Sprinting ace Michelle-Lee Ahye's performance highlighted the 2016 NGC/Sagicor/ NAAA National Championship held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium over the weekend (June 24 -26, 2016). The twenty-four year old Ahye captured the sprint-double titles, winning the 100m in 11.00 seconds (+1.0 mps) and stopping the clock in the 200m in a national record time of 22.33 seconds (+1.6mps), erasing the 22.36 seconds mark set by Kelly-Ann Baptiste at the 2013 championships. Ahye, who has a personal best 10.85 seconds in the 100m, is coming off a great indoor season and is positioning herself for medal contention at the upcoming Olympics.
Ahye won the 100m ahead of Semoy Hackett and Baptiste who both posted identical times of 11.07 seconds, with the teenager Khalifa St Fort finishing in 5th in 11.16 seconds, well within the Olympic qualifying time of 11.32 seconds. Hackett also finished seconds to Ahye in the 200m with a time of 22.61 seconds, with Reyare Thomas in third at 22.72 seconds.
Olympic silver medalist Richard “Torpedo’ Thompson won the men’s 100m race in a brisk time of 9.97 (+1.7mps) seconds, ahead of Rondell Sorrillo (9.99) and Keston Bledman (10.10). Thompson, the 100m national record holder at 9.82 seconds, has been relatively quiet so far this season but has signaled that he is back to form by this performance.
Sorrillo, by virtue of his 9.99 seconds performance, becomes the latest member of the sub-10 seconds club. Sorrillo, the former NCAA 200m champion at the University of Kentucky, turned the tables on Thompson in the men’s 200m final by winning the event in 20.24 seconds (+2.1mps) ahead of Thompson’s (20.54 seconds). Sorrillo’s time of 20.24 seconds is within the Olympic Games 200m qualifying standard of 20.50 seconds.
Twenty year old Machel Cedenio took the men’s 400m title in a championship record time of 44.45 seconds ahead of Lalonde Gordon (44.69) and Deon Lendore (45.47). Cedenio, the reigning IAAF World Junior 400m champion, is having a great season. So far, Cenedio has gone sub-45 seconds on four occasions this season, running a season-best 44.37seconds at the Racers Grand Prix on June 11, 2016 in Kingston. The fast-improving Cedenio, who has a personal best of 44.36 seconds, is the 2nd fastest Trinidadian over the distant and seems to have his sights set on erasing the national record time of 44.21 seconds set by Ian Morris back in 1992.
In other results, reigning Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott took the men’s javelin title with a throw of 80.45m ahead of Shakiel Waithe (79.53m).
Former world champion Jehue Gordon finished in second place in the men’s 400m hurdles in a time of 50.44 seconds behind winner, Puerto Rican Eric Alejandro (50.17 seconds). Janeil Bellille captured the women’s 400m hurdles title in 56.11 seconds ahead of Sparkle McKnight (56.83).
National record holder Mikel Thomas won the men’s 110m title in 13.67 (-1.0mps) ahead of Ruebin Walters (13.70), while Cleopatra Borel won the women’s shot put title with a throw of 17.88m.