分类： sports

KINGSTON, Jamaica — One of the sport’s top global talents has kicked off his 2024 campaign in dominant fashion, as reigning world champion Oblique Seville clocked a polished 9.96 seconds with a legal 0.2 meters per second tailwind to claim top honors in the men’s 100-meter dash at the third JAAA/Puma Invitational meet, held Saturday at Kingston’s iconic National Stadium.

Seville, drawn in the 21st and final heat of the day’s 100m competition, separated himself from the rest of the field in his section within the opening 30 meters, never looking threatened en route to the finish line. He crossed the line well clear of second-place finisher in his heat Sandrey Davison, who registered a time of 10.22 seconds, while Adrian Kerr rounded out the heat’s top three with a 10.28s run. Across all heats, rising star Bouwahjgie Nkrumie took second place overall, posting a new personal season’s best of 10.13 seconds in the penultimate heat despite a slowing -1.1m/s headwind.

In the women’s 100m, Ashanti Moore emerged as the standout performer of the day, taking the victory in a solid 11.18 seconds with a 0.1m/s wind reading. She edged out World Relays gold medalist Jodean Williams, who crossed the line just four hundredths of a second behind at 11.22s, while national junior record holder Alana Reid claimed the third spot on the podium with a 11.31-second run.

Other highlights from the one-day meet included a surprise men’s 400m victory for Tajh Marques White, who crossed the line first in 45.91 seconds. White held off a late push from Kingston College high school standout Jason Pitter, who finished second in 46.40 seconds, just one hundredth of a second ahead of third-place Reheem Hayles who clocked 46.42s.

In the field events, Samantha Hall dominated the women’s discus throw, launching a winning mark of 60.07 meters to take the title. Lushane Wilson, a decorated World Indoor Championships medalist, claimed top spot in the men’s high jump, clearing the bar at 2.16 meters to secure the win at the national qualifying event.

The 2024 Under Armour Track and Field Nationals, hosted at Florida’s IMG Academy in Bradenton, delivered a historic breakout performance on its second competition day Saturday, as Jamaican middle-distance runner Kelly Ann Beckford delivered a massive personal best to claim gold in the women’s professional 800m. Beckford crossed the finish line in 1 minute 58.66 seconds, slashing more than 1.5 seconds off her previous top mark of 2:00.17. That prior personal best came just last August, when she claimed a bronze medal at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Championships held in The Bahamas.

Already a qualified competitor for the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Beckford’s new time marks a major milestone for Jamaican women’s middle-distance running: she is only the fourth female Jamaican 800m runner ever to break the elusive two-minute barrier in the event. The result also jumps her from 10th all-time among Jamaican women in the discipline into that exclusive historic top four, and her 2024 season time now ranks among the top 10 fastest 800m performances globally this year.

In the corresponding men’s professional 800m race, it was a training partner showdown at the front of the pack. Wes Ferguson, who trains alongside Navasky Anderson at Under Armour Baltimore, edged out Anderson to take the top spot on the podium with a winning time of 1:44.41. Anderson, Jamaica’s own national record holder and a 2023 World Athletics Championships finalist, finished just 0.15 seconds behind Ferguson to claim second place in 1:44.56. Rounding out the top three was Handal Roban of St Vincent and the Grenadines, who posted a time of 1:45.08 to secure the bronze medal.

Two underdog stories will collide this Sunday at Ferdie Neita Park, when Humble Lion Football Club and Tru-Juice Football Club step onto the pitch to compete for the Jamaica Football Championship title, kicking off at 3:30 pm local time.

Both squads have already locked in promotion to the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), turning Sunday’s showdown into a battle for the championship crown and regional bragging rights. Neither side secured their spot in the final through regulation play: both had to outlast their opponents in tense penalty shootouts after two weeks of tight, even semi-final legs.

For Humble Lion, the road to the final cements a quick return to top-flight Jamaican football. Relegated from the JPL at the end of the 2024-25 season, the club has bounced back in spectacular fashion. In their second-leg semi-final at Drax Hall, Humble Lion played to a 1-1 draw with Sakka Club Browns Town after the first leg ended goalless, before clinching a 5-3 penalty win to advance.

Tru-Juice’s journey to the final marks a historic first for the club. The Linstead-based side had qualified for semi-finals in four of the past five seasons but had never broken through to the title decider – until this year. Facing off against Reno FC on a waterlogged pitch at Llandilo, the match remained deadlocked after both legs ended 0-0, and Tru-Juice held their nerve to secure a 4-3 penalty win, booking their first-ever spot in the JPL in the process.

The newly promoted sides will take the place of Harbour View FC and Spanish Town Police FC, the two teams relegated from the Premier League at the end of the current top-flight season.

The race to the semi-finals was one of the tightest in recent memory, with the top three clubs in both regional zones finishing within just three points of each other on the league table. Tru-Juice claimed the top spot in Zone A with 35 points, edging out Sakka Club Browns Town by a single point, while Jamaica Defence Force came third with 32 points. In Zone B, Humble Lion finished atop the group with 34 points, one point ahead of second-place Reno FC, with Roaring River close behind in third at 31 points.

In the immediate aftermath of his side’s semi-final victory, Tru-Juice head coach Craig Richards expressed confidence that his squad had earned every bit of their success, calling the 2025 campaign a productive season for the club. “The statistics proved our dominance,” Richards said. “We scored the most goals in the league. We have the number one striker in the league.” The team will now look to cap their historic breakthrough with a championship win.

For Humble Lion, reaching the final means they have already checked off their primary goal for the season: an immediate return to the Jamaica Premier League just one year after relegation. Now, the club will be chasing extra silverware to cap off their remarkable comeback season.

Last weekend marked a groundbreaking milestone for Jamaican men’s javelin throw, as two student-athletes from U.S. collegiate programs etched their names into the record books. Brandon Falconer of Mount St Mary’s University and Jemar Ferguson of the University of Louisiana became the first Jamaican men ever to secure spots at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, capping off impressive performances at the East Regional qualifying meet hosted by the University of Kentucky.

Falconer, an alumnus of Jamaica’s renowned St Elizabeth Technical High School, delivered a clutch throw of 67.28 meters to claim ninth place at the regional event, enough to punch his ticket to the national championships. A seasoned competitor who has already claimed two Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) javelin titles, Falconer holds a personal best throw of 69.02 meters — the second-longest mark in Mount St Mary’s program history. He is also the first athlete from the university, known for its team nickname the Mountaineers, to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships since javelin thrower Brian Sagendorf in 2021. That same year, Sagendorf set the current school record of 71.26 meters that still stands today.

For Ferguson, a product of another top Jamaican track program, Jamaica College, his qualification run came with an extra personal win. He not only finished 10th overall at the East Regional to secure his championship spot, but also notched a new personal best of 66.29 meters, shaving 0.14 meters off his previous top mark set at the Florida Relays earlier this 2024 season. This new personal best also ranks as the third-longest javelin throw in University of Louisiana program history, cementing Ferguson’s place among the top throwers in the school’s track and field legacy. The regional result continues a steady upward trajectory for Ferguson: just earlier this month, he took home second place at the Sunbelt Championships, a notable improvement from his ninth-place finish at the same event a year prior.

The historic qualification of both athletes not only highlights the growing depth of javelin throw talent emerging from Jamaican track and field programs, but also showcases the success of Jamaican student-athletes competing at the highest level of U.S. collegiate sports.

Marvin Chin, the legendary goalkeeper who anchored St Andrew Technical High School’s (STATHS) only Manning Cup championship team in 1987, passed away on May 19 at the age of 57. His daughter Marvilesa confirmed the news of his passing in an exclusive conversation with Observer Online, shedding light on the circumstances of his death.

Marvilesa shared that her father suffered fatal asthma complications while en route to the University Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew, where medical professionals officially pronounced him dead. A native of Elletson Flats, Chin built a decades-long football career that included a stint with National Premier League side Constant Spring, but his most enduring legacy remains tied to that history-making 1987 high school championship run.

That 1987 season remains a landmark moment for STATHS football: under head coach Lebert Halliman, the underdog squad pulled off a stunning 6-1 upset over heavily favored Excelsior High School in the Manning Cup final, held at Kingston’s National Stadium. Striker Morris Cyrus delivered a standout performance, notching a hat-trick in the title game before scoring the only goal in a 1-0 second-leg victory over Ruseas High School to secure the Olivier Shield for the program. Chin’s steady work between the posts was the quiet foundation that allowed his teammates’ offensive firepower to shine through.

Carl Sewell, a starting defender on that 1987 STATHS team and one of Chin’s closest lifelong friends, who shared the pitch with him at both Constant Spring’s National Premier League and Masters League squads, reflected on Chin’s personality off the field. “At school, Marvin was extremely quiet; he wasn’t a vocal goalkeeper. But at Constant Spring, that was where his true character came out,” Sewell shared, highlighting the more outgoing side of the goalkeeper that emerged in his club career.

Beyond football, Chin built a full professional life outside the sport. He trained as an electrical technician, a trade he worked in for years, while also holding a position as a sales representative for Kingston’s Coffee Express Company. He also held a leadership role in Jamaica’s sound system culture, serving as chief selector for the Marvin Chin Movement sound system.

Chin is survived by his wife Denise, his two daughters Marvilesa and Shamar, two brothers, and two sisters. The Jamaican football community is now mourning the loss of a player who helped deliver one of the most iconic underdog victories in the island’s high school football history.

The third leg of the 2024 Wanda Diamond League circuit wrapped up Sunday at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d’Athlétisme de Rabat in Morocco, with Jamaica delivering a dominant performance that stole the spotlight, starting with a full medal sweep in the women’s 100-meter sprint.

World Athletics Championship silver medalist Tina Clayton set the pace from the opening gun, exploding out of the blocks to maintain control of the race through the finish line. She crossed the line in a season’s best 10.85 seconds, falling just 0.02 seconds short of Elaine Thompson-Herah’s 2022 meeting record.

Clayton was followed across the line by two first-time Diamond League competitors, delivering a historic clean sweep for Jamaica. Lavanya Williams took silver with a new personal best of 10.95 seconds, while Jonielle Smith claimed bronze in 11.00 seconds, marking a memorable debut for both young sprinters on the elite global circuit.

Jamaica’s strong showing extended beyond the women’s 100m across multiple events. In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Rushell Clayton secured another podium spot for the country, finishing third with a time of 53.75 seconds, while teammate Andrenette Knight placed eighth in 55.37 seconds. The race title went to Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalova, who delivered a career-defining performance: her winning time of 52.82 seconds set both a new Slovakian national record and the fastest time run by any athlete in the world this season. American Anna Cockrell took second place in 53.18 seconds.

In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, another Jamaican rookie made her Diamond League debut, with Kerrica Hill running a season’s best 12.71 seconds (with a 1.2m/s wind) to finish ninth. The race was won by Nigeria’s world-class star Tobi Amusan, who broke her own previous Rabat meeting record of 12.45 seconds to claim gold with a 12.28 second finish. For the women’s high jump, Jamaica’s Lamara Distin tied for fourth place after clearing a 1.91m bar.

In men’s competition, Rajindra Campbell, who set a new Jamaican national shot put record of 22.34m during a competition in China just one week prior, placed seventh in Rabat with a throw of 21.04m. American shot put star Joe Kovacs took home the gold with a dominant performance, recording a new meeting record and world-leading throw of 22.58m. Rounding out Jamaica’s results, sprinter Bryan Levell finished ninth in the men’s 200-meter sprint with a time of 20.44 seconds in 0.4m/s wind conditions.