World Champs training camp begins today in Japan
Despite not officially naming Jamaica’s team to the World Championships in Beijing, the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association’s (JAAA) 10-day training camp starts today in Tottori Prefecture, Japan.
The team will then travel from the southern Japan training base to Beijing, China, on August 18 for the Championships, which runs from August 22 through to August 30.
Only Jamaica and fierce rivals the United States of America (USA) — two of the major players in athletics — have not named their teams to the IAAF World Championships.
However, the JAAA is expected to announce a powerful Jamaican team headed by defending sprint champions, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce next Monday, which is the final day of entries for the championship.
Dr Warren Blake, president of the JAAA had earlier indicated that the training camp would be of no cost to Jamaica, thanks to their Japanese hosts.
Tottori Prefecture is the least populous district in Japan and is heavily agricultural, which the JAAA believes will help tremendously in providing an ideal environment to prepare the athletes.
Tottori is a major producer of rice and also produces pear, watermelon, Japanese scallion and nagaimo yam.
The JAAA and various clubs were at loggerheads where training camps were concerned in years past, but this year president Blake expects no such problems.
— Howard Walker