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Jamaica's Boys' and Girls' Championships start today

By Ricardo Chambers

 

Twenty-one preliminary events will be contested on Tuesday's opening day of the highly anticipated 104th staging of the ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Athletic Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston. For the second successive year the event will be contested over five days, up from four in previous years.

Calabar High is favored to land a 23rd title and third consecutive crown on the boys’ side, while Edwin Allen from Frankfield in Clarendon is highly favored to dethrone Holmwood Technical for the girls’ trophy.

Global medalists

A number of global senior and youth medalists will be in action as the preliminaries of the sprint hurdles and 400 meters are contested on Tuesday.

World Youth record holder Yanique Thompson of Holmwood Technical will start her class one (U-20) campaign in the 100 meter hurdles where she is expected to be hotly challenged by St. Jago High's Peta-Gay Williams in Saturday's final.

Jaheel Hyde of Wolmer's who won the World Youth title last year will also start his class one career in the 110 meter hurdles. However, Hyde will not start as favorite, with Calabar High's Michael O'hara who won the World Youth gold medal over 200 meters last year widely tipped to win the final on Saturday.

400M

The highly anticipated 400 meters will also begin on Tuesday, with Javon Francis who ran a stunning anchor leg to give Jamaica silver in the 4x4 relay at last year's World Championships in Moscow, expected to start his quest for Usain Bolt's class one record.

Bolt's record stands at 45.35 in 2003 while Francis has a personal best 45.24 and a season's best of 45.95, the fastest time ever run by a high school athlete before the championship.

Attention will also be focused on Calabar High's class three (U-14) star Christopher Taylor,  who will be chasing the one year old 400 record of 49.13, set by Kingston College's Nathaniel Bann. Taylor has already run 48.54 this season.

A hotly contested race is also expected in the girls’ class one event, with Carifta Trials winner Dawnalee Loney, the lone entrant from Balaclava High, battling Vere Technical's Yanique McNeil who won in class two (15-17) last year.

The long jump prelims for class one boys, high jump and discus throw for class one girls will be some of the field events on the opening day which will start at 2:00PM  Jamaica time with the javelin throw open for boys.

 



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