World 100m record holder Asafa Powell - file

The deadline date for athletes wishing to participate in the National Senior and Junior Athletics Championships is tomorrow.

Entry forms are available at the JAAA office National Arena, Independence Park, and they can also be downloaded from the JAAA's website: www.jaaaltd.com. Athletes can also call 929-6623 or 929-6891 for details.

The June 22-24 Championships will be used as a qualifier for various championships this summer.

Chief among them is the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan (August 25 to September 2) where Trecia-Kay Smith will be defending her triple jump crown.

Also on the card for this summer is the Pan American Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil (July 23-29); NACAC Senior Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador (July 13-15); World Youth Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic (July 11-15); Pan American Junior Championships in Fortaleza, Brazil (July 6-8).

Showdown

This year's National Champion-ships could be the hottest for a long time as fans could see a 200m showdown between World 100m record holder Asafa Powell, who ran 19.93 to win last year and World Junior record holder over the distance, Usain Bolt, who ran 19.89 recently.

However, the hottest showdown is expected to be in the women's sprints where Olympic Games 200m champion Veronica Campbell and Sherone Simpson will renew rivalry.

Otherwise, the quarter-mile events are expected to be close as Novlene Williams and Shericka Williams are the front runners, while former world number two ranked Michael Blackwood, Jermaine Gonzales, Davian Clarke, Sanjay Ayre and favourite Ricardo Chambers should set up a hot field.