Track Ledger

29 March 2017

The 2017 Champs is Here

High School

By O'Neil A. Reid

The 2017 edition of The ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships (Champs) is schedule for Tuesday March 28- Saturday April 1 at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. This 5-day event is perhaps the biggest high school track and field competition in the world in term of its interest and impact. It will be streamed live on the web for those who are unable make it to the National Stadium. The drama and intrigue will be high as defending boys champions, Calabar High School, will be seeking their sixth consecutive hold on the Mortimer Geddes Trophy. Girls champions, Edwin Allen High School, will also seek to defend their title and have the depth and athletes to do so. Taylor vs. Matterson The most intriguing showdown has to be the Class 1 200 fina....

25 January 2017

Usain Bolt losses his 2008 Olympic Relay Gold Medal

HOME

By Associated Press (AP)

GENEVA (AP) -- Usain Bolt has lost one of his nine Olympic gold medals in a doping case involving Jamaican teammate Nesta Carter. Carter and Bolt were teammates on the winning 4x100-meter team, which set a world record of 37.10 seconds. Carter ran the opening leg, and Bolt took the baton third in a team that also included Michael Frater and Asafa Powell. "The Jamaican team is disqualified," the IOC said in a statement. "... the co....

17 January 2017

Bloomfield Runs World Leading 46.68 in 400m

College

By O'Neil A Reid

Jamaican national junior 400m record holder, Akeem Bloomfield and freshman at Auburn University, ran a world-leading time of 46.68 seconds at the Commodore Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee this past Saturday (Jan 14). Bloomfield, a 6’5” graduate of Kingston College (Jamaica), was impressive in his first collegiate indoor 400m race, winning Heat 1 in 46.68 seconds, ahead of Tennessee’s Ari Codgell (46.89) and Alabama’s Skyler Bowden (47.66). Armed with a personal best time of 44.93 seconds in the event, Bloomfield has taken his first step to his expected rise in the USA Collegiate circuit. The Software Engineering major is coached by Henry Rolle. Bloomfield’s teammate, Raheem Chambers, won his 60m heat in 6.72 seconds to finished 3rd overall behind Christian Coleman (6.56) and Mustaqeem Williams (6.69), both of the University of Tennessee. Chambers who hails from Spanish Town, Jamaica, had a stellar high sch....

22 December 2016

110TH NYRR MILLROSE GAMES CELEBRATES RETURN OF METROPOLITAN RELAYS

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By Source: nyrrmillrosegames.org

(Source:nyrrmillrosegames.org). One of the best opportunities of the year to see the major players of New York-area college track and field go head-to-head is being assembled for the Metropolitan men’s and women’s 4x400 relays at the 110th NYRR Millrose Games at The Armory’s New Balance Track & Field Center on Saturday, February 11th.. ....

27 September 2016

Trell Kimmons Accepts 2-year Sanction for Anti-Doping Rule Violation

FEATURES

By usada.org

USADA announced today that Trell Kimmons, of Coldwater, Miss., an athlete in the sport of track & field, has tested positive for a prohibited substance and accepted a two-year sanction for his violation. Kimmons, 31, tested positive for the prohibited substance 1,3-dimethylbutylamine as a result of an in-competition urine sample he provided on March 12, 2016, at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Indoor Championships in Portland, Ore. This substance is in the class of Simulants and is prohibited in-competition under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policies, a....

10 September 2016

Julian Forte Goes Sub-20 seconds in Brussels

Diamond League

By O'Neil A Reid

Finally a breakthrough, the clock registered 19.97 seconds. This was a lifetime best, his first sub-20 seconds in the 200m. Julian Forte had won a closely contested 200m battle in the Brussels Diamond League on Friday. Forte, the 23 year old Jamaican sprinter, narrowly defeated Great Britain‘s Adam Gemili who also posted identical time of 19.97 seconds with the Netherland’s Martina Churandy finishing in third in 19.98 seconds. Gemili's time of 19.97 seconds was also a lifetime best.. By virtue of his 19.97 Brussels performance, Forte became the latest Jamaican to join the likes of Usain Bolt (19.19), Yohan Blake (19.26) among others to go sub-20 seconds in the 200m. Forte is trained by coach Stephen Francis at the MVP Track Club in Kingston, Jamaica. His 19.97 seconds performance was a satisfying end to the 2016 season marred by ups and downs. Missed Opportunities After leading his Jamaican 4x100m relay team to victory ....

08 September 2016

Bernard Lagat Retires

Professional

By O'Neil A. Reid

Legendary distance runner Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat, this week, announced his retirement from the sport of track and field. Lagat, the Kenyan-born American, retires at the youthful age of 41. Lagat is the American record-holder in the 1500m (3:26.34) and the mile run indoors (3:47.28) as well as the 1500m, 3000m, and 500m outdoors. He is also the Kenyan record holder in the 1500m. Over his illustrious career that spanned over 20 years, Lagat has won numerous global titles including two world titles and three world indoor titles. Perhaps the only blemish on his distinguished career was his failure to be crowned Olympic champion. He has, however, earned two Olympic medals: one bronze at the 2000 Sydney Games and a silver at the 2004 Athens Games. Lagat had a fantastic final season, when at the age of 41, he made his fifth Olympic team by winning the 5000m at the 2016 USA Olympic Trials. To the very end, Lagat ran creditably well to finished 5th overall i....

07 September 2016

Rio Reflections: Cedenio's record, Ashton dominates, Final medal table

Olympics

By O'Neil A Reid

Twenty year-old Machel Cedenio of Trinidad and Tobago finished 4th in the men’s 400m finals in a national record time of 44.01 seconds to erase the 24 year old record of 44.21 seconds set by Ian Morris back in Barcelona in 1992. Cedenio, the 2014 IAAF world junior champion in the 400m, is one of the rising stars in this event. He has shown consistent improvements in the 400m from 48.12 seconds in 2010 to his current lifetime best time of 44.01 seconds in 2016. Based on his Rio performance, Cedenio seems poised to join the sub-44 seconds club. Ashton Eaton While Usain Bolt is undoubtedly the fastest man on the planet, the title of most versatile male athlete goes to decathlon winner American Ashton Eaton. Ashton successfully defended his Olympic title by scoring 8893 points over two days of grueling events to take the title ahead of France’s Kevin Mayer (8834 points) with Canada’s Dami....

06 September 2016

Rio Reflections: Centrowitz leads U.S. long distance runners

Olympics

By O'Neil A Reid

Matthew Centrowitz won the men’s 1500m title in 3:50.00 and become the first American to win this event since 1908, when Mel Sheppard accomplished that feat. Centrowitz finished ahead of Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi (3:50.11) with Australia’s Nick Willis (3:50.24) taking the bronze. This was a major accomplishment for the 26 year-old Centrowitz who finished 4th in this event at the London 2012 Olympics. Centrowitz had a great 2016 season highlighted by winning the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in February and later becoming the U.S. 1500m (3:34.09) national champion at the U.S.A. Olympics Trials back on July 10. American Clayton Murphy choose the biggest stage of his young career to run a personal time of 1:42.93 to take the bronze medal in the men’s 800m finals. The 20 year old Murphy finished behind world-record holder David Rudisha (1.42.15) and Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi (1:42.61). ....

05 September 2016

Rio Reflections: The U.S. dominates the 4x400m relays

Olympics

By O'Neil A Reid

The U.S. men’s and women’s 4x400m relay teams both took Olympic gold in Rio, despite failing to win the individual 400m title. South African Wayde Van Niekerk took the men’s 400m in a world record time of 43.03 seconds with the Bahamian Shaunae Miller (49.55) taking the women’s title. However, the U.S. is very deep in the 400m. On the men’s side, the quartet of Arman Hall, Tony McQuay, Gil Roberts and LaShawn Merritt ran a controlled race to claim victory and stop the clock at (2:57.30) ahead of Jamaica (2:58.16) and Bahamas (2:58.49). This was a satisfying victory for the U.S. men who took the silver behind the Bahamian at the 2012 London Games. The U.S. men’s relay had taken gold at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. The U.S. women’s 4x400m relay team is equally deep and the quarter of Courtney Okolo, Natasha Hastings, Phyllis Francis and Allyson Felix took the title in a season-best time of 3:19.06 ahead of Jamaica (3:2....