Ellis fires early warning shots
NIGEL ELLIS sent the clear message that he is ready to battle for a place on Jamaica’s team to the Olympic Games in Paris, France, this summer with quick times at the recently held Gibson McCook Relays.
In the heats of the men’s 100 metres, Ellis ran a controlled race in what was then a season’s best time of 10.15 seconds to advance to the final.
Just about two hours later, Ellis powered to an even faster 10.09 to win the General Accident-sponsored men’s 100m final in wet, rainy conditions at the National Stadium.
Ellis got the better of other Olympic hopefuls, Javorne Dunkley, who was second in 10.17 and Jazeel Murphy, third in 10.23.
Ellis’ time was just .05 seconds outside of his personal best of 10.04 seconds and was a really good time for him to be running in February, especially considering the weather conditions.
His control of the final from start to finish and his acceleration over the last 20 metres to power away from the field was reminiscent of what he did as a schoolboy while at St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) and will rekindle hope among his fans that this may be the year that he does something special.
SPONSORED GIFTS
Later, Ellis, alongside second and third-place winners Dunkley and Murphy, walked away with gift baskets chock-full of sporting goods courtesy of race sponsor General Accident.
The first-time race sponsors were glad to support the efforts of the next generation of Olympic hopefuls.
“A staple event on the track calendar, the Gibson McCook Relays showcases the brightest track stars of the future, true assets to the sport. At GenAc, safeguarding your most valuable assets is our business, and we are proud to sponsor a competition geared towards protecting Jamaica’s athletic future,” Chief Operating Officer Gregory Foster shared.
Ellis, a former Carifta Games 100-metre champion, also has a Commonwealth Games 4x100m bronze medal from the 2018 championship held in the Gold Coast in Australia, but is yet to make a real mark, on an individual level, in the senior ranks.
At 26 years old, Ellis now has the experience required to become one of the top sprinters in the world and must be looking at the Paris Games as his chance at real stardom.
But before he can have the chance to do that, Ellis will have to get past the plethora of other young male Jamaican sprinters with similar dreams this year, which makes the men’s 100m final at the National Championships in June a must-see event.