Go west
TRIPLE World Record holder and double sprint defending champion Usain Bolt and gold medallist Veronica Campbell Brown headline eight athletes with western Jamaica roots who were named in the 53-member Jamaican team to the 15th IAAF world Championships that starts next weekend in Beijing, China.
The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) released the team list late Monday night and the eight westerners — three men and five women were included.
At the time at least five were already in the pre-competition camp in Japan from where the team will head to the Chinese capital next week in time for the start of the competition Friday evening Jamaican time.
Bolt, Roxroy Cato and Dane Hyatt are the three men named as well as Campbell-Brown, Stephenie Ann McPherson, Kaliese Spencer, Danniel Thomas and Salcia Slack.
Bolt who was slow to get into top form this season, will be under pressure from American rival Justin Gatlin to defend both if his titles, the 100m and 200m and will be part of the 4x100m relay team.
The former William Knibb Memorial standout, however, ran 9.87 seconds twice on one evening at the London Diamond League meeting, making him only the sixth fastest man this season and second best Jamaican behind Asafa Powell.
Cato, formerly of Grange Hill and Green Island High schools, will contest the 400m hurdles after placing second at the National Senior trials and is the fastest Jamaican in the event so far this year after he ran 48.72 seconds to take the bronze at the Pan-American Games in Toronto three weeks ago.
Hyatt, the former William Knibb High athlete, who was also a member of the daCosta Cup team that lost in the daCosta Cup finals, will be part of the 4x400m relay pool.
Campbell Brown, who started her career at Troy Primary in Trelawny, qualified for both the 100m and 200m event in her sixth World Championships.
Commonwealth Games champions Stephenie Ann McPherson, the former Manning’s School standout will hope to improve on her fourth place in the 400m from two years ago in Moscow, Russia, while her former teammate Kaliese Spencer will be gunning for her first medal at the World Championships in the 400m hurdles.
Spencer was disqualified in the first round of the event in Moscow but made up by winning the IAAF Diamond League and Commonwealth Games gold last year.
Shot putter Danniel Thomas, formerly of Frome Technical, and Heptathlete Salcia Slack, who started at Maldon High are making their debuts at the World Championships.
Thomas who won gold medals at ISSA Girls Champs for Edwin Allen High qualified for the World Championships after achieving her personal best 17.76m at the Pan-American Games in Toronto, Canada.
Slack, who set the National Junior Record in the seven-event heptathlon while representing Holmwood Technical, just completed a successful NCAA Division Two career by winning back-to-back gold medals in the heptathlon.