Riley predicts strong hurdles showing in Tokyo

The Tokyo Olympics could be the stage for Jamaica to make history in the 100m hurdles. That’s the opinion of David Riley, head coach at Excelsior High School, who believes that this week’s National Championships will select a very strong crew of hurdlers for Tokyo.

Though Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Danielle Williams have both won the World Athletics Championships, no Jamaican has ever won an Olympic medal in the 100m hurdles. Riley says it’s an anomaly that will end this year.

“Americans have always been strong, and they’ve shown up at the Olympics and always very strong and, if you could send six, they’d have six in the final,” he said. “I think, as things are changing, this might be the window of opportunity for Jamaica, and hopefully our women can grasp the opportunity, and move with it.”

Dionne Rose and Michelle Freeman placed fifth and sixth in the 1996 final and, since then, Delloreen Ennis-London, Foster-Hylton, and Lacena Golding-Clarke have reached successive finals but Olympic medals eluded them all.

Riley reckons the National Champs will feature great racing for spots on the 100m hurdles team.

“Intensity is going to be there and the hurdle race is all about concentration and repeating the same action 10 times, unbothered about what is happening around you. And a lot of things can happen in a hurdle race but I think the women are very strong,” he said.

WILLIAMS TO FACE STRONG COMPETITION

Williams, the 2015 World Champion, will face 2017 World Under-18 champion Britany Anderson and fellow 2019 World Athletics Championships finalist Megan Tapper, with NCAA Indoor 60m champion Ackera Nugent also certainly a contender.

Anderson set two World Under-20 records last year and beat Williams, the 2019 World Champs bronze medallist, 12.58 seconds to 12.65s on May 31 in Jacksonville, Florida. Nugent placed third at the recent NCAA Outdoor Championships after setting a World Under-20 record indoors in the 60m version of the event.

The contest should also feature Daszay Freeman, who was second to Nugent at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and Trishauna Hemmings. Both Freeman and Hemmings have broken the 13s barrier this season.

Reigning Olympic champion Omar McLeod will start his Nationals campaign as the world’s fastest man over the 110m hurdles at 13.01 seconds. The known quality of World and Olympic medallist Hansle Parchment and Commonwealth Games champions Andrew Riley and Ronald Levy has led David Riley to predict a tight men’s race for the three tickets to Tokyo.

“The men are even stronger, and everybody is within three hundredths of a second of each other, and that’s like two strides from the finish line. So you’re talking about a blanket finish if everybody is all guns blazing,” he said. “I think we will have a very strong hurdles crew going into the Olympics, which will make Jamaica very proud.”

Fast newcomer Rasheed Broadbell will miss the Nationals because of injury.

The hurdles sprints begin this evening with the women’s 100m hurdles at 7:05 and the men’s 110m hurdles at 7:20.

sports@gleanerjm.com