File photos
From left, Blake, McKenzie, Levy and Goule
Anthony Foster, Freelance Reporter
Basseterre, St Kitts:-
All eyes will be on Jamaica's Yohan Blake, currently the world's fastest junior, at this weekend's 37th CARIFTA Games to be staged at the Birdrock Athletics Stadium in St Kitts.
The Games, to be attended by International Associations of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president, Lamine Diack, starts today at 8:00 a.m. (Jamaica time).
Things though, have begun on a sour note for the Jamaicans as upon their arrival at the teams' village - Royal St Kitts and Casino Hotel - they were hit with rather unpleasant and uncomfortable news that four people must share a room, with two sleeping on one bed.
This was flatly rejected by the Jamaican team's management who spent hours lobbying for better. During the negotiations, some of the athletes were sleeping in the hotel lobby, while others were walking around.
It wasn't until after 2:00 p.m. that an agreement was reached. An overnight solution included the usage of beach chairs, only for Thursday night.
Meanwhile, on the track, much is expected of the 18-year-old Blake, a World Junior Championships bronze medallist who clocked a 10.11-second national junior and Games' record to win last year's title in Turks and Caicos. This year he is aiming at a faster time with a hope of breaking the world junior record.
At last week's Boys' and Girls' Championships Blake had targeted Trinidad & Tobago's Darrel Brown's world junior record of 10.01 seconds, but fell well short of even his personal best as he won in 10.27 seconds.
The St Jago High speedster still has his sights on the world mark.
"I did not run fast at Champs so I just have to go to Carifta and prove myself once again," he said, pointing to last year's Carifta where he broke the national junior record in the heats and again in the final.
Blake's compatriot Dexter Lee, the World Youth 100m champion, is seen as the only competition.
In the girls' Under-20 event, Jamaica's Jura Levy, who lost to World Junior Championships bronze medallist Carrie Russell at the Carifta Games but returned to beat her last weekend at Champs, should start favourite with her personal best 11.46 seconds.
However, Bahamian Krystal Bodie, who was third at last year's Games in 11.63 seconds, along with Antiguan Anika Baptiste, who won 100-metre gold in the girls' Under-17 category in 2005 and at one time ranked No.4 among the world's juniors with a personal best 11.49, should challenge the Jamaicans.
Serious challenge
Bodie, who ran 13.71 seconds last weekend for Southwest Mississippi, should seriously challenge Jamaica's duo of Rose-Marie Carty and Janelle Gordon in the Under-20 girls' 100m hurdles.
In the boys' Under-20 200m, World Youth champion Ramone McKenzie, who won last year's event in 20.58 seconds, and Nickel Ashmeade, the World Youth 100m silver medallist and 200m bronze medallist who defeated McKenzie at Champs, look good for a Jamaican one-two.
Bahamian Nivea Smith, a bronze medallist at last year's World Youth Games in 23.69 seconds, should fancy her chances in the girls' Under-20 200m against Baptiste, whose personal best is 23.73, along Levy and Russell.
Bahamian Demetrius Pinder, who won the Junior College Indoor Championships, should start with the favourite tag in the boys' Under-20 400, but Jamaica's Darrion Bent and Dwayne Extol will keep close touch.
Trinidad & Tobago's Gavin Nero should be the star in the boys' Under-20 800m. With a personal best of 1:50.19, Nero and Jamaica's Theon O'Connor, whose personal best is 1:50.44, should battle to the finish.
In the girls' event, Natoya Goule with a personal best 2:08.37 seeks her first gold at the Under-20 level after securing the 800m-1500m double at the Under-17 level for three consecutive years.
Action in the Under-17 category should be equally competitive, but regional powerhouse Jamaica should also dominate this section.
