by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on April 23, 2010 3:57 PM
All roads continue to lead to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania today and tomorrow for the 116th Penn Relay Carnival at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field Stadium. And, as in past years, Caribbean die-hards, particularly the Jamaicans, as well as others who just want to experience the thrill, are journeying to Philly by train from across the country or flying to the New York-New Jersey-Philadelphia tri-state area from as far away as their Caribbean homeland. They’re coming to witness the world’s fastest man, Usain ‘Lightning’ Bolt, anchor one of Jamaica’s two sprint relays against archrival USA in the Visa Championship ‘USA vs. the World’ Series tomorrow afternoon, the final day of the Relays. Full Story »
Filed Under: Track & Field
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on March 13, 2010 7:23 AM
She lost medals that she won on the track and, for six months, lost her freedom over her use of steroids. Now former sprinter Marion Jones, 34, who has Belezan (Central American) roots, is returning to basketball, the sport that introduced her to the public.
The 5-10 Jones, who has not played organized basketball in 13 years, signed a free agent contract with the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA after trying out last weekend.
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Filed Under: Track & Field
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on February 28, 2010 6:51 AM
The Jamaica-based, Glen Mills-coached Racers Lions Track Club recorded a 2010 world leading sprint relay time in Kingston yesterday, February 27. Competing at the 34th staging of the annual Gibson Relays, the team of Kenroy Anderson, Yohan Blake, Marvin Anderson and Usain Bolt, running in that order, clocked 38.08 secs. ahead of another team from the Racers stable. Full Story »
Filed Under: Track & Field
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on February 03, 2010 7:13 AM
It’s not just the English-speaking Caribbean athletes who are making their presence felt as the track and field season gets going; the (Spanish-speaking) Cubans are out, too, and showing who they are.
At the February 2, 2010 SamsungGalan
in Gothenburg, Sweden, the triple jump event was controlled by the trio of David Giralt, Alexis Copello and Yoandri Betanzos. Not only did they occupy the top three spots in the meet, but they also moved into the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 positions on the 2010 World list.
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Filed Under: Track & Field
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on January 18, 2010 7:17 AM
The Jamaican Boys and Girls Athletics Championships or Champs turns 100 this year, and The University of the West Indies in Kingston is arranging a package for track & field fans who want to come to see the event live.
And to commemorate the centenary of this uniquely Jamaican, organized high school athletic event, the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), has commissioned the publication of Champs 100: A Century of Jamaican High School Athletics 1910-2010, which is expected to be released this spring at the heart of a series of celebratory events
and activities. Full Story »
Filed Under: Track & Field
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on December 28, 2009 7:05 AM
Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade, high school teammate of Yohan Blake, has gone the professional route and is being coached by Lance Brauman the former coach of World and Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown. Ashmeade joins former schoolboy archrival Ramone McKenzie in training in Clairmont, Florida.
"Both athletes have adjusted well and although this is a big step-up for them, they are handling the whole situation very well,” Brauman said, noting that they will not compete in the Indoor season but will be running only relay legs in mid-March before opening up individually toward the middle of April. Full Story »html">Read more…
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on December 20, 2009 7:02 AM
Gaining strength and cleaning up her mechanics -- that is how Olympic 100-m silver medalist Sherone Simpson plans to close the gap between her and the three women who, last season, pulled away from the rest of the world in the women's short sprint.
Charting her way back to the top is going to require greater levels of output from the petite graduate of the University of Technology. Simpson is working on getting stronger and equally as important, improving her mechanics, both essential to enabling her to go even faster than ever before.
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Filed Under: Women's 100m
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on December 15, 2009 7:00 AM
The British Virgin Islands Athletic Association (BVIAA) will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2010, and BVIAA president Dean Greenaway has explained how the association intends to do so: “We have plans to honor several persons who have contributed to the development of the sport prior to the formation of the association. We will produce an anniversary book incorporating past publications, highlighting our achievements over the last 40 years. We will honor all our national record breakers, international medalists over the last 40 years and others who have contributed to the organiza
tion.... Full Story »”
Filed Under: Track & Field
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on December 09, 2009 6:55 AM
Jamaican sprinters Tayna Lawrence, Beverly McDonald, Merlene Ottey (now a Slovenian citizen) and Bahamian sprinter Pauline Davis-Thompson have benefitted from medal upgrades after Olympic leaders reallocated two individual medals stripped from Marion Jones because of doping. The 100m gold was, however, withheld from Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou because of her behavior in evading drug tests.
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Filed Under: Track & Field
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on December 02, 2009 6:51 AM
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has ratified a global “passport” program that will monitor the blood profile of athletes for evidence of cheating. The process involves collecting and storing athletes’ blood samples and monitoring them over time for variations that could indicate doping, without an actual positive test.
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Filed Under: Track & Field
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on December 02, 2009 6:47 AM
Steroids that used to be called "designer" and available only to topflight athletes are now so common that they are available on the Internet.
In an effort to stop this trend, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) yesterday unveiled a program called ‘Supplement Safety Now’ to bring more attention to efforts to stop rogue manufacturers from selling steroids under the guise of legal dietary supplements.
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Filed Under: Track & Field
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on November 23, 2009 6:43 AM
Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Jamaican-born American Sanya Richards have been named, respectively, the 2009 Male and Female Athlete of The Year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The pair was “crowned” in front of family, friends, journalists, and members of the athletics family at the World Athletics Gala at the Salles des Etoiles in Monaco last night. Full Story »
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on November 10, 2009 6:38 AM
Jamaica’s Calabar High School track star Ramone McKenzie, the 2007 World Youth Championships 200m gold medalist, is now a professional athlete.
McKenzie, who celebrated his 19th birthday on November 15, began training in Clermont, Orlando with American coach Lance Brauman, who used to condition Jamaica's Olympian Veronica Campbell-Brown.
McKenzie, who will attend Full Sail University in Florida, has personal best times of 10.35secs, 20.56secs and 46.62secs in the 100, 200, and 400, respectively. Full Story »
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on November 06, 2009 6:36 PM
Toronto, Canada was chosen as host city of the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games, beating out rivals Bogota, Colombia and Lima, Peru. The decision was made by the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) on November 6 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Full Story »
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on October 02, 2009 7:34 PM
Rio de Janeiro (Rio), Brazil, was voted yesterday as the city to host the 2016 Summer Olympics Games. Rio, which will become the first South American city to host the Games, beat Madrid, 66-32, in the final vote among IOC (International Olympic Committee) members. Tokyo and Chicago were the other finalists and Chicago was the first to be eliminated. Full Story »
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on September 28, 2009 7:28 PM
As part of his hectic schedule in New York, Usain Bolt literally breezed through the Strata Club in
Manhattan Tuesday, September 29, for the media launch of his inaugural 9.58 charity concert and the 2010 Jamaica Jazz & Blues festival.
In a brief statement, the world record holder of the sprint double invited all to join his special charity event in Jamaica on December 3 this year.
The two-day series of activities will end with a “Super Party” on December 5 at Richmond Estate in St Ann, also known as The Garden Parish. The party will raise funds for charity and community activities. Full Story »
Filed Under: Media Events
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on September 27, 2009 9:42 AM
“We train like 10 months out of the whole year. My coach explained to me: ‘if you train 10 months out of the year, why should you worry?’” Bolt told fans who attended “A Conversation with Your Champion Usain “Lightning Bolt”, at Brooklyn College in New York yesterday. Full Story »
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on September 19, 2009 7:20 PM
Ryan Brathwaite, the 21-yr-old Barbadian hurdler, who captured Barbados's first-ever gold medal at a major global event by winning the 110m hurdles, has been given diplomatic status by the Barbadian government. He is now Ambassador His Excellency Ryan Brathwaite. Full Story »
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on September 15, 2009 7:16 PM
In less that a month, a second Caribbean athletes has been officially honored by his country for his stellar performance on the track. First, it was Daniel Bailey of Antigua and Barbuda; now the Jamaican government has conferred on Usain Bolt the nation's fourth highest honor, the Order of Jamaica, which entitles him to be addressed as 'Honorable' and use the post nominal letters 'OJ'. The 23-year-old Bolt will be the youngest ever recipient of such award. Full Story »
by Desmond G. Palmer, posted on September 08, 2009 7:11 PM
Antiguan 100m specialist Daniel Bailey continues to make news. Having placed fourth in the 100m final at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany on August 16, he was rewarded by the government of Antigua and Barbuda with half-an-acre of land and the appointment as a sporting ambassador, which carries the title of 'Your Excellency. Full Story »'