Grange hails young athletes

Birmingham, ENGLAND:

Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Olivia Grange, has lauded the efforts of Jamaica's athletes, who she says "delighted with the historic performance" at the just-ended IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France.

Grange said: "It is a yet another indicator of how well Jamaica is doing in track and field when our young team takes home the highest number of medals ever from the IAAF Youth Championships, including an unprecedented two gold medals from the field in discus and long jump.

"As I hail the entire team, coaches and officials for the performance, I must especially congratulate Fedrick Dacres for his gold in the discus and Chanice Porter for her gold in the long jump. They demonstrated, without a doubt, that we are coming along nicely in the field, while dominating the sprints on the track.

"It is our hope that these youngsters will continue to do as well or even better for themselves and Jamaica as they move to senior status."

The minister also congratulated the senior Jamaican athletes for "their good showing" at the Birmingham Diamond League meet on Sunday, when Asafa Powell won the men's 100m ahead of compatriots Nesta Carter and Michael Frater.