All eyes on Elaine

JAMAICA’S top junior and senior athletes will be involved in some explosive clashes as they seek places on the various national teams at the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association (JAAA) Puma MCGES National Junior and Senior Championships, which starts today and continues through to Sunday at the National Stadium.

Action will get under way this morning at 9:45, with the finals of the under-18 girl’s javelin and long jump.

A lot of attention will be focused on the women’s 100m, which will have first-round action at 7:40 p.m. Shericka Jackson, the defending champion and world silver medallist who is ranked third in the world with 10.78 seconds, will spearhead the battle against national junior record holder Alana Reid, the country’s second fastest female in the event this year with a season best 10.92 seconds, along with two other juniors in Tia and Tina Clayton.

All eyes, however, will be on double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson Herah following a below-average season opener of 11.24 seconds two weeks ago. The second fastest ever female over the distance, with 10.54 seconds, she will be hoping to advance easily to tomorrow’s semi-final and final.

Qualifying in the men’s 100m will get under way at 10:15 a.m., with 40 athletes registered. The top seven finishers will advance to the preliminary round of the event at 8 p.m., where they will join the likes of Ackeem Blake, Oblique Seville, and Yohan Blake in a bid to advance to tomorrow’s semi-finals and final.

Based on competition so far this season, there could be a changing of the guard as for the first time at these Championships, many of the juniors are showing that they have a good chance of making a big impact against their senior counterparts.

Today will see 30 events, with eight field events finals and one track final, the men’s 5,000m at 4 p.m.

Juniors will be involved in six of the field event finals, while the seniors will compete in two, the women’s long jump set for 4:01 p.m. and the women’s high jump at 7:08 p.m. The long jump will feature National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) champion Ackelia Smith, the world number one in the event with a season and personal best 7.08 metres. She is one of only three female athletes who have scaled the seven-metre mark so far this season.

Two-way battle

The high jump final is slated for 7 p.m. and will see Commonwealth Games champion Lamara Distin in what is expected to be a two-way battle for the title with Kimberly Williamson.

In the senior 400m hurdles, Rushell Clayton and Janieve Russell will lead the female contenders battling for a place in tomorrow’s final, while defending champion Jaheel Hyde will lead the men’s charge at 4:55 p.m., with Shawn Rowe and young Roshawn Clarke among the leading contenders.

The first round of the men’s 400m will start at 5:25 p.m. with 34 athletes, including Sean Bailey, Antonio Watson, Zandrian Barnes, and overseas-based Raheem Hayles, who have all gone sub 45 seconds this season, seeking a place in Saturday morning’s semi-final.

The juniors, under 18 and under 20, are competing for spots at three meets: the NACAC Under 18 Championships in Costa Rica, the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago, and the Panam Under-20 Championships in Puerto Rico.

The seniors will battle for spots at the coveted World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, along with the NACAC Under-23 Championships in Costa Rica.