Men’s sprint hurdlers target podium finish
The morning session of day two of track and field at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games proved to be a very successful one for Jamaica, as all six performing athletes advanced to the second round of their respective events.
The three women in the 400m and three men in the 110m hurdles safely navigated the challenges of the first round to book semi-final spots on a brutally hot morning.
The women’s 400 began just after 10:00 am and the extreme heat made it uncomfortable for the athletes.
First on the track was Sprintec athlete Anastasia Le-Roy, who did well to run with Amantle Montsho of Botswana. Le-Roy ran a season’s best 51.37secs to finish second behind the former African champion Montsho, who won in 51.20secs.
Defending Commonwealth champion Stephenie-Ann McPherson won heat two quite comfortably as she separated herself from the field on the backstretch before hitting the home stretch way out in front of the field, and stopped the clock at 50.80secs.
Tavea Jenkins was also a second-place finisher in heat three, crossing the line in 52.58secs to finish behind Maximilia Imali of Kenya who won in 51.74secs. All three women will again face the starter in the semi-finals tonight (6:16 am Jamaica time).
There were only two heats of the men’s 110m hurdles. Schoolboy debutant De’Jour Russell ran out of lane one in heat one and advanced to the final on time after finishing fourth in 13.64secs.
Showing signs of nerves and probably adjusting to the Olympic height, Russell hit at least five of the hurdles before crossing the finishing line. Andrew Pozzi of England was first in 13.29, Antonio Alkana of South Africa was second in 13.32 and Nicholas Hough of Australia third sin 13.46.
However in heat two, qualification was clear-cut for the two Jamaican representatives. Hansle Parchment, who ran out of lane six, passed Ronald Levy, who eased up at the line and finished in second place from lane one. Parchment won in a time of 13.30, Levy was second in 13.35, and Milan Trajkovic of Cyprus was third in 13.36.
Pozzi seems to be the clear threat to the three Jamaicans who will contest the hurdles final at 4:45 am (Jamaica time) today. However, as has often been seen, the hurdles can become real obstacles in a final where so much is at stake.
— Dwayne Richards