Jamaica Continues To Show Strength In World Athletics

Tue, Sep 4th 2012, 10:29 AM

Two interesting items came out of the Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) meet in Berlin, Germany this past Saturday. Another Jamaican speedster emerged and it was also our sister island showing the way in a relatively new event, the mixed sprint relay. The depth of sprinting in Jamaica is mind-boggling. You lead with Usain Bolt, regarded by many as the greatest sprinter in the history of world track.

There is Asafa Powell who has run more sub-10 second 100 meters (m) than any other, past or present. The new sensation, Yohan Blake, along with Nesta Carter, Michael Frater and Bolt are the world sprint record holders (36.84). Then, you have Warren Weir who surprised the word by winning the bronze medal in the 200m at the London Olympics. Now, there is a youngster by the name of Kemar Bailey-Cole.

He actually surfaced on the world stage at the London Olympics when he ran the first heat of the 4x100m relay with Blake, Carter and Frater. The big man, Bolt, took his place in the final and the 20-year-old Bailey-Cole became sort of an afterthought. However, when he clocked 10 seconds flat in Berlin last Saturday to win the feature 100m over St. Kitts/Nevis' Kim Collins, another name was indeed established to cement the Jamaican depth in sprinting.

It was Bailey-Cole, also, who anchored the mixed relay event in yet another victory for Jamaica. He zipped over the finish line with the clock stopped at 40.58 seconds for first. The baton passing was not the greatest in the novelty event but victory was made sweeter by beating the American team into second place. The top sprinters for both countries did not compete, leaving the stage for the second groups.

Kerron Stewart started and passed to Aleen Bailey who connected with Mario Forsythe, on to Bailey-Cole. For the Americans, the quartet included Bianca Knight, Alexandria Anderson, Darvis Patton and Wallace Spearman. Gone are the days when the Untied States could put together just about any four and still be favored to win against the rest of the world. Now, it seems Jamaica owns that status in the short sprints.

That's exactly where The Bahamas can be in the longer sprint relay (4x400m) if the proactive style of Jamaica is emulated. The mixed 4x100m event was an exhibition in Berlin, but could very well become a fixture and at the very least, an experiment once again at the inaugural International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) World Relay Championships, scheduled in The Bahamas in May of 2014.

The Bahamas will be a top contender for the men's 4x400m relay, based on being the current Olympic gold medal country for the event. Perhaps those with responsibility to develop our track and field talents will function with the possibility of the mixed sprint relay being a part of the 2014 program. We will be the hosts and would certainly like to look good in that event as well. o To respond to this column, kindly contact Fred Sturrup at sturrup1504@gmail.com.

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