The 2012 Jamaica National Championships, the guide for selecting the team to the upcoming Olympiad in London, will be keenly contested at every turn. All eyes will be on the sprints, and rightly so. There is pride and four gold medals to defend heretofore.
Usain Bolt has regained the form that made him a legend in the making. Although his times are not necessarily close to his 100m world record of 9.58secs, he is once again primed for the big time. Anyone with knowledge of track and field will tell you that fast times are not necessarily the be-all end-all; winning is more critical. Bolt will start as favorite in Kingston and he will not disappoint. Look for something special.
Bolt aside, former world record holder Asafa Powell has a lifetime best of 9.72secs, making him number three on the all-time list; Powell’s MVP club mate Nesta Carter, 9.78secs, is fourth on the all-time world list. Carter has struggled with his form this year; World champion Yohan Blake, unbeaten since his 2011 World Championship win, will be closing mightily. He is one to watch. Others in the hunt include relay specialist Michael Frater with a best time of 9.87secs; Nickel Ashmeade boasts a PB of 9.97secs but at this point is not listed among the starters; and the hard-working and gutsy Lerone Clarke, Commonwealth and Pan American champion, will be trying to march onto the team but his PB of 9.99secs is highly suspect for this classy field.
The aforementioned Bolt, Blake and Ashmeade will be joined in the 200m by the in-form Warren Weir, a teammate of Bolt and Blake’s. Bolt’s world record of 19.19secs will not be threatened in Kingston. He is expected to complete the sprint double. The minor places will be sorted out by the latter three. Although it will be a close race, Weir could surprise. He will have to break the magical 20-second barrier to snatch a place on the team.
The women’s sprints will be an every-meter-of –the-way contest. Veronica Campbell-Brown will be gunning to make the 100m team to eliminate the disaster of missing out last time around when she was out-sprinted by younger rivals. She will once again have to fend off Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who has regained a measure of her gold medal winning form. Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson, joint Olympic silver medalists, are struggling to regain some stature. Simpson seems particularly in danger of not making the team. Newcomer Schillonie Calvert and the veteran Aileen Bailey are on the cusp of making the trip to London. Fraser-Pryce, the former World champion, is the slight favorite and should go on to successfully defend her Olympic title. She could well be on her way to becoming a legend – and she is only 25 years old.
Exacting Challenges
The tough-as-nails Campbell Brown should win the 200m at Nationals and defend her title in London. This will be a record-setting three Olympic sprint titles in a row. She will face exacting challenges in Kingston but should triumph over Fraser-Pryce and Kerron Stewart. The other runner-up spots will be strongly contested by Schillonie Calvert (if she runs this event), Sherone Simpson and Aileen Bailey. Expect Campbell-Brown to be highly challenged in London by her Jamaican mates and top Americans, perennial silver medalist Allyson Felix, 100m World Champion Carmelita Jeter and possibly the formidable Bianca Knight, a favorite in Jamaica, who holds victories over Campbell-Brown, Felix and Jeter.
Although Jamaica should perform just as well as in 2008, all eyes will be trained on the men’s and women’s sprints. I expect four gold medals once again. While a plethora of stars will shine magnificently at Trials, Bolt, Blake, Powell, Fraser-Pryce and Campbell-Brown will be on full display.
Jamaicans in London and around the world will be humming with pride in August. Bob Marley must have seen this coming when he sang, ‘Dem ago tired fi si wi face…” Hello world, expect fireworks starting at the Jamaica National Trials.