Juniors take spotlight
THE country’s leading junior athletes will be in action today and tomorrow at the two-day Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association ‘s (JAAA) National Junior Championships inside the National Stadium.
Under-18 and Under-20 athletes will be seeking places on two teams. The Under-18s will be hoping to make the team to the IAAF World Under-18 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, July 12-16 while the Under-20s will seeking spots to the Junior Pan Am Championships scheduled for Peru, July 2123. Action begins today at 10:30 a.m. with the preliminary rounds of the Under-18 girls 400 metres hurdles. Thirty finals will be contested today, 16 on the track and 14 in the field. JAAA secretary Garth Gayle says everything is in place for the meet.
“We are looking forward for two days of great competition and we are optimistic that the athletes will do well despite the fact that most of them are now doing internal and external examinations,” he said.
Highlight on today’s opening day will be the 100m for both sexes.
Here world number two on the IAAF World Youth list, Kevona Davis of Edwin Allen High, will be in action among Under-18s and she should advance to the 6:15 final. A week ago Davis raced to a new personal best of 11.42 seconds bettering her previous best of 11.43.
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
St Jago High’s Aneika Brissett along with Edwin Allen’s Sasheika Cameron and Patrice Moodie should fight out the finish in the Under-20 girls sprint.
Calabar High’s Michael Stephens will start favourite for the boys Under-20 100m final which is set of 6:20 p.m. Stephens is number four on the IAAF World Youth list with a best of 10.37.