St Mary High School Captain Delroy Hall was brought to tears as his participation in the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) ended in disappointment. He was disqualified from the Class One boys’ 400m semi-finals for a false start at the National Stadium yesterday.

Hall, 19, laid flat on his back on the cycle track, overcome with emotion upon his disqualification from the event with his teammates providing consolation.

Competing for the final time at Champs, Hall expressed deep disappointment with his performance and he said that he let his team down.

“As the team captain of St Mary, I knew there were high expectations for me in this event,” he said. “Especially since this is my final year, I really wanted to do something special for my team, but I believe nerves got the better of me.”

“This is my first time false starting because usually I am a very calm person in the blocks. But I think my nerves got the better of me. I just have to move on, and I believe this setback will only make me stronger for the future.”

Hailing from Portland, Hall entered the race with a personal best time of 48.31 seconds and was determined to improve upon it to secure his place in the championship final. Despite facing challenges throughout the season, including injuries and personal struggles, Hall expressed gratitude for the opportunity to compete at Champs this year.

“I had a lot of injuries and ups and downs, and I was also depressed because I wasn’t running well,” Hall said. “But my coaches told me to trust the process, and coming into this championship, I managed to overcome them. So to come here and false start, it’s really a heart breaker for me.

“I am happy that I had the opportunity to compete at Champs because I didn’t know if I would be here based on all that I went through earlier this year.”