Track and field athletes to lead medal hunt at Games

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Jamaica has enjoyed a rich and proud history when it comes to the Commonwealth Games over the years, particularly as it relates to track and field, but with many of the island's top track stars missing from this year's team list, the level of expectancy is by no means through the roof this time around.

That's quite understandable, considering that the likes of Oshane Bailey, Lerone Clarke, Nickiesha Wilson, and even three-time Central American and Caribbean Games gold medallist Dorian Scott will hardly evoke the kind of enthusiasm that Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Melaine Walker and Veronica Campbell-Brown would induce from even the most casual athletics fan.

Let's also acknowledge that besides the netballers, Jamaica's best chance of a medal at these Games will come from among the athletics ranks, but the young and largely unproven squad of athletes will have to dig deep to come up with medals.

However, in words originally uttered by the very popular Frenchman, Napoleon, and echoed by a not-so-popular Jamaican, Maurice Wilson, head coach of the Commonwealth Games track and field team, "Ability is of little account without opportunity."

rare opportunity

The Games, which get under way in Delhi, India, tomorrow and continues until October 14, will provide for the bulk of Jamaica's athletes a rare opportunity to establish themselves on the international stage and make a name for themselves.

Having said that, however, it's not all lost for Jamaica's medal hopes in the athletics department as there are a few strong cases for podium spots.

Chief among those are three-time Central America and Caribbean Games gold medallist and 2006 Commonwealth Games shot put silver medallist Dorian Scott, who has already thrown 20.55m for what is the second best throw among Commonwealth athletes. Canada's Dylan Armstrong, with a season best of 21.58, is favoured for the gold medal but the other spots are pretty much up for grabs with Scott, India's Sourabh Vij, 20.65m, and Australia's Scott Martin, 20.10m, the clear front-runners for the other podium spots.

One-lap hurdler Nickiesha Wilson seems a sure bet for a podium spot with her 54.52 season's best ranking her second in the Commonwealth behind Great Britain's Perri Shakes-Drayton, 54.18. The CAC Games champion has been in fine form this season and is coming off a big win at the IAAF/VTB Continental Cup in Croatia last month and seems very confident going into the Games.

Defending Commonwealth Games triple jump and 2005 IAAF World Championships in Athletics gold medallist Trecia Smith, 14.13m, is some way off the world's best marks this year and has suffered an interrupted season. However, the seasoned campaigner is more than capable of producing the goods on the day and should not be written off.

The Jamaicans will, however, find things difficult in the sprints and the trio of national champion Oshane Bailey, 10.11, Lerone Clarke, 10.10, and Rasheed Dwyer, 10.29, will struggle against the likes of Antigua and Barbuda's Daniel Bailey, 10.00, and the Trinidadian pair or Keston Bledman and Olympic silver medallist Richard Thompson, who have both ran 10.01 this season.

well equipped

The island's netballers are well equipped to finish among the top three despite suffering one of their worst years in recent times, with heavy back-to-back defeats to Australia and New Zealand before drawing with England at home.

Captain Simone Forbes and her deputy Nadine Bryan will lead the lines, with lieutenants Romelda Aiken, Althea Byfield and Kasey Evering expected to offer strong support.

In the pool, multiple CAC Games champion Alia Atkinson will do well but will also find it difficult to secure a medal for the country, and with the largely inexperienced Victoria Ho and 15-year-old Alexia Royal-Eaton completing the squad, medals seem impossible.

National table tennis champion Joseph Dibbs has singled out a top-10 finish as his team's major ambition going into the Delhi Games. This would be a steady improvement on their 15th-place finish at the last Games.

Jamaica will also be represented in squash, shooting, badminton, boxing, cycling and paralympic 100m.