By Simone Proietti, Special to TrackAlerts.com
Another historic edition of scholastic Jamaican championships, the famous Champs that every year promote the best of young athletics in the Caribbean island, has been completed this weekend with 21 records.
Budding champions and sprint prodigies, able to realize performances that are infrequent also in the “pro circus” of great athletics. Thus it’s possible that two giants such as Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, could see the fall of three monstrous records through new talents that promise equally exciting careers. Then, if in the teams championship the triumph is for Calabar boys, that actualize a consecutive tris of victories, and for amazing Edwin Allen High School girls at their second title, in individual competitions various athletes have glittered. Among boys, an excellent result is the 10.12 set by Anguillan Zharnel Hughes on 100m Class 1, improving the previous championship record of 10.21, held by Blake since 2007.
This is a performance that confirms Hughes worth, after the recent new entry in Racers Track Club coached by Glenn Mills, capable to overcome his rival Jevaughn Minzie, second and under the old record, flying in 10.16. Minzie was also able to dominate the 200m final, running in 20.50, aided by withdrawal of Hughes, after a small injury in the semifinal, when he had obtained a great 20.32, 5 cents faster than Minzie.
Another record held by Yohan Blake is deleted on 100m class 2 (10.34), thanks to Raheem Chambers 10.29, alumn ass Blake in St. Jago’s High School, while on 400m the hero of this edition was Javon Francis, 45 seconds to finish his race, faster than Usain Bolt in 2003 (45.35). Francis competed also on 200m, running in 20.58 his semifinal, before to let go in the final.
The last astonishing record was achieved by Jaheel Hyde on 400hs class 1, ran in 49.49, disclosing significant improvements, that launch the 2013 youth world champion on 110 hs to international fame also for the longer distance.
SHORT BIOS:
Zharnel Hughes: born 13/07/1995 Anguilla. PB: 100m 10.12 – 200m 20.32. Honours: 2012 Carifta Games bronze 100m, CAC junior champs silver 100m – 2013: Carifta Games gold 100m, Panam. Junior Champs gold 100m
Jevaughn Minzie: born 20/07/1995 in Jamaica. PB: 100m 10.16 – 200m 20.37. Honours: 2011 Carifta Games gold 4×100 & 4×400, silver 100m & 200m – 2012 World Junior Champs silver 4×100, Carifta Games silver 4×100 – 2013 Carifta Games silver 200m
Raheem Chambers: born 6/10/1997 Jamaica. PB: 100m 10.28 – 200m 21.19. He won U17 100m in Carifta Trials
Javon Francis: born 14/12/1994 Jamaica. PB: 400m 45.00 – 200m 20.58. Honours: 2013 Moscow World Championships silver 4×400.
Jaheel Hyde: born 2/02/1997 Jamaica. PB: 400hs 49.49 – 400hs (84cm) 51.06 – 110hs (99cm) 13.53 – 110hs (91cm) 13.13. Honours: 2009 CAC Age Gr. Champs bronze 60m, silver 4×100 – 2012 Carifta Games gold 110hs – 2013 World Youth Championships gold 110hs.
Simone Proietti is a Italian journalist/photographer. He writes a blog, which can be viewed at italiathletics.blogspot.it
