Excelsior’s Seymoure targets back-to-back discus titles
Excelsior High’s Najhada Seymoure will be seeking to retain her Girls’ Class One discus throw title on Wednesday’s second day of the 115th staging of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium.
Seymoure, who is the leading thrower this year with a best of 51.77m, needed two attempts to get the automatic qualifying mark of 46.00m. She threw 46.62m, the sixth-best overall.
Edwin Allen High’s Shamoyea Morris, the silver medallist last year, led the qualifying with 50.31m on her only attempt. Morris was followed by Gianna Clayton of Excelsior High who also needed just one throw to get 48.88m.
St Catherine High’s Able Mills, the second best this year with 51.68m, qualified with one throw, getting 48.46m. Hydel High’s Shantangelo Williams also advanced with one throw of 48.37m.
Meanwhile, Immaculate Conception High’s Jaeda Robinson jumped 5.84m (-0,6m/s) on her only attempt to lead the qualification to Thursday’s final of the Girls’ Class Two long jump.
This event is expected to be one of the most competitive with a quality field including medallists from both Class Two and Class Three last year.
Robinson had placed second in Class Two last year, while Rihanna Chambers of St Catherine High, who jumped a wind-aided 5.54m (3.2m/s) on Tuesday, had finished fourth last year.
Immaculate Conception High’s Zoelle Jamel looks well set to retain her Javelin Open title in Thursday’s final after she needed just one throw to lead the qualifying with a season’s best 40.08m.
Jamel is expected to face a good challenge from last year’s bronze medalist Hydel High’s Natassia Burrell, who threw 39.76m, as only two athletes threw over the 36.00m automatic qualifying mark.
Burrell, the winner at the Carifta Trials, has a season’s best 43.26m, the best so far.
— Paul A Reid