BEIJING, China – The Caribbean athlete train slowed in anticipation of a speed up in the afternoon session with three finals with their prominence, on tap at the XV IAAF World Championships at the Bird Nest Stadium. The 100mh would see our women first in the semifinals and hopefully, finals, a little over two hours later.
The men’s Decathlon got going with the 100m and Grenada’s Kurt Felix, the only athlete on display for the region, romped 11.02 to be 4th in heat 2 for 856 points. In the Long Jump, he excelled to win Group B with a 2015 best of 7.66m, earning 925 points while at it. His morning duties ended with Shot Put effort of 15.02m, taking 4th in Group A , a 791 point mark. He ended the early session in 6th spot of the 29 athletes recorded, with High Jump and 400m to come in the later sector.
Three Bahamians were among the 40 high jumpers who lined up for the event. Both Trevor Barry in his third championships with a bronze medal in 2011 and 2007 World Champion, Donald Thomas advanced to the final, with 2.29m clearances. Barry was 6th in group A and Thomas 5th in Group B, and both were a part of five athletes who occupied the provisionally qualified 10th position. Ryan Ingraham stumbled out at 2.26m for 11th in Group B.
Medal prospects for our people in the post lunch session, are mouth-watering. The Williams sisters, with their US College coach Lennox Graham, issuing last minute exhortations as part of the Jamaican coaching staff, tackle the semifinals and with luck and proper execution, the finals later. So too, will their island Jamaica teammate, Kimberly Laing and Bajan miss, Kierre Beckles. The men’s equivalent, will feature Omar McLeod with a shoe in for some colour metal, omce he can have his technical glitches sorted and stop crashing into the barriers and his London Olympics, bronze medallist compadre, Hansle Parchment.
The women’s 200m finals will see Veronica Campbell-Brown (22.47SB), the 2011 champion in lane 2, the joint favourite with the Dutch girl, Dafne Schippers, Stephen Francis-coached, Elaine Thompson (22.10SB) in lane 5 (Schippers just on her right in lane 6) and 2008 Olympic 100m silver girl, Sherone Simpson, to run blind in lane 9. The only coach mentioned by name, could be the difference.
