Four top SprinTec/GC Foster athletes for New York Grand Prix

Four athletes from the SprinTec Track Club/GC Foster College training group are on the entry list for tomorrow’s New York Grand Prix, set for Icahn Stadium on Randalls Island. All four – Canada’s World 4x100m champion Brendon Rodney, Ashley Williams and Intercollegiate champions Zandrion Barnes and Kadrian Goldson – have set personal bests this season, and according to head coach Maurice Wilson, their progress is a step towards a good season for his troops.

“We have looked at our performance and we didn’t feel it was up to par. Coming out of the pandemic, it was a very difficult time for us because we found persons with all kinds of unexplained injuries and so on, and so we have been trying to work through those situations,” he said in a comparison between last season and this season.

“This year, we have actually done the work and it is really left for us now to find a way to guide our athletes to keep them motivated, to keep them psychologically ready because most of the work has been done based on what you would have seen taking place for the season,” Wilson said on Wednesday.

Rodney, a sub-20 seconds 200m man at his best, has lowered his 100m personal best to 10.17 seconds while Williams, Barnes and Goldson have posted benchmark performances of 52.19 (400m), 44.90 (400m) and 10.08 (100m), respectively.

Barnes has made a big step forward in the 400m from a previous best of 45.69 seconds.

Wilson has his fingers crossed for good health for all his athletes.

“People talk about they don’t believe in luck. Well, whether you believe in it or not, we have done the work and we want that additional help ...,” he said.

He is expecting good things from his group of four in New York. “I’m looking forward to good performances from the youngsters,” he added.

They won’t be the only Jamaicans in action. Also listed are hammer thrower Erica Belvit, sprint hurdlers Megan Tapper, Danielle Williams, Orlando Bennett and Damion Thomas, discus throwers Traves Smikle and Kai Chang, shot putter Danielle Thomas-Dodd, 100m entrants Briana Williams and Ackeem Blake, and 400m runners Sean Bailey, Karayme Bartley, Charokee Young and Junelle Bromfield.

Thomas, the 2019 World Championships runner-up, has already pushed her national record to 19.77 metres this season. Among the men, the top performer so far has been Blake, who has sped through the 100 metres in 9.89 seconds.