News26 Feb 2012


Double relay duty - and victory - for Blake in Kingston

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Yohan Blake anchors Racers Lion victory ahead of club mate Kemar Bailey-Cole (Racers) at the Gibson Relays (© Anthony Foster)

World 100m champion Yohan Blake continued his build-up for this summer’s Olympic Games in London by anchoring his Racers Lion Club to two impressive victories at the Caribbean’s biggest relay festival, the Gibson Relays, in Kingston on Saturday (25).


Blake was asked to run from back on both occasion and delivered with ease as his team, running without Olympic sprint double champion Usain Bolt, made a clean sweep of the championships events.


Blake, who collected the baton in fourth in the 4x100m Relay, covered the field with less than 15 metres to go en route to a winning time of 38.48. The quartet of Kimmari Roach, Remaldo Rose, Mario Forysthe and Blake finished ahead of their club mates, running as Racers Track Club, 38.76, and Sprint Tec, coached by Jamaica’s head coach to last year’s World Championships, Maurice Wilson, who were third in 38.88.


Again, in the 4x400m Relay, Blake collected the baton metres behind Swept anchor man, but covered him by the backstretch before pulling further away in the homestretch. He split 45.3 as his Racers Lion team secured its second win of the day in 3:05.95 ahead of Swept (3:07.90).


Blake said he and his entire training group, which also includes Bolt, is off to a solid start in a 2012 season highlighted by the London Olympics.


"We are ahead of where we're supposed to be," said Blake, who added that his World Championships triumph last year had him anticipating London even more.


"Going into the Olympics I am more excited because of what I did last year," he said. "I am looking forward to it because it’s going to be an interesting one."


The aim Blake said, "was just to come out here and defend our title (4x100m). If Usain was here it would have been faster.”


In the women's 4x100m event, it was University of Technology winning in 44.31, with GC Foster a distant second in 46.35 and Mico University third with 48.19, while in the women's 4x400m Racers with four national representatives Shereefa Lloyd, Rosemarie Whyte, Davita Prendergast and Ristananna Tracey won in 3:31.51 ahead of University of Technology 3:49.24.


In the high school boys 4x400m relay, Manchester High with Oshane Burrell, Omar McLeod, Lennox Williams and Oryiane Espeut outclassed Kingston College to take the event in 3:14.08 to 3:16.14.


Team Bickle USA with Jamaica junior representative Sandrae Farquharson on anchor beat Holmwood Tech and Vere Tech in an exciting girls open 4x400m. The winning time was 3:37.23 while Holmwood got second in 3:38.50 and third went to Vere in 3:38.52.


In the boys class IV event for under 13 age group, Kingston college showed their awesome relay pedigree with the victory in 44.80. Wolmers was second with 46.13 and Calabar, third in 46.75.


In the girls equivalent, victory was claimed by Edwin Allen High in 47.31, a new record, bettering Holmwood Tech's 47.49 set in 2009. Hydel High took the second spot with 48.80 and Manchester, third, 49.29.


In the girls class III, 13-15 age group, Holmwood Tech took first spot in 46.69, with Edwin Allen High second in 46.70 and Hydel High, third in 46.84.


In the girls class II, Holmwood Tech sprinted home for the win in 46.53; Flying Angels group from Canada was second in 46.93 and St. Jago High, third, 47.33.


Vere Technical's Shericka Jackson produced a sizzling anchor leg display, coming back from some 10 metres to cross the line in 45.63 to beat Flying Angels of Canada (45.67) and Edwin Allen (46.14) in the girls Class 1 (Under-20) 4x100m.


Kingston College (KC) was impressive in the boys’ equivalent (Class 1), stopping the clock in 40.59 ahead of this season's hot team Green Island (40.97) and St George's 41.24. Jamaica College (JC) won Class 2 (Under-17) in 40.76, erasing the old mark of 41.04 while in Class 3 (Under 15), Wolmer's ran away victors in 43.94.


Holmwood team of Philmore Williams, Daniel Richards, Dwayne Bennett and Andre Hosey won the 2-mile long relay event in 7:43.01 ahead of Kingston College (7:45.15) in a very close finish, while in the girls race, Edwin Allen High, fielding Carla Thompson, Marlena Eubanks, Desreen Montaque and Sanikee Gardner, took home the crown in 8:56.45 well in front of Holmwood Tech, 9:14.79.


Racers Lion sprinter, Kenroy Anderson took the 100m Open race in 10.32 from Sheldon Michell of Swept T.C. (10.33) and Jason Livermore, Akon T.C. (10.34). In the women's race, the win went to Cardine Copeland in 11.80. Second was 16-year-old Monique Spencer of Edwin Allen High, 11,86 and Jodeen Williams of St, Mary's High, third in 11.94.


In the women's 400m Open, Sprint Tec Track Club's Anastacia Le-Roy was the winner in 53.74, second was Sheryl Morgan, unattached with 53.84 and Titiana Markland of St. Mary High, third in 55.60.


In the men's equivalent, Sprint Tec's Michael Mason came up with the win in 47.21 with Isac Makwala of HPTC, 47.37 and his teammate, Winston George, third with 47.96.


Yanique Levy won the women’s long jump with a leap of 6.16m while schoolboy Clive Pullen took the men’s open section with 7.46m.


Shanice Hall of Wolmer’s Girls (1.85m) beat Kimberly Williamson of Edwin Allen (1.80m), both school girls, in the women’s high jump open event.


Anthony Foster for the IAAF


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