#Penns2022 | All the best!

Had THE COVID-19 threat receded last year, Javeir Brown would surely have been one of the stars of the moribund 2021 renewal of the Penn Relays.

With the 2022 staging of the world-renowned carnival set to start this Thursday in Philadelphia, Brown is wishing his former teammates at Jamaica College the best of luck when they step on to the track at Franklin Field.

Brown starred for the True Blues at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships last year with a double gold medal performance. He set big personal bests in both of his events, 45.75 seconds to win a competitive Class One 400-metre final, and 49.79 seconds in an event he had recently been introduced to, the 400-metre hurdles. All things being equal, Brown would have been part of JC’s Penn Relay aggregation, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a cancellation of the popular athletics event.

A year later and with Brown no longer eligible, JC will go to Philadelphia chasing a sweep of the Championship of America High School 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800-metre relays. This collection was last achieved by Calabar High School in 2018, and JC will arrive in Philadelphia with season-leading times of 39.43 seconds, 3 minutes 09.96 seconds and 7:24.30, respectively.

“I just congratulate them and tell them to go out here with a positive mind, a strong mentality and perform to the best of their ability,” Brown said on April 23.

PROFESSIONAL ATHLETICS

Nicknamed ‘Pogba’ at JC, Brown is making the step up to professional athletics at the Racers Track Club, with sprint guru Glen Mills guiding his steps.

“It’s a great experience, you know, to be here with the big boys now. There’s a lot of different fast boys here, you know. High school and seniors are different so, you know, you just have to put out the work and train hard to get to their level.”

In the meantime, JC will go to the Penn Relays as clear favourites in the 4x100 and the 4x800. At the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships earlier this month, JC zoomed 39.43 seconds to outrun St Jago High - 39.89 - in the 4x100. At 7 minutes 24.30 seconds, the True Blues are faster than Calabar’s Penn Relay record of 7.24.09.

Distant danger might come from Basking Ridge High School from New Jersey, 7:42.89 indoors, and Kingston College, second to JC at both the Western Relays and the Gibson McCook Relays.

In the 4x400, JC does have the two best times of the season, 3:09.96 seconds at the Corporate Area Championships and 3:10.04 at Champs, but St Jago and Kingston College have both broken 3:11, with marks of 3:10.48 and 3:10.68, respectively.