Editorial Views

The Stars Aligning for Carter and Forsythe

O'Neil A. Reid — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:53:00 GMT

Some weeks ago, we asked the question: Is Mario Forsythe about to turn the corner in becoming a world-class sprinter? Based on his recent track record, we suspected that it was just a matter of time before he broke through the 10-seconds barrier. This season, Forsythe has been winning and lowering his personal bests.

Blake’s 200m Run Is No Surprise

Desmond G. Palmer — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:22:00 GMT

While the world and his wife are freaking out over Yohan Blake’s race against Tyson Gay, Caribbean TrackLife isn’t the least bit surprised; it has been a long time coming. Check his track record.

‘Jamaica Doesn’t Replace Sprinters; It Reloads Them’

Anthony Gayle — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:56:00 GMT

Yohan Blake became only the 2nd Jamaican to run below 19.8 secs in the 200m, joining Usain Bolt and pushing the legendary Donald Quarrie down to 3rd with the 19.86 mark he set more that two decades ago. He is also now third on the Caribbean list, behind Bolt and Trinidad & Tobago's Ato Boldon (19.77). And Jermaine Gonzales, after years of battling injury, erased the Jamaican 400m record with a fine run of 44.40 secs. These were the two big headlines last week.

The Sub-10 100m: Where Has The Mystique Gone?

O'Neil A. Reid — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:22:00 GMT

At the Seminole Twilight Track Meet in Florida the weekend of May 8, American Walter Dix, the 2008 Olympic 100m bronze medalist ran 9.98 secs in the 100m. In 2010, this is a quick(ish) but not super fast time. The 24-year-old Dix has a lifetime best of 9.91 and ran 9.93 in June 2007. But why didn’t we fall over Dix’s recent performance? Why was it not front page news in all track and field media? More recently, Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt clocked 9.86 and 9.87 (+2.6w), respectively, and those didn’t even create waves.

Jamaica, Do Not Let These Events Slip Through The Cracks

Desmond G. Palmer — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:40:00 GMT

Once again, Caribbean track and field powerhouse Jamaica dominated the 2010 CARIFTA Games held in the Cayman Islands, April 3 to 5. Significant about Jamaica’s win though, was not that they hauled 72 medals (37 gold, 22 silver and 13 bronze), since frankly, the island’s performance is now a habit (26 years in a row), but that 22 of those medals were won for field events and 11 of the 22 were gold. This signals that the country needs to be broadening its horizon to seriously focus on the non-traditionals (field events and long distance races) that are treated like poor relatives while there’s a tendency to flock to the sprints that get all the glory.