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Rolanda Bell hails from Panama and lives in New York where she’s a member of the New York Athletic Club. Like a number of other athletes, the cross-country/distance specialist and University of Tennessee graduate was in Kingston to compete in the Jamaica senior trials, in an effort to attain the 1500m qualifying mark for the World Championships in South Korea next month.
“I was invited to come down by [Jamaica’s] Kenia Sinclair,” Bell told
Caribbean TrackLife
after placing third in the 1500m won by Sinclair. “I felt really good. The race was pretty honest; it was a little different though because they didn’t have any timer (pacesetter). So I was just kinda running off the field, and Kenia ran the race and paced us through.”
While Bell came in third but didn’t meet the qualifying standard, she ran a season best 4mins 22.58secs, an achievement for which she was thankful. She now has two more shots at qualifying for Worlds (A standard: 4:05.90; B: 4:08.90), and her next stop will be the CAC Championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, July 15 to 17.
Bell also competed in the 800m and placed sixth in 2:13.19. The race was again won by Sinclair, the defending champion, in 2:00.96.
“I love Jamaica,” she gushed. “It’s my second time but my first in Kingston. It’s an amazing experience.”
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