Rosemarie Whyte (left) wins the women's 200m ahead of Shelly-Ann Fraser at the UTech Classic (© Sporting Eagle)
Olympic champions ShellyAnn Fraser and Melaine Walker, respectively women’s 100m dash and 400m Hurdles winners in Beijing last year, were beaten at Saturday night’s (18 April) UTech Track & Field Classic at the National Stadium in Kingston.
In the women’s 200m, Fraser, who said she is targeting the sprint double in Berlin later this year, was beaten by Rosemarie White (23.01). Fraser was second in 23.44.
“Everybody wants to win, but it did not happen tonight for me...I was a bit flat and tight, but I went out there and did my best. “I am not 100 per cent, but I came out and did my best,” said Fraser.
Race winner White, a 400m finalist in Beijing, said she is in good shape preparing for Berlin.
“Based on the time and the 22.95 I did in Miami last week, it proved that I am in good shape,” explained White of local school GC Foster College.
Walker, who chose the flat 400m Invitational, was relegated to third, beaten by Olympian Anastasia Le-Roy of GC Foster College (52.90) and Sonita Sutherland of Racers Track Club (52.95). Walker did 53.23.
A 46.82sec run took Richard Buck of Britain to a meet record in the men‘s Invitational 400m.
In the absence of Walker the women’s one lap hurdles was won by 2006 World Junior gold medallist Kaleise Spencer in 56.32 sec.
Former 100m World record holder Asafa Powell was to have taken part in the sprint relay with his MVP squad colleagues but withdrew just prior to the 4x100m as a pre-caution against injury. An MVP squad (Andrew Hinds, Michael Frater, Nesta Carter, Ainsley Waugh) clocked 38.46sec, a meet record. A quartet from Manuel Fajardo of Cuba, ran 38.61 for second, hosts UTech were third, 39.26.
The Cubans however dominated the men’s 200m Invitational and college event, Roberto Perez (20.38) and Yunier Romero (20.66), both of Manuel Fajardo in Cuba, finishing one-two. Nesta Carter and Michael Frater were next best, 20.69 and 20.96 respectively.
Perez said: “It felt very well, because of the welcome and support of the Jamaican crowd.”
In the College men’s 100m, Michael Flores of Manuel Fajardo in Cuba took the top spot in a meet record 10.28 ahead of Rasheed Dwyer of local school GC Foster College (10.36).
Daniel Bailey of Antigua and Barbuda won the men’s invitational 100m in 10.22 seconds ahead of local schoolboy Oshane Bailey (10.37). Bailey, who held onto his hamstring, said it was a good race. “I got off well for the first 50-55 metres and kept it going when I felt the cramps and ease home,” he said.
In the women’s 100m, Schillonie Calvert of GC Foster College ran 11.19 to beat Anneisha McLaughlin, who did 11.35 for the host school.
In the College women’s 400m, GC Foster College’s Bobbie-Gaye Wilkins, a member of Jamaica’s 4x400m bronze relay team in Beijing, ran 52.08 to beat Stephanie McPherson of host school UTech (52.36).
Anthony Foster for the IAAF
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