole, Senoj Jay Givans, Nesta Carter, Jevaughn Minzie along with overseas-based Raheem Chambers and Waseem Williams.

The MVP duo of Elaine Thompson, the 2016 Olympics sprint double winner, and Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, a past World and Olympic champion in the event, head the women’s list, which will also include the likes of Christania Williams, Jura Levy, Gayon Evans, along with Nataliah Whyte and Jonielle Smith, two recent finalists at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The women will not be in action today.

Today will also see senior competition on the track for males and females in the 400m hurdles. The women slated to take the track at 6:05 p.m. with the men down to compete at 6:20 p.m. .

There will also be preliminary round action for junior athletes in the 100m and 400 metres.

There will be two field event finals on today’s opening day: the men’s javelin throw for Men at

5:30 p.m and the Men’s triple jump at 5:32:p.m .