Francis to return at McKenley/Wint Classic
Former national 400m champion Javon Francis will be one of the main attractions on the programme at Calabar High School’s McKenley/Wint Track and Field Classic this year. Francis will take part in the men’s 400m race, his first competitive outing in six months, after recovering from an injury, which saw him miss last summer’s IAAF World Championships in London, England.
“I am fit again and I’m raring to go,” the Calabar old boy said. “I will be aiming for sub-45 seconds, as I will be using this to help me prepare for both the World Indoor and Commonwealth Games.”
Chairperson of the meet’s organising committee, Andrea Hardware, said that there will be a maximum of four athletes per school for track and three for field events.
“We have planned an on-time meet and therefore we will stick with the number of entrants per event, per school,” she said.
SENIOR ATHLETES
There were issues last year with the lighting on the track, but Hardware stated that measures have been put in place to ensure that no such problems arise this time around. “We have put in lights to facilitate the full completion of the meet,” she stated.
With the country’s senior athletes set to participate in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England, in March, and the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia in April, organisers have ensured that some events are in place for them. Apart from the 400m event, which was on the programme last year, there will be two new events. These are the 60m sprint and the 60m hurdles for both males and females. All three events will attract prize monies of $10,000 male and female winners in each race.
Some of the other male teams expected to compete are Kingston College, Jamaica College, St Jago High and Wolmer’s Boys School. On the female side, Hydel High School, Vere Technical High School and most of the teams in the Corporate Area will be on show.