The Trelawny Stadium is to be named after Jamaican World Sprint Champion Usain Bolt.
Natalie Neita-Headley Jamaica’s Sports Minister revealed this to journalist during a press briefing, earlier today. But this will not be done until financing is available to build a track at the Stadium.
The Trelawny Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Trelawny, Jamaica which was constructed with financial support from the Peoples Republic of China in 2007, and the stadium hosted the opening ceremony of the 2007 Cricket World Cup and it was also used for a couple of warm up matches.
The Trelawny Stadium as also hosted a few football matches and this must be a huge honour for a great athlete like Usain Bolt.
Trelawny multi purpose stadium. photo credit complant.com
Sprint Supremo Usain Bolt has pulled out of the 100 metres at the Jamaican national trials. But this would in No way affect his Eligibility to defend his world championship title in August Bolt automatically qualifies to defend his title.
It is believed Bolt’s coach Glen Mills decided that the Jamaican Sprint king should concentrate on training for the Diamond League races in Paris and Lausanne as a build up to the world championships.
Bolt has not had a particularly outstanding season so far as his 10.12sec best time is a far cry from his 2009 world record of 9.58.
A sharp Contrast to Usain Bolt’s recent performances is exactly what American athlete Justin Gatlin has had so far, and the Controversial athlete as returned the fastest time so far this year at 9.74secs and pundits are already talking up a straight battle between Bolt And Gatlin at the world championships in.
Wether this will come to pass still remains to be seen but if it happens it might be Bolt’s biggest challenge yet.
4x100m: Jamaica 36.84, 11 August 2012, London
4x200m: Jamaica 1:18.63, 24 May 2014, Nassau
4x400m: United States 2:54.29, 22 August 1993, Stuttgart
4x800m: Kenya 7:02.43, 25 August 2006, Brussels
Distance medley*: Kenya 9:15.56, 29 April 2006, Philadelphia
Women
4x100m: United States 40.82, 10 August 2012, London
4x200m: United States 1:27.46, 29 April 2000, Philadelphia
4x400m: USSR 3:15.17, 1 October 1988, Seoul
4x800m: USSR 7:50.17, 5 August 1984, Moscow
Distance medley*: United States 10:42.57 (indoors), 7 February 2015, Boston
NOTE: The payment of all prize money is dependent upon athletes undergoing and clearing the usual anti-doping procedures.
*Distance medley becomes official world record event
The distance medley (which comprises legs of 1200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m) will be officially recognised as a world record distance from 1 May 2015.
Timetable
Times are local; GMT -4 hours
Saturday 1 May:
19:00 Men’s 4x400m heats
19:29 Women’s 4x200m heats
19:46 Men’s 4x100m heats
20:09 Men’s 4x800m final
20:32 Women’s 4x400m heats
21:02 Women’s distance medley final
21:29 Men’s 4x100m final B
21:36 Women’s 4x200m final
21:52 Men’s 4x100m final
Sunday 3 May:
19:00 Men’s 4x200m heats
19:20 Women’s 4x100m heats
19:40 Women’s 4x800m final
20:02 Women’s 4x400m final B
20:12 Women’s 4x400m final
20:31 Men’s distance medley final
20:57 Men’s 4x400m final B
21:06 Men’s 4x200m final
21:23 Women’s 4x100m final B
21:30 Women’s 4x100m final
21:46 Women’s 4x400m final
Alia Atkinson from Jamaica knew she was close to the victory and for some seconds looked at the scoreboard, perhaps waiting to see her name next to number 2. When she realised that in fact she was aligned with number 1, she couldn’t almost believe it: her expression after getting the gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke says everything about the surprising outcome of the race.
Swimming next to her, Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania, the World Record (WR) holder in 1:02.36 and fastest of the semis in a Championships Record (CR) of 1:02.43, seemed to have the race under control, but gliding in excess in the last stroke, she allowed the triumph of the Jamaican star.
In an equalled WR of 1:02.36, Atkinson won the first gold medal ever in the history of three Championships for her country, while Meilutyte got the silver in 1:02.46. On Day 2, the 50m breaststroke had finished in the reverse order, with the Lithuanian earning gold and Atkinson finishing second.
On the fourth day of the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) in Doha, this was one of the highlights of the evening session, which registered four other World Records: after getting the gold and the best world mark in the 50m free, Florent Manaudou (FRA) was again imperial in the 50m backstroke, stopping the clock in 22.22, much faster than the 22.61 established by Peter Marhsall (USA) in 2009.
The French champion, also surprised with his time, didn’t have much time to rest, qualifying some minutes later for the final of the 100m free with the third fastest time of the semis (behind Cesar Cielo and Joao de Lucca, from Brazil).
Alia Atkinson of Jamaica couldn’t almost believe it after getting the gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke
Katinka Hosszu (HUN) continued to impress, getting her fourth gold, accompanied by WR performance. After the 100m and 200m backstroke, and the 100m IM, the Magyar champion dominated the field in the 200m IM, touching home in a new global best of 2:01.86, improving her own WR (2:02.13) set in August 31 in Dubai (UAE) during the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup. With her two silver medals in the 200m butterfly and 400m IM, Hosszu is now the best female swimmer in Doha, confirming her status as dominator of the current short-course season, crowned by the recent award of FINA Best Female Swimmer of 2014.
In the first event of the day, the team of Russia improved their own WR (1:23.36) from 2013 in the men’s 4x50m free relay, touching home in 1:22.60. Thanks to a very fast start from Vladimir Morozov (21.01), the Russian quartet always controlled the pace of the race, and his teammates – Evgeny Sedov, Oleg Tikhobaev and Sergei Fesikov – were very regular, never losing the first place. The minor medals in this new event at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) went to USA (silver) and Italy (bronze). In the mixed 4x50m free relay, also a premiere, the United States (Josh Schneider, Matt Grevers, Madison Kennedy and Abbey Weitzeil) also improved the WR of this recent event, earning gold in 1:28.57 and leaving the previous WR holders, Russia, with the silver.
The Commonwealth Games Federation has rescued the dreams of a group of athletes from Kenya, Jamaica, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago, Tanzania, Australia, Ghana, and the Bahamas by approving their late entry to take part in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow starting this Wednesday (July 23).
A well-advertised deadline for entries closed on June 11, but due to a number of oversights by their own administrators the athletes were not entered and faced missing their events.
The officials from the eight countries sought special dispensation from the Commonwealth Games Federation for a total of 48 affected athletes.
“The CGF Executive Board took the view that wherever possible athletes should not suffer because of the failings of their administrators,” said CGF President, HRH Prince Imran.
“But we also had to ensure that the extra numbers could be accommodated at this very late stage within the existing complex operations and schedules, and without unfairly impact on those properly entered.
“We thank the Glasgow Organising Committee for working through the issues at this very busy time to allow us to assist the athletes.”
“The CGF and the Organising Committee are committed to these Games being athlete-centred and sport focused.”
All 48 athletes affected will now be able to partake in the Games.
“These athletes have trained for years for the opportunity to take part at Glasgow and we welcome them to these Commonwealth Games and wish them well,” said Prince Imran.
“But these situations must be avoided in the future. There is an on-going review of the sports program which will culminate at our General Assembly next year in Auckland and the CGF Board will, as part of that process, look at imposing sanctions against those Commonwealth Games Associations who fail to meet important deadlines that impact on the Games’ operations and their own athletes.”
The gun goes on the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships at the historic Hayward Field stadium in Eugene, USA, in exact one month’s time and some of the top teenage athletics talents in the world have already been showing their form this summer.
US sprinter Trayvon Bromell recently sped top a world junior 100m record of 9.97 at Hayward Field while China, Jamaica, Kenya and Russia’s top juniors have been in fine form at home and overseas.
All this adds up to what should be a thrilling six days of action at Oregon 2014, which is expected to be the biggest IAAF World Athletics Series event ever staged on American soil.
The 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships will be held between 22-27 July.
African sprint Queen, Blessing Okagbare will ignite her hunger to beat the best on the tracks as she renews her rivalry with Shelley Frazer-Price in the forthcoming Diamond League competition holding in Jamaica on Saturday, May 3rd this year. Frazer-Price will lead a star studded Jamaican contingent as well as other high profile international athletes to the Jamaican meet.
It portends to be a busy Diamond season as Okagbare, who aims to upset the Jamaican team captain to the London 2012 Olympics in her home country, will proceed from Kingston, Jamaica to Doha on the 9th of May and from there to China 8 days later.
Speaking from her base in the United States of America, Okagbare enthused that she is never afraid of competing with the best but rather see it as a challenge to raise the bar. The African 100 metres record holder stated that, “Jamaica is a country of champions. Everyone knows about their prowess and their enviable success on the tracks, but I’m determined to compete on the big stage and prove myself.” Adding that, “I believe it is doable (beating Frazer-Price in her native country). My records will always get better and so I can only train harder, grow my aspirations and keep my belief aflame.”
Evidently, a good outing at these world athletic championships will go a long way to position Okagbare as the athlete to beat during the Nigerian Trials holding in mid-June where she will defend her titles.
The 25 year old has remained Nigeria’s best export and medal hopeful in recent times especially in 100meters, 200meters, 4x100metres relay, Long Jump and Triple Jump. Posting impressive returns in London and California last year, Okagbare boasts a bouquet of enviable results. Among these are Olympic Games Bronze medalist, World Championships Silver and Bronze medalist, All-Africa Games Gold and Silver medalist, African Championships Gold and Silver medalist as well as Diamond League Winner.
The excitement is starting to mount with exactly one month to go until the first gun goes at the inaugural IAAF World Relays, which will be held in Nassau, The Bahamas, on 24-25 May 2014.
Although most of the expected teams have yet to make their final squad selections, it is already known that the sport’s superpowers with a baton, like Kenya, Jamaica, the USA and many European nations, will be sending their strongest men and women’s teams to contest the five disciplines on the programme of this innovative event.
Into the bargain, the host nation with its own fantastic relay tradition, is out to ensure that some medals remain in The Bahamas.
There are two big incentives for nations to send their best squads to contest the 10 events which will be staged in the newly-built 15,000-seater Thomas A Robinson Stadium, with both men and women competing in the 4x100m, 4x200m, 4x400m, 4x800m and 4x1500m.
The top eight teams in both the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m will automatically qualify for the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015.
In addition, the top eight teams in each event will be awarded prize money with the gold medallists taking home no less than USD $50,000. In the event that a team breaks a World record in Nassau, an additional bonus of USD $50,000 will also be awarded.
Preliminary entries suggest that more than 700 athletes from 48 IAAF Member Federations will take part in Nassau.
Whetting the appetite for the forthcoming relay extravaganza, 2014 has already seen the US men set a World indoor 4x400m record and a quartet of Kenyan women running a 4x1500m faster than ever before.
Into the bargain, regardless who is in their team, Jamaican sprinters have collectively said that they will be targeting the World record in the men’s 4x200m in Nassau.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in an urgent arbitration brought by the Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown against the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
The CAS has upheld the appeal filed by Veronica Campbell- Brown and has set aside the decisions of the Doping Review Board of the International Association of Athletics Federations dated 10 February 2014 and of the Jamaica Athletics Administration Association dated 12 February 2014.
On 4 May 2013, the athlete underwent a doping control at the Jamaica Invitation Meet which returned a positive result for the specified substance hydrochlorothiazide.
Ms Campbell-Brown accepted a provisional suspension from 16 June 2013 while the investigations were taking place. In October 2013, the JAAA Disciplinary Panel recommended that Ms Campbell-Brown be sanctioned with a reprimand and public warning.
The file was subsequently passed to the IAAF Doping Review Board which declared that the athlete’s provisional suspension would remain in place pending its determination.
On 10 February 2014, the IAAF Review Board issued its directions to the JAAA Disciplinary Panel, recommending that a two-year suspension be imposed on the athlete.
On 12 February 2014, the JAAA Disciplinary Panel issued its final decision in this matter, confirming the two-year suspension.
The same day, Ms Campbell-Brown filed her appeal to the CAS requesting that the decisions taken by the IAAF Doping Review Board and the JAAA Disciplinary Panel be set aside, arguing that there was no valid or admissible evidence upon which to find that she had committed an anti-doping rule violation and that accordingly, no consequences could be imposed on her.
The athlete argued that the WADA International Standards for Testing (IST) have been violated during the course of the sample collection process, thus compromising the integrity of the urine sample collected.
Veronica Campbell-Brown requested an expedited procedure in order for a decision to be issued in time for her to register for the 2014 IAAF Indoor Championships, should she succeed in her appeal.
The IAAF and JAAA agreed to such request and a hearing was held on Friday, 21 February 2014 before the panel of CAS arbitrators appointed to decide the dispute
(Mr Philippe Sands QC, United Kingdom (President), Mr Jeffrey G. Benz, USA, and the Hon. Michael J. Beloff QC, United Kingdom).
At the request of the parties, the arbitration procedure has been kept confidential.
The full arbitral award, with the grounds for the Panel’s decision, will be issued to the parties in a few weeks.
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