Smith, Slack impressive at NACAC combined championships

Raymond Graham, Gleaner Writer

2007 World Championships in Athletics Decathlon silver-medallist Maurice Smith walked away with top honours at the two-day NACAC Combined Events Championships, which ended at the Usain Bolt/UWI Stadium on Saturday. Smith tallied 8,078 points in the 10 events to finish ahead of Canadian Damian Warner (7,660) and the United States' Chris Helwick, who piled up 7,609 points for third.

Jamaica's Salsia Slack also had a top-three finish in the Women's Heptathlon event as the University of Technology athlete totalled 5,534 points to finish second behind winner Emily Pearson of the United States, who gathered 5,585 points, while guest athlete Naomi Osazuwa of Nigeria was third with 5,506 points.

Competing in the combined events for the first time in Jamaica, Smith was off to a perfect opening day start as he took the lead after five events with 4,179 points, ahead of Warner (4,082) and Helwick on 3866. For those points, he picked up a win in the shot put with 16.68 metres, second in the long jump and 100 metres with 7.16 metres and 10.94 seconds, respectively, while he was sixth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.91 metres.

lead maintained

He continued to sit in front of his rivals on the second day as he started off well in the 110 metres hurdles, clocking 14.01 seconds for a second-place finish. For the remaining four events, he maintained consistency as he won the discus with 47.61 metres, then cleared the pole vault at 4.70 metres for second before rounding off the day's proceedings with two third-place finishes in the javelin with 56.50 metres and the 1500 metres, where he clocked 4:48.13.

It was disaster for Jamaica's other competitor in the decathlon as former Commonwealth Games champion Claston Bernard failed to go the distance. After picking up 3,809 points on the opening day and finishing third in the first two events on day two - the 110 metres hurdles in 14.56 seconds and the discus with 46.37 metres - he failed to register a height in his third event, the pole vault, and so that was the end for him.

Despite an average start on day one, former two-time local high school heptathlon champion for Holmwood Technical, Slack clawed her way back, just losing out by 51 points. After being in ninth position on 3,077 points behind leader, Sharon Day of the United States on 3,464 points, she picked up valuable points in the long jump (5.99) metres, javelin (44.05 metres) and 800 metres, where she stopped the clock at 2:16.91. Here, her cause was helped by early leader, Day, who after leaping to 5.55 metres in the long jump and throwing 36.09 metres in the javelin, could not compete in the final event, the 800 metres, due to tendinitis in her knee .

Schoolgirl Gleneive Grange of Holmwood Technical, who won the event at 'Champs' this year, participated in the event where she scored 4,331 points for 14th overall. Her marks were: 100 metres hurdles - 17.11 seconds, high jump - 1.51 metres, shot put - 10.06 metres, 200 metres - 26.69 seconds, long jump - 5.21 metres, javelin - 30.74 metres and 800 metres - 2:26.59.