News01 Mar 2009


Bolt after Gibson relay runs – “I am not in the best shape, but I am getting there”

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Usain Bolt anchors home at Gibson Relays (© Anthony Foster)

Kingston, JamaicaTriple Olympic Games gold medallist, Usain Bolt, on Saturday (28) enjoyed good performances at the Gibson Relays, the Caribbean’s biggest relay festival.

Bolt shone brightly for his Racers Lions Club in both 4x100m and 4x400m.

In the 4x100m, he anchored his team home in a meet record 38.10, the fastest time in the world this year, beating the 38.62 Asafa Powell’s MVP team did earlier in the day at the Sydney Classic.

The previous meet record was 38.70 set by an IAAF High Performance Training Centre squad in 2007.

Racers Track Club, the second of the Glen Mills-coached group on show was second in 38.48, while G.C. Foster College (40.40) and Korea High Performance Centre (41.44).

Later, Bolt returned to run the third leg of Racers Lions team, which included Ricardo Chambers, a semi-finalist in the 400m at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Jermaine Gonzales, to help them to an easy win in 3:04.27. University of Technology (3:09.15) finished second while MVP (3:15.10) and then a Korean squad (3:16.60) completed the top four.

Bolt said he was satisfied with the day’s work.

“Overall I think I did pretty well, but it was a little bit tiring, because I am not in the best shape, but I am getting there,” he said.

McKenzie works hard

In the boys Class One (Under-20), Calabar High School with Oshane Bailey, World Youth 200m champion Ramone McKenzie, Warren Weir, and Ricardo Powell, stopped the clock in 39.95 seconds, beating the previous Gibson Relays mark of 40.07 set by St Jago since 2007.

McKenzie was happy with the end result, more so “because we worked hard and it really has paid off”.

In the other classes, St Jago took Class Two (Under-17) in 42.03; Calabar Class Three (Under-15) in 43.92 while Kingston College won Class Four (Under-13) in 45.80.

In the girls’ section, Edwin Allen with Gayon Evans and Nikita Tracey, both members of Jamaica’s team to the World Junior Championships in Poland last summer, won the Class One (Under-19) girls 4x100m in 45.39. Holmwood Technical (45.93) finished second. Holmwood, however, dominated the lower divisions, winning in classes Two, Three and Four.

In Class Two (Under-17), they won in 45.60 ahead of Vere (46.13) while Classes Three (Under-15) and Four (Under-13) wins came in 46.24 ahead of Manchester (46.57) and 47.49, beating the 48.03 they set in the preliminary round.

The 4x400m, which closed off the meet and the 4x800, were hot for girls.
In the 4x800, an Team Bickle USA, an all high school selection, at the penultimate change over, led by approximately 15 metres, but Manchester High with Natoya Goule, a national junior representative, ran a impressive anchor leg to take her team home in 8:49.01 ahead of Holmwood (8:51.91).

The mile was as equally exciting, as again, Team Bickle USA took the challenge to the Jamaicans, but like the 4x800, failed on the final legs. Manchester, again with Goule, proved too much for their opponents by taking victory in 3:38.38 ahead of Edwin Allen, who put up a serious final leg challenge, but ended in 3:39.55.

In the boys’ section, which was a little less competitive, Kingston College (KC) closed the show in 3:09.38 ahead of St. Jago (3:13.23). Earlier, Jamaica College (7:41.91) took the 4x800m.

In the 4x200m, Vere girls won the open event in a record 1:34.73 while Calabar (1:24.76); Wolmer’s (1:28.11R); St. George's College (1:31.52R) and KC (1:39.21) won the boys’ Classes One, Two, Three and Four respectively.

Tae Kyong Park of Korean who won the men’s 110m Hurdles (14.28), was one of several Korean athletes competed at the meet.

Anthony Foster for the IAAF

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