Collegiates attack Budapest

THE COUNTRY’S senior athletes will be hoping to book their tickets to the 19th World Athletics Championships to be staged in Budapest, Hungary from August 19-27 in a matter of weeks.

When the first day of competition at the National Championships begins on July 6, a lot of attention will be on the country’s collegiate athletes, who will be hoping to send strong messages after excellent performances at the recent National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Championships in the United States.

In what was one of, if not the best performances ever from the Jamaicans at these championships, the country produced five NCAA champions, four runners-up, and two third-place finishes in Austin, Texas.

Those performances have pushed expectations for the National Championships and for the flight to Budapest.

Over the years, though, despite some good results at the NCAA Championships, athletes have failed to ignite at the trials on account of taxing indoor and outdoor seasons.

Last year, however, the trend was bucked with nine collegiate athletes booking tickets for the Eugene World Championships.

From that nine, Lamara Distin and Ackelia Smith made the finals of the high and triple jumps, respectively. Distin was ninth while Smith was 12th, the former going on to win the Commonwealth Games title a week later.

There could be more in store from the collegiate athletes in Budapest this year though, with several ranked highly on the World Athletics top list.

Undoubtedly, collegiate medals at the World Championships are more likely in the field with the likes of Jaydon Hibbert and Ackelia Smith ranked at the top of the world in their respective events.

The 18-year-old Hibbert just completed his freshman year at the University of Arkansas, who broke records on the way to indoor and outdoor titles.

Hibbert, world leader in the event with 17.87 metres following his SEC triumph, could mine gold in in Budapest if he can stave off the attentions of defending champion Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso, and Andy Diaz Hernandez of Cuba, who have season’s bests of 17.81 and 17.75 metres, respectively.

After making her debut at the World Championships in Eugene last year, Smith, who won the long jump and placed second in the triple jump for the University of Texas at the NCAA Championships, has shown tremendous improvement since. Smith, who won the long jump with 6.88 metres, is the world leader with 7.08 metres and her second-place finish with a personal best 14.54 metres in the triple jump has been the best by a Jamaican so far. World Championships silver medallist, Shanieka Ricketts, is just behind her with a season’s best 14.53 metres.

Smith could compete in both events in Budapest where she has attained the qualifying standards, and though she finished 12th last year in the triple jump, her best medal hope could be in the long jump.

She is just one of three athletes to go over the seven-metre barrier this season.

Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod, who finished first and second, respectively, at the NCAAs, representing the University of Arkansas, are expected to do well too.

Pinnock is the world number three in the event with 8.37 metres and McLeod, who surprised him at NCAAs in winning with 8.26 metres where he is the seventh best so far this season, could go further. Pinnock failed to advance from the first round of the event in Eugene last year and will be highly motivated to right that wrong.

While Romaine Beckford, who won the NCAA high jump, should also win at trials, he is yet to make the World Championships standard of 2.30 metres, but has said the height is a jump away.

On the track, sprint hurdlers Ackera Nugent and Phillip Lemonious, who both represented the Universty of Arkansas, and who both won their events in Austin, Texas, will be hoping to make their first World Championships team.

With the absence of the outstanding Britany Anderson, Nugent looks set to carry the country’s hopes in the 100-metre hurdles and should capture her first National Senior title in the event. She is ranked sixth in the World with her best of 12.43 seconds.

At the recent NCAA Championships, she blew away a strong field to win the event in a wind-aided 12.25 seconds. Despite the help from the strong tail wind of 3.8 metres per second, her time was the fastest ever under any conditions among collegiate athletes.

Lemonious, the former Jamaica College standout, has put his hands up for a top-three finish in the 110-metre hurdles at the National Championships, an event which the country looks set to do well in at Budapest. His recent victory in a personal best of 13.24 seconds at NCAAs has him tied with the experienced Hansle Parchment as the joint second quickest in the country.

Kevona Davis in the women’s sprints, Nickeisha Pryce in the women’s 400 metres, Jevaughn Powell in the men’s 400 metres, Distin in the high jump, and Roje Stona in the men’s discus throw are other collegiate athletes who should make their presence felt at the National Championships and look set to book tickets to Budapest in two months’ time.