From Left: Rasheed Broadbell, Tina Clayton and Nickisha Pryce.
Day one at the 2024 Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Friday saw a number of Caribbean athletes producing excellent performances.
Perhaps the best performance on the day came from 2022 Commonwealth 110m hurdles champion Rasheed Broadbell.
The 23-year-old produced a personal best 7.56 to take the men’s 60m hurdles ahead of countryman Tyler Mason who ran a personal best 7.65 in second. LSU Sophomore Matthew Sophia was third in 7.67, also a personal best.
The women’s 60m Open saw a Caribbean top three as Tina Clayton won ahead of twin sister Tia with Bahamian Anthonique Strachan finishing third. Tina’s winning time was a season’s best 7.25 while Tia’s time in second was 7.28 and Strachan’s in third was 7.30.
The men’s equivalent saw reigning Jamaican National 100m champion Rohan Watson run 6.76 to finish as runner up behind American Lawrence Johnson who ran 6.70. Another American, Tony Brown, ran a personal best 6.78 in third while Jamaica’s Michael Campbell ran 6.80 in fourth.
The College men’s 60m saw Bahamian Florida Sophomore Wanya McCoy produce a personal best 6.65 to finish second behind LSU Sophomore Myles Thomas (6.62). Thomas’s teammate, Godson Oghenebrume, also ran 6.65 in third.
The women’s College 400m saw Jamaican National champion Nickisha Pryce produce a personal best 51.04 to take the win. Her time also puts her #3 on the all-time Jamaican indoor list.
The Arkansas Junior finished ahead of her schoolmate Kaylyn Brown who ran a personal best 51.49 for second while Rosey Effiong completed the Arkansas 1-2-3 with 51.65 in third.
The women’s Open 400m saw Lanae-Tava Thomas and Stacey Ann Williams run 51.88 and 52.33 for second and third, respectively. American Alexis Holmes won in a meet record 50.80. Another Jamaican, Andrenette Knight, ran 52.68 in fourth.
In the field, 2019 World champion and national record holder, Tajay Gayle, opened his season with 8.15m to finish second in the men’s long jump. Gayle, who also took bronze at the World Championships in Budapest last year, also produced a 7.99m effort in his series on Friday.
The event was won by Florida Senior Malcolm Clemons with 8.17m while Bahamian Laquan Nairn produced 7.93m for third.
With Bolt's times on his mind, Noah Lyles eyes Yohan Blake's 100m stadium record at Racer’s Grand Prix on Saturday
Triple World Champion Noah Lyles has his sights set on Yohan Blake's stadium record of 9.75 seconds, set in 2012, as he prepares to compete in the 100m at the Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday night. Lyles, who wakes up every day with Usain Bolt's world records of 9.58 for the 100m and 19.19 for the 200m on his mind, believes he is getting closer to breaking both records each year.
Speaking at a Racers Grand Prix press conference at the Jamaica Pegasus on Friday, Lyles shared his thoughts on his progress and ambitions.
"Every day, it's (Bolt's records) in the back of my mind. Every day I train as if I'm getting closer and closer because every year I get closer and closer," Lyles said. "Especially this year, we've made a lot of headway in our 100m training, and I'm very eager to show everybody how much headway we've made on Saturday because it's been consistent."
Lyles highlighted the progress he has seen in his training, emphasizing that his improvements are not just occasional but have been consistently evident.
"You know, it's one thing when you get it once or twice in practice, but we've been seeing it happen week after week, run after run, and I believe that the 150m proved that we've been making progress on both ends, on the 200 side and on the 100 side," he said in reference to the American record to the 14.41 he ran at the Adidas Atlanta City Games a week ago.
"And, of course, the world record is always going to be in the back of my mind, but Olympic golds are Olympic golds, and nobody can take those away from you."
While Lyles acknowledges that the 200m world record might be easier to achieve, he remains determined to excel in both events.
"Definitely the 200m is going to be easier. I have a firm, firm chokehold on the 200m right now, and I'd say I'm kind of just letting everybody play their cards for now," he said. "I'm very excited. Tomorrow is gonna be a magical day."
When asked about Blake's stadium record, Lyles responded with enthusiasm and determination. "75? Let's go after that!" he exclaimed.
Lyles' confidence and determination set the stage for an exciting race on Saturday night, as he aims to make history at the National Stadium in Kingston.
North American derby set to kick off 2024 ICC T20 World Cup in Dallas
The 2024 ICC T20 World Cup will get underway on Saturday, June 1 with an exciting clash between North American neighbours the USA and Canada at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
This will be the second appearance at a T20 World Cup for the Canadians while this will be the joint-hosts first time appearing at a T20 World Cup.
The teams most recently played a five-match T20I series from April 7-13 in the USA with the hosts coming out 4-0 winners.
The top run-scorer in that series was Jamaican-born Canada batsman Aaron Johnson with 124 runs in four innings at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 144.18.
The next two best batsmen were India-born USA skipper Monank Patel and Steven Taylor, both of the USA, who finished with 120 runs and 115 runs in three innings each.
Overall, Patel has 441 runs in 25 T20Is at an average of 22.05 including a pair of fifties.
Taylor, in 24 T20Is, has 742 runs at an average of 41.22 with a hundred and four fifties. He can also contribute with ball in hand having taken 11 wickets at an economy of 5.32 during his 24 games.
South Africa-born ISA batsman Andries Gous was the only other batsman to score more than 100 runs in the series with 11 runs in three innings.
Gous has appeared in just six T20Is, scoring 161 runs at an average of 26.83 with two fifties.
Another key player for the Americans will be former New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson. Although he didn't light the world on fire when the two teams last met, his ability to hit the ball a long way and send down sone overs of left arm pace could be vital to the American charge.
As far as wickets go, former India Under-19 representative Harmeet Singh finished with six wickets in four games for the hosts while South Africa-born Shadley van Schalkwyk finished with similar returns for the USA.
Canada’s best bowler in the series was Pakistan-born Saad Bin Zafar with five wickets from four games.
All these players will be crucial to the chances of either team kicking off the World Cup with a win.
The hosts should also come into the game with a world of confidence after producing a 2-1 series victory over Bangladesh from May 21-25 in the USA.
The Canadians won their only warm-up fixture ahead of the showpiece event with a 63-run win over Nepal in Dallas on May 27 while the Americans have had both their scheduled warm-up games abandoned without a ball being bowled.
The World Cup is scheduled to run from June 1-29 in the West Indies and the USA.
Bahamian CARIFTA javelin champions Dior-Rae Scott and Taysha Stubbs commit to University of Nebraska
Two of the top young Bahamian javelin throw prospects, Dior-Rae Scott and Taysha Stubbs, have committed to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Scott and Stubbs, both 16, are two of the premier female javelin throwers in the region and globally as well.
They both won gold medals at the 51st CARIFTA Games in St. George’s, Grenada, in April this year.
Scott threw a personal best and new CARIFTA record 52.53m to win gold in the Under-17 section while Stubbs threw 50.94m to win the Under-20 section.
Those marks are among some of the best in the world for the age-group.
Scott is tied for fourth on World Athletics’ Top Performance List for under-18 girls in the 500-gram javelin event, and Stubbs is sixth in that same division, but in the 600-gram javelin event.
They will both look to emulate the success of Nebraska standout Rhema Otabor, a Bahamian NCAA champion in the women’s javelin who will be looking to defend her title as a collegiate senior at this year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The Nebraska senior is currently the NCAA leader in the event this season with 59.12m done at the Drake Relays on April 24.
She took silver at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Chile with a personal best 60.54m.
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