KINGSTON, Jamaica — In a thrilling display of speed and determination at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Championships held at Kingston’s iconic National Stadium, 24-year-old hurdler Assinie Wilson secured the most significant victory of his young career so far on Saturday. Crossing the finish line with a winning time of 48.91 seconds, Wilson claimed his first ever Jamaican senior national title and earned an automatic spot on Jamaica’s roster for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Scotland this coming July.
Coming into the national championships, Wilson entered the competition as the top-ranked men’s 400m intermediate hurdler in Jamaica for the 2014 season, carrying high expectations after finishing as the runner-up at the previous year’s national event. This year’s competition took on a different dynamic, however, with Jamaican national record holder Roshawn Clark absent from the starting line-up, opening a clear path for a new champion to emerge.
Wilson rose to the occasion, holding off a strong challenge from the rest of the field to cross the line first. Behind the new champion, Romario Stewart of Mico University delivered a standout personal performance, clocking a new lifetime best of 49.43 seconds to claim the second place spot on the podium. Rounding out the top three finishers was Malik James King, who recorded a time of 50.07 seconds to secure the third position.
Reporting from Kingston, Paul A Reid