World beaters!

FOLLOWING HIS exploits at the recent ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) where he crowned himself double champion by winning the Class One triple jump with a record 16.66 metres and the long jump with 7.87, Kingston College’s Jaydon Hibbert sits atop the World on the IAAF Under-20 list of jumpers.

Hibbert is one of 13 Jamaicans ranked among the top three in their respective events in what is a World Under-20 Championships year. The World Under-20 Championships will be held in Cali, Colombia, from August 2-7, with Jamaica hoping to surpass the performance of a year ago in Nairobi, Kenya. In Kenya, the Jamaicans picked up 11 medals, three gold, six silver, and two bronze to finish fifth overall.

But before that, Jamaica takes on the region at the Carifta Games this weekend, where a number of the 13 Jamaicans among the top three in the world, will be taking aim at medals.

Calabar High thrower Kobe Lawrence is also on top of the world in the shot put with a distance of 17.75 metres, done in January. Lawrence finished eighth in the event a year ago in Nairobi.

Camperdown High School’s Roshawn Clarke and Kingston College’s Rayon Campbell are the other males ranked in the top three.

Following his 49.50-second clocking to win the Class One 400-metre hurdles at Champs, Clarke is number two in the event. He reached the semi-finals in the event last year in Nairobi. Campbell, who was second at Champs and who surprised Clarke at the Carifta Trials when he won in 49.52 seconds, is at number three. The world leader here is Ezekiel Nathaniel of Nigeria with 49.14 seconds.

Following her upset win in the Class One 400 metres last Saturday, Clarendon College’s Dajanae Oakley, along with Hydel’s Oneika Wilson in the 100-metre hurdles, rule the world among females in their respective events.

Oakley, who has competed sparingly in the event this season, shocked her rivals, winning the one-lap event in an impressive 51.81 seconds to be on top of the world here. She is joined here by Hydel High’s Oneika McAnnuf. McAnuff finished second to Oakley in 52.88 seconds and is at number three in the world.

WORLD LEADER

McAnnuf is also at number two in the 400-metre hurdles after her win at Champs in the Girls’ Open event in 57.68 seconds. St Jago High’s Safhia Hinds, who was second in 58.06 seconds, is at number three. The world leader is Michaela Rose of the United States with 57.62 seconds.

Hydel’s Oneika Wilson, who had a record-breaking 13.00-second clocking to win the Class One 100m hurdles at Champs last week, is the top female in the event.

Jamaican athletes occupied the next two top spots here, with Alexis James of Petersfield High, who finished second behind Wilson in 13.16 seconds, at number two, and Wilson’s teammate at Hydel, Kerrica Hill, who finished third at the Carifta Trials in the Under-20 event, behind James and Wilson in 13.25 seconds, at number three. Incidentally, Hill, who first broke former Excelsior High’s Ackera Nugent’s 2019 Class Two record of 12.92 seconds in the preliminary round with a fast 12.89 seconds and returned to smash her own record in the finals, winning in 12.71 seconds and in the process, broke the Under-18 world record in the event, will not be at the Carifta Games this weekend.

Another Hydel athlete, who will be at the Games, is the outstanding Brianna Lyston. Lyston is ranked number two in both the 100 and 200 metres.

Lyston, who finished second to defending World Under-20 100-metre champion Tina Clayton, of Edwin Allen, in the Class One event at Champs, is the fastest Jamaican in the event so far with her 11.14-second clocking in the preliminary round at the Central Athletics Championships in March. In the 200 metres at Champs, Lyston (22.53) broke the 18-year-old Class One record of 22.71 seconds, done by former Vere Technical sprinter Simone Facey. Namibia’s Christine Mboma leads both sprints with times of 11.03 and 22.11 seconds.

Edwin Allen High’s Serena Cole, a member of Jamaica’s world-record breaking 4x100m relay team in Nairobi and who had double success in field events at Champs, is also ranked among the top three. She won the triple jump Open then returned to take the Class One long jump with 6.36 metres, a mark that has her at number two, just behind Shiqi Xang of China whose world leading mark is just 6.37 metres.

Holmwood Technical thrower, Cedricka Williams, closes out the list of Jamaicans ranked in the top three around the world. Williams suffered a major upset at Champs in the Class One discus, where she was the overwhelming favourite. Still, Williams’ 53.81metres, done at GC Foster College in March at the Central Athletics Championships, is number two in the world in the event. Interestingly, at the Carifta Games, Williams will go up against Grenadian Jamora Alves, who won the Champs event for St Jago with a throw of 48.13.

sports@gleanerjm.com