Odyssey to Oregon

Travel to Oregon with Jamaica Sports 876 for the World Athletics Championships 2022!

2022 ODYSSEY TO OREGON Oregon Odyssey FOURTH EDITION SUMMER 2022

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2022 ODYSSEY TO OREGON

Inside WELCOME TO EUGENE 5 UP CLOSE & PERSONAL WITH THE TOUR PARTY 7 EUGENE IS “TRACKTOWN USA” 8 JAMAICAN PERFORMANCES AT EUGENE 10 CAN SHELLY-ANN AND TAJAY DEFEND? 12 SPRINT QUEENS TO STAY IN TOP 14 WILL OLYMPIC CHAMPS ELAINE & HANSLE WIN 17 OREGON 2022 TIMETABLE 20 FAREWELL ALLYSON FELIX 22 JAMAICA’S TEAM TO OREGON MEN 25 WOMEN 31 IT’S IN THE BLOOD: THE JAMAICA CONNECTION 40 THREE MEDALS FOR JAMAICA'S MEN? 41

2022 ODYSSEY TO OREGON Welcome! OLIVE MCNAUGHTON

Welcome to the 4th edition of the Jamaica Sports 876 Magazine, Odyssey to Oregon! W henever we travel to support our athletes, I get a buzz of excitement. As a devoted sports fan myself, I am delighted in the journey which has taken patrons, such

personal with their enthusiastic fans. Importantly, as we continue this drive to build Jamaican support at major sporting events, our athletes have come to appreciate that we will always be there. This was why “Jamaica Sports 876” came into being; and it remains my heartfelt passion.

The Sports Realtor, Olive McNaughton

of the Kalapuya people.” It is our hope that you will enjoy the beauty, cultural diversity, and the slower pace of the West Coast. Given the relatively smaller nature of the venue and surrounding infrastructure, the logistic challenges have been many; however, we have worked hard to meet our goal: to deliver a Jamaica Sports Oregon Tour in keeping with our Mission of, A comprehensive re‐designed and newly reimagined state of the art theater, has made our host city, Eugene, boast that no seat in the re‐modeled Hayward Field is a bad seat. This very intimate stadium places athletes up close and “Creating Memorable Experiences, Creating Memorable Moments.”

In Doha, the team bounced back from the disappointing 4‐medal low of London 2017, when we tearfully wished Usain Bolt a fond farewell. In Eugene, our Odyssey will take us track side to witness Olympic champion: Elaine Thompson‐Herah, World Champion: Shelly‐Ann Fraser Pryce and our new star: Shericka Jackson, seek to duplicate their 100m 1‐2‐3 finish, which was achieved in Tokyo last year. For all we know, these wonderful ladies might produce world records in the individual sprints and the sprint relay at Hayward field, which is well known for fast times. There is now a genuine belief that the previously unreachable 10.49 women’s 100m sprint record is now in sight. As Shelly Ann said, “For me to

as you, to track and field cathedrals in Beijing, Berlin, London, Moscow, and most recently to Doha. That last adventure, in 2019, was one of our best tours, notwithstanding the heat some days. The excitement on the track and in the field were enjoyed from our finish line seats in the air‐ conditioned stadium, matched by iconic camel tours, delightful local culture; and the peaceful experience of a dip in the Middle Eastern sea. All the logistics fell into place. Oregon will host the 18th edition of the world Championships, to be held in the USA for the first time, at the recently modernised Hayward Field, based at “The University of Oregon, which is located on Kalapuya Ilihi, the traditional indigenous homeland

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young prospects for Jamaica in men's sprinting, in a team which spans veterans, 2021 Olympic 110m hurdles champion Hansle Parchment, a resurgent Yohan “the beast” Blake, and a new name, “Navasky Anderson,” who recently broke the 45‐year‐old national 800m record. During this decade‐long journey with you, we've had numerous memorable experiences. Friendships which started through our travels and shared passion for sports have blossomed; networking opportunities

talk about the World Record I would have to be running 10.60 and I believe I can go faster with the perfect execution.” Elaine’s 10.54s is the 2nd fastest time ever, set on this same track in the Prefontaine Classics 2021 and with Shericka winning the National Trials in the 100m and the 22.54s in the 200m. The women’s sprint world records are “under pressure.” I can't wait. The Jamaica Squad to Oregon is a team in transition, after 2017 when there was a sense that the golden decade of Jamaica’s Track & Field, which started in Beijing 2008, was coming to an end. However, Oregon 2022 sees a team blending the ever‐young standard bearers of the past decade, Shelly‐Ann, Elaine, Shericka, Hansle, Yohan, with a new crop of emerging young talent – Brianna, Kemba, Oblique, Akeem, Brittany, and Navasky. Jamaica’s track and field future is bright indeed. The well‐rounded squad to Oregon, led by our reigning world champions Shelly‐Ann Fraser‐Pryce in the 100m and Tajay Gayle in the long jump, includes, once again, bright Olive shares the lens with Jamaica’s 2015 Danielle Williams, the 2015 world 100m hurdles champion.

flags, and they share our joy; and hear our voices when the greatest National Anthem in the world is played on the podium. They missed us last year at the Tokyo Olympics; therefore, I feel blessed that we will be back with them in Oregon. I thank you all for your support; and I look forward to each day with you on this Odyssey. – Olive, The Sports Realtor “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 KJV) Jamaica’s four-time World 100-meter gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce chills with Olive in Kingston.

created and business deals conducted. We've enjoyed the competitive highs and a few lows experienced by our athletes on the field of play; but the process has brought all of us together. Just as importantly, we have given our athletes that extra energy, because they know we are there, they see us at the finish line, they embrace our “If I’m able to get down to 10.5, then I think that with a perfect race, perfect execution and good competition, then I definitely think [the record is] possible,” Shelly-Ann says.

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Eugene? Why HUBERT LAWRENCE

Hayward Field, ready to welcome the world in 2022.

W orld Athletics could have chosen any number of US cities to host the 2022 World Championships. America has hosted the Olympic Games twice in Los Angeles and once in Atlanta; New York once was a stop in the World Athletics Diamond League. In addition, Philadelphia annually presents the world‐renowned Penn Relays at historic Franklin Field. Eugene, Oregon, the self‐ proclaimed Track Town USA, however, trumps them all. Jamaican Olympian Neil Gardner knows why. Having run in all those places, he says the atmosphere in Eugene will come the closest to Saturday night at Boys’ and Girls’ Championships in Kingston.

By the numbers, there’s nothing special about Eugene, with the population of this Pacific Midwest locale amounting to 180,000 and a stadium that needs temporary additional seating to accommodate 30,000 fans at a time. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. The University of Oregon stadium, known as Hayward Field, is one of the cathedrals of the sport, as Gardner found out for himself in 1996, when he won the NCAA 400‐metre hurdles for the University of Michigan. He was mightily impressed. In fact, he set personal bests in the NCAA heats and semis and got another personal best – 13.68 seconds – on his way to the 110‐metre hurdles final.

He came back home for the 1996 National Championships, raving about the knowledgeable fans in Eugene. It’s an impression that lasts to this day. "In Eugene, track and field is looked upon in a similar way that Jamaicans view high school track and field", he said. “That’s a big comparison because of the overwhelming crowd support we see at Boys’ and Girls’ Championships each year. "There’s a difference between track and field at another level and high school track and field", the 1996 Olympic semi‐finalist continued, "as regards the spectators, but high school track and field is what it is for Jamaican fans. Yes, we’ll turn out for another meet. Yes, we’ll

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turn out for World Relays if it were here. Yes, we’ll turn out for a World Junior Championships."

everybody loves a fast track as well and everybody loves fast times." The new track was laid as

been set there and if the 2021 Prefontaine Classic is any indication, one more could follow. Elaine Thompson‐Herah, Fraser‐Pryce and Shericka Jackson reprised their Olympic 1‐2‐3 in the 100 metres with Thompson‐Herah crossing the finish line in 10.54 seconds, the second fastest time ever.

part of a US$270‐million upgrade that has made Hayward Field into a monument as well as a track and field cathedral.

BUILT BY 3 BILLS For the record, Eugene is home to one of the most successful collegiate track and field programmes in the United States. With legendary coaches like Bill Hayward, Bill Bowerman and Bill Dellinger guiding college and international champions like Brazil’s 1984 Olympic 800‐metre gold medal winner Joaquim Cruz, history’s most successful decathlete Ashton Eaton and 2016 Olympic 1500‐metre victor Matt Centrowitz, Oregon is a big brand in athletics. Incidentally, the current Oregon team includes Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson, the 2021 NCAA Indoor 60‐metre champion and this year’s NCAA 100‐metre runner‐up. The city also shares some history with sportswear giant, Nike. In 1958, Phil Knight, a student‐athlete at the University of Oregon, shared with his coach, Bill Bowerman, his discomfort with American running shoes. The company they formed in 1964 produced a lighter and more comfortable shoe designed by Bowerman. In 1968, this company became Nike, Inc. Knight further cemented his links to Oregon by heading the financing for the recent modernization of Hayward Field. Twenty world records have

In his view, those 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston didn’t quite have the energy of the meet known worldwide as Champs. "It was heavily marketed for World Junior Championships but even for World Junior Championships, as busy as it was, it would never compare to the energy of a Saturday night of Champs, Boys Champs I should say, let alone the Super Champs we’ve been having," said the man who as a Wolmer’s student‐athlete starred at Boys’ Championships in 1993. Then Gardner, who traversed the USA competing for Michigan and raced all over the world as a professional, drew a sharp comparison. "So what fans can expect is that Eugene is probably the closest they will ever come to the kind of fan support that they’re used to seeing at a Saturday night of Champs," he proclaimed. Today’s athletes agree with him and according to four‐time 100‐ metre World Champion Shelly‐ Ann Fraser‐Pryce, there’s at least one more reason. Speaking at the press conference for the annual Prefontaine Classic in June, Fraser‐Pryce understated, "Of course, it’s a fast track and

So the allure of Eugene is twofold: the fans, like those at Penn and Champs, are brilliant and the venue is conducive to top performances. It’s a combination that is certain to make the 2022 World Championships memorable. Bill Hayward (left) coached Oregon and the US Olympic track team for decades. Bill Bowerman co-founded Nike and led the athletics programme at Oregon for nearly 25 years.

Before Bill Dellinger (right) coached the Ducks, he was a star at Oregon and a 1964 Olympic medallist.

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W e think of the as a happy hunting ground for Jamaican athletes over the years. Though the island won more than its share of US‐based NCAA champions since the Second World War, those triumphs did not translate into top finishes at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. Not, anyhow, until the 21st century and the golden age of Jamaican athletics, when their athletes grabbed the bouquet on a more regular basis. Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon The event began in 1973 as the Hayward Restoration meet, a fund‐raising vehicle aimed at replacing the old wooden grandstand structure at the Oregon Ducks’ track stadium. Just before the annual renewal was scheduled to be upgraded to the Bowerman Classic as of June 7, 1975, however, Oregon’s star Olympian Steve Prefontaine was killed in an auto accident at the end of May, inspiring the name change to the Prefontaine Classic staged eight days later. There was spectacular success for Jamaica at the very start. At the height of the rivalry between Don Quarrie and American Steve Williams, the two would clash over a sprint double at the first “Pre” Classic on June 7, 1975. First, as he would do so many times over his career, Williams was able to start modestly and reel in the field to win the 100 yards in 9.1 seconds – just .1 off the world Jamaicans at Hayward Field MICHAEL A. GRANT

Rivals for a decade, Jamaica’s Don Quarrie and the USA’s Steve Williams fought legendary battles over 100 and 200 meters, including a clash at the first Prefontaine Classic. Here, they race in Milan in 1975.

record – edging DQ in the process. Later, the pair locked horns again, this time over 220 yards. Uncharacteristically, San Diego Track Club’s Williams was slightly ahead of Quarrie coming off the curve, the stage of the race where the Jamaican 200‐meter world‐ record holder had built such an enviable reputation. At well over six feet, the long‐limbed Williams expected his longer stride to get him home and wrap up the sprint double, but Quarrie had other ideas. “I was leading the whole time,” Williams remembers, “getting into the rhythm of running under 20 seconds. I feel like I’m a foot from the line and boom! I kinda hooked my foot. Then all I saw

was the top of Don’s head going through!” The diminutive Jamaican had caught Williams at the line to win, with both sprinters timed at 19.9 seconds for a new world record. Though Jamaican men got the glory started in the Great Northwest, wins at Prefontaine were strangely hard to come by, though there were many creditable performances through the years. In a stacked 1996 100‐ meter final, Ray Stewart could only manage 10.32 for sixth while challenging the winner, Jon Drummond, Leroy Burrell and Maurice Greene. James Beckford leapt 8.24 meters to win the long jump the following year; Roxbert Martin (45.29) and Gregory Haughton (45.48) were

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fifth and sixth, respectively in the men’s 400 meters won by Tyree Washington in 1998. Haughton would be sixth again in 2000, timed at 45.26. Patrick Jarrett broke the middling trend in 2001 by winning the 100 at the Classic in 9.89(w), ahead of short‐sprint brand names like Greene, Williams, Drummond, Crawford and Surin. Chris Williams, Michael Blackwood and others campaigned around the middle of the pack after that, until the emergence of Asafa Powell, who first won in 2006. Although he was scheduled to take on Tyson Gay in his pet event in 2010, Usain Bolt did not show for his 200‐meter Prefontaine debut, leaving the USA’s Walter Dix to do the job in 19.72, leaving Gay in second place (19.76). It is Jamaica’s women who have made the biggest bang at the meet, particularly in the Diamond League era. In 2010, Veronica Campbell‐Brown scorched the track to beat Shelly‐Ann Fraser‐ Pryce and American mercury Carmelita Jeter in the 100 meters, stopping the clock at 10.78 seconds. In 2011, however, it was Steve Mullings’ turn, as he ran away from a pack that included compatriot Nesta Carter and Mike Rodgers to win over the distance in 9.80. Returning to Prefontaine as a two‐time Olympic 100‐meter champion in 2013, Fraser‐Pryce got the better of Nigerian star Blessing Okagbare to record a fast 10.71 seconds for the victory. Shelly‐Ann went back to Oregon in 2015 to nip Côte d’Ivoire’s Murielle Ahoure to win the A race, with both women timed in 10.81. In the B event,

The women’s 100 metres final at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic, won by Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson- Herah in a 1-2-3 finish for Jamaica including Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (4) and Shericka Jackson (3).

Oregon legend English Gardner won in 10.84 seconds, sharing equal time with Jamaica’s rising star Elaine Thompson. After the 2020 cancellation of “Pre” due to COVID‐19, Jamaica returned to Eugene with a vengeance following the Tokyo Olympics, sweeping all three women’s places in the 100 meters. Double‐double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson‐ Herah led the rush with a historic 10.54‐second run, the second‐ fastest performance ever at the distance. Behind her were teammates Shelly‐Ann Fraser‐ Pryce (10.73) and Shericka Jackson (10.76), with troubled USA star Sha’Carri Richardson in ninth. In 2022, with heightened focus on the prospects of this Jamaican trio during a World Championships year, Thompson‐Herah streaked away yet again to win the 100, despite some injury troubles to her shoulder. Jackson was again third, but this time the two Jamaicans were split by a darting Richardson, who was adjudged second in equal time with Jackson

(10.92), but appeared to many to be third in the photo‐finish. Avoiding the melee altogether, Fraser‐Pryce opted for the 200 meters, which she won coming off the curve in authoritative fashion to win in 22.41 seconds. The USA’s Richardson, doubted and derided for months after her showing at the 2021 Classic seemed fast and feisty again, apparently ready for her first global meet. But she was, unfortunately, eliminated at USATF trials while her personal trials continued. Fraser‐Pryce, who has made no secret about her plans to break Florence Griffith‐Joyner’s 100‐meter world record, is bristling for a scrap after three trips at or below 10.70 seconds ahead of this year’s national trials. By contrast, Thompson‐Herah has stayed dangerously quiet with runs below 10.80; Jackson has run two commanding sub‐22‐ second races to state her intentions over 200 meters. Those left standing will be headed for Oregon again, this time for Worlds at the home of “Pre”.

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Can Shelly & Tajay

Defend?

W ith COVID‐19 pushing the international track and field calendar out of sync, it’s been almost three years since Shelly‐Ann Fraser‐ Pryce and Tajay Gayle covered themselves in glory in Doha, Qatar at the World Athletics Championships. Fraser‐Pryce did what she almost always seems to do and sped to a record fourth title in the 100 metres, while Gayle stepped into the spotlight with a humongous win in the long jump. Now, with the start of this week’s World Championships upon us all in Eugene, the time has come for them to do it again ... if they can. They were MVP Track Club teammates then with maestro Stephen Francis guiding their steps but things have changed since those days in Doha. Now directed by former STETHS head coach Reynaldo Walcott, Fraser‐ Pryce sprinted to personal bests and silver at last year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. By contrast, Gayle left Tokyo emptyhanded after a knee injury left him far short of his best form. Like all defending World champions from 1997 onward, they both have a wild card, a bye into the opening round of the 100 and the long jump, respectively, in Eugene. Her departure from the MVP in 2020 hasn’t hurt much. The bid for a third Olympic 100 metre gold medal was dashed by Elaine Thompson‐Herah, but she sped to times of 10.60 and 10.63 and collected a silver in Tokyo to go with her 2008 and 2012 gold medals and her bronze from

2016. The 35‐year‐old isn’t slowing down, if her season‐ opening 100‐metre time of 10.67 seconds is evidence.

could be a year when Thompson‐ Herah is vulnerable. By next year, with Fraser‐Pryce at 36 and the new coaching partnership refined, the window of opportunity could be closed forever. On the clock, the June 13 difference between their times was 0.12. Olympic bronze medallist Shericka Jackson pulled into the fast lane at the National Championships with a win timed in 10.77 seconds. Fraser‐Pryce ran only the heats there, clocking 10.70 seconds. Gayle faces a fight. Olympic champion Miltiádis Tentóglou of Greece was a majestic winner of the World Indoor Championships in March, and he is one of eight long jumpers at or beyond the World Championships qualifying distance of 8.22 metres. If his 2019 self turns up in Eugene, he

Since the start of the 2022 season, Shelly-Ann Fraser- Pryce has been the picture of consistent speed.

By contrast, Gayle hasn’t looked like the man who shellacked his Doha rivals with a personal best of 8.46 in the first round before adding the coup de grace with a huge 8.69‐metre leap in round four. In fact, up to June 13, Gayle hadn’t yet jumped past 8 metres. Conventional wisdom suggests that Fraser‐Pryce’s path to a title defence in Eugene is less difficult. Her primary rival, Thompson‐Herah, has left the MVP and changed coaches, leaving behind the expertise of Stephen Francis. As she gets used to the style of her new coach, her husband Deron, this

Elaine Thompson-Herah returns to Hayward Field after her 10.54s run in 2021, the second fastest time ever.

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stands a chance to win and to match two‐time runner‐up James Beckford with a second trip to the podium. Anything less and he will have to wheel and come again at the 2023 Worlds. Gayle isn’t the only big jumper struggling. Juan Miguel Echevarria of Cuba, who beat the Jamaican handily at the 2019 Pan‐Am Games, was favoured in Doha but now the 2021 Olympic runner‐up is nowhere to be found on the 2022 performance list. The 23‐ year‐old Cuban jumped 8.62 in 2019 and 8.50 metres in 2021. The women’s 100 field is formidable. Aside from Thompson‐Herah, Jackson, Britain’s 2019 silver medal winner Dina Asher‐Smith, Ivory Coast’s third‐placer and Marie‐

mind with a 60‐metre win at the World Indoor Championships in 6.96 seconds. Fraser‐Pryce can’t take anyone lightly. She won’t. Times of 10.79, 10.83, 10.89, 10.93 and 10.94 seconds before the Jamaican Nationals could mean that Thompson‐Herah is on her way to the form which carried her to the second fastest 100‐metre time ever in Eugene last August – 10.54 and 10.61 in Tokyo. In peak condition, she might even attack the world record of 10.49 seconds set by Florence Griffith‐Joyner in 1988. If the slim 30‐year‐old doesn’t quite regain those high‐speed levels, Shelly‐Ann Fraser‐Pryce will reach out and touch her fifth 100‐metre title. No one else, man or woman, has more than three.

Josée Ta Lou, Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland blew everyone’s Tajay Gayle on his way to winning the long jump at the Doha World Championships in 2019.

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Sprint Queens to Stay on Top

J amaica’s women won the lion’s share of our medals at the Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and at the last World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in 2019. The trend is likely to continue in Eugene, the US city that will host the 2022 World Championships starting on July 15. As in Tokyo, the team is led by a brilliant women’s sprint team. ANOTHER 100‐METRE SWEEP? Repeat medal sweeps tend not to happen in the 100 metres but Jamaica could do it. Elaine Thompson‐Herah, majestic in Tokyo, 4‐time World 100 champ Shelly‐Ann Fraser‐Pryce and sprint convert Shericka Jackson are all in form and even if Thompson‐Herah’s coaching change from MVP maestro Stephen Francis and the gestation period of her coach‐athlete relationship with husband Deron dissolves the advantage she had in 2021, Jamaica is still solid. Fraser‐Pryce started her season with a run of 10.67 seconds in Nairobi, with the undefeated Thompson‐Herah, who sorely wants to win her first individual World gold, next on the yearly performance list at 10.79 seconds. In March this year, she voiced her motivation. "I have no titles there, so my focus is to earn a title there this year and so I am just happy to continue the season outdoors and just stay healthy and fit throughout the season", she told reporters at a meet in Kingston. Jackson ran a personal best of 10.76 seconds in the Olympic

HUBERT LAWRENCE

but only after the 200 semi. For some reason, the 200 starts the very day after the 100 final. In addition, Jackson won when they met at Rome’s Golden Gala, 21.91 to 22.25 seconds. Jackson did it again at the Nationals with the third fastest time in history, 21.55 seconds and now, at the very least, is the joint gold medal favourite. With Olympic bronze medallist Gabby Thomas nursing an injury, the big threats might be American Abby Steiner who won the NCAA title impressively in 21.80 seconds and the US Trials in 21.77 and Asher‐Smith, the 2019 champion.

final and after her National Championships win, she is going for gold. A fast group of potential sweep breakers includes St. Lucian Julien Alfred, who has clocked 10.81; 2019 runner‐up Dina Asher Smith of Britain and flamboyant American Sha’Carri Richardson. A win for the 35‐year‐old Fraser Pryce would give the Mummy Rocket a fifth title. SCHEDULE VS. ELAINE IN 200 The schedule could be a problem for Thompson‐Herah. In Doha, with her chronic Achilles tendon issues raging, there was no rest day between the 100 and 200, and she simply couldn’t report for her 200 semi. In Tokyo, with a new treatment regime minimizing the discomfort and a break between the 100 and 200, she surged to the second fastest time ever ‐ 21.53 seconds. There’ll be a rest day in Eugene Ready or not, Shericka Jackson goes to Oregon a hot favourite for sprint gold.

NCAA and US 200-meter champion Abby Steiner of Kentucky poses a major threat to Jamaican hopes.

OUTSIDE SHOT AT A 400 MEDAL Until an injury tripped up Stephennie‐Ann McPherson in the Olympic final, a medal for Jamaica seemed certain. Now 33, she can try again in a field that could be dominated by

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While Puerto Rico’s Jasmin Camacho-Quinn (right) is favored in the sprint hurdles, she will not have an easy time from Tapper (left), Anderson (2nd right) and Danielle Williams.

two‐time Olympic champion Shaunae Miller‐Uibo. Candice McLeod peaked perfectly in Tokyo but watch out for Marileidy Paulino, the leggy Dominican who led the world up to June 17 with a time of 49.49. She was second in Tokyo. TACTICS KEY FOR GOULE Natoya Goule needs a medal to cap a period which has seen her make every major final. Now 32, she’s been searching for a race

strategy that keeps her out of traffic while at the same time preserving her energy for the last 100. If she hits the right tactical note, the podium is there for the taking. Olympic champion Athing Mu of the United States and her fellow 20 year‐old, Keely Hodgkinson are a cut above the rest of the field. HURDLES MEDAL FOR THE “BABY”? At 21, Brittany Anderson is the baby of the fabulous Jamaican 100‐metre hurdles crew. Yet, she has been consistently faster than 2015 World Champion Danielle Williams, who took bronze in 2019, and effervescent Megan Tapper who finished in third in Tokyo. In addition, she made Puerto Rico’s Olympic champion Jasmin Camacho‐Quinn hurry when they met in Rome. The duel produced times of 12.37 for Camacho‐Quinn and 12.50 for Anderson with Williams and Tapper well back. Even though the US team will include big meet monster Nia Ali

and Nigeria will field the Lacena Golding‐Clarke‐coached Tobi Amusan, it’s hard to see Anderson off the podium. The cautionary note is that she looked like a medallist in Tokyo in the semis, where she zoomed to the joint second fastest time by a Jamaican in 12.40 seconds. An early mistake in the final killed her race. 3 IN A ROW IN THE 400 HURDLES? A twist of fate saw Ristananna Tracey and then Rushell Clayton win bronze medals at the 2017

Rushell Clayton chased two American superwomen to a bronze in the 2019 World 400-meter hurdles in Doha.

Natoya Goule will contend with Athing Mu in the 800.

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and 2019 World Championships with the same personal best time – 53.74 seconds. Sydney McLaughlin, Muhammad and spindly Dutchwoman Femke Bol took all the medals last year. However, if Muhammad’s recent injury is serious, the reliable Janieve Russell, the 2016 and 2021 Olympic finalist, could move up. TRIPLE DOUBLE FOR SHANIEKA? When the sensational Yulimar Rojas steps onto the runaway, you automatically think, ‘world record and gold medal’. Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts has to ignore the Venezuelan and focus on herself. Her first jump beyond 15 metres wouldn’t hurt. At press time, her 2022 best was 14.43 metres, good for number 6 on the yearly performance list. WHO SHOT THE SHERIFF? Like Ricketts, 2019 World shot put runner‐up Thomas‐Dodd is the 6th best performer this year with a throw of 19.53 metres. With three ladies past 20 metres and World Indoor champion Auriel Dongmo of Portugal at 19.68, Thomas‐Dodd will have to fire on all cylinders to medal. In Doha, she had a disqualified

NCAA Champion Lamara Distin has a legitimate shot at the heights for this year’s World Athletics Championships.

throw that landed on the 20‐ metre line. The World final would be a great moment to reproduce it. WORLD RECORD RELAY? 10 years ago, Americans Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter set a super 4x100 record of 40.82 seconds. Had COVID‐19 not eliminated Jamaica’s usual team camp and the allied baton practice, Brianna Williams, Thompson‐Herah, Fraser Pryce and Jackson might have broken it last year in Tokyo. With young Kemba Nelson, second at the Nationals in 10.88 seconds, they can run at it again in Eugene. In the 4x400, Jamaica will arrive in Eugene with gold from the

World Indoor Championships in March. The Americans missed the medals in that meet but will be much, much stronger outdoors and as it was in Doha and Tokyo, Jamaica and Poland will battle for the silver. DISCUS HISTORY FOR LAWRENCE? If conditions allow Shadae Lawrence to reach her lifetime best of 67.05 metres earlier in the discus final, it could unsettle people the way Tajay Gayle did in the 2019 men’s long jump. HIGH JUMP HOPES HIGH The Russia‐Ukraine conflict has ruled out the brilliant Mariya Lasitskene and leaves a medal up for grabs. Lamara Distin, the NCAA indoor and outdoor champion, could reach for it. Led by Fraser‐Pryce, the ladies won 8 of the team’s 12 medals in Doha and with Thompson‐ Herah at top speed, the figure was 7 of 9 in Tokyo. The trend will continue in Eugene with a possible 100‐metre medal sweep, at least 1 in the 200 and two in the relays almost certain. Add a podium place in the 100‐ metre hurdles and the shot; the result is the familiar picture of Jamaican women stepping up at the World Championships.

The Olympic champions are favourites again.

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WILL OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS ELAINE & HANSLE WIN IN EUGENE? A t last year’s Tokyo Olympic Games, Elaine Thompson‐ Herah and hurdler Hansle Parchment covered themselves in glory. Thompson‐Herah sprinted to the first repeat 100/200 double by a woman in Olympic history and Parchment managed a huge upset in the 110‐metre hurdles. Now, as Eugene and the World Championships beckon, they face a new challenge. Intent on winning her first individual World Championships gold medal, Thompson‐Herah has looked good in the 100, with routine trips under the 11 second barrier and a sparkling time of 10.79 seconds at the Prefontaine Classic on May 28 on the same Eugene track that will host the Worlds. Her 2021 trip there was glorious. Three weeks after her brilliant Tokyo triumph, she ran a perfect race to lead the Olympic silver and bronze medallists Shelly‐ Ann Fraser‐Pryce and Shericka Jackson across the line in 10.54 seconds. This performance was just 0.05 short of the 1988 world record of 10.49 seconds set by Florence Griffith‐Joyner. During this year’s visit to Eugene, she clearly established medals as her priority for this

Double-double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah wants World gold in her collection.

year. “Last year was spectacular and I would love to repeat that this season but I am in no rush, no rush for the world record or anything like that. The main aim right now is to get a taste of that World Championships gold which I don’t have; I only have a silver from six years ago.” That solitary silver, representing a loss on the line to Holland’s

Dafne Schippers over 200 metres, was followed by more disappointment. After impressive runs in the 2017 100 heats and semis, she was ravaged by a stomach virus and spent her time before the final vomiting. Her ongoing Achilles tendon problem flared up during the 2019 World Championships. As a result, she didn’t reached the podium for the 100 metres and was unable to take her place in the 200 semi‐finals. In 2021, her Achilles pain subsided and she produced an Olympic record of 10.61 seconds to the 100 and the second fastest time ever at 200, 21.53 seconds to repeat her 2016 double. If her new coach, husband Deron Herah, can guide her to that kind of form, she will be too good for her rivals in Eugene. Leading the challenge are her compatriots Shelly‐Ann Fraser‐ Pryce, Olympic bronze medallist Shericka Jackson and 2019 World runner‐up Dina Asher‐ Smith of Great Britain. The

Olympic champion Hansle Parchment knows that a sub-13.00 effort won’t guarantee a medal in Eugene.

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consistent Ivorian, Marie‐Josée Ta Lou, should also be there to race for the medals. If the new coaching arrangement needs more time to produce top results, she will find Fraser‐Pryce a formidable rival in the 100 and American college star Abby Steiner and Jackson major obstacles in the 200. Running for the University of Kentucky, Steiner won the NCAAs with a collegiate record of 21.80 seconds and went even faster – 21.77 – to win the US Trials. Jackson went 2‐0 over Thompson‐ Herah at the Nationals in 21.55 seconds. By contrast, Parchment has been coached by veteran expert Fitz Coleman since he became a student at the University of the West Indies. The partnership led

him to a stunning upset of World Champion Grant Holloway in Tokyo and Jamaica’s second straight Olympic gold medal in the 110‐metre hurdles. Holloway is coming into shape slowly in 2022 and was walloped in New York by fellow American Devon Allen who screamed home in 12.84 seconds. The world record time of 12.80 by Aries Merritt in 2012 was placed in danger when Holloway zoomed 12.81 at the US Olympic Trials last year and now Allen, at number three all‐time, has pulled into the danger zone. Though Parchment is undefeated in 5 starts, Allen’s time and his big win over Holloway makes him the gold medal favourite. That’s on paper. Last year, Parchment

wasn’t favoured for a medal and ran his best race in years to win in 13.04 seconds. With his injury issues subsiding, the tall man from Morant Bay is already at 13.09 seconds and a return to sub‐13 second form might be possible. However, with Allen going so well, Parchment’s lifetime bench mark is 12.94 seconds might not be enough to win. Allen will hope that history will turn in his favour. He finished fourth and then fifth in the last two Olympic finals and Parchment edged him for the last spot in the final at the 2017 World Championships which McLeod won. If all the principials arrive in top shape, the world record could fall. Will Elaine and Hansle win in Eugene? It’s possible, but it won’t be easy.

DAY 1 MORNING SESSION TIME SEX EVENT 09:05M Hammer 10:10 M High Jump 10:30 M Hammer

DAY 2 MORNING SESSION TIME SEX EVENT

DAY 3 MORNING SESSION TIME SEX EVENT

ROUND

Final

Qual.- Gp. A

10:30 W 10:35 W 11:10 W 11:25 M 12:00 M 12:20 W 13:20 M 17:10 W 18:00 M 18:20 M 18:25 W 18:30 M 19:05 W 19:50 M

Triple Jump Qual. 3000M Steepl.Heats

06:15 M 10:35 W 11:05 M 11:35 W 11:35 W 12:00 W 13:00 M 13:45 W 17:05 M 17:05 M 17:25 W 17:33 W 18:03 M 18:27 M 18:30 M 18:38 W 19:00 M 19:30 M 19:50 W

Marathon

Qual.

100M Hurdles Heptathlon

Qual. - Gp. B

High Jump

Qual.

400M

Heats

11:45 X 4x400M Relay Heats 12:05 W Hammer 13:10 W 20K Race Wk Final 13:30 W Hammer 15:10 M 20K Race Wk Final 12:30 M 100M AFTERNOON SESSION TIME SEX EVENT 17:05 W Shot Put Qual. 17:15 M 3000M Steepl. Heats 17:20 W Pole Vault Qual. 18:00 M Long Jump Qual. 18:10 W 1500M Heats 18:50 M 100M Heats 18:55 M Shot Put Qual. 19:50 X 4x400M Final

110M Hurdles Heats

High Jump Hammer

Heptathlon

Final Final

Final Heats Final

Qual. - Gp. A Prelim. Round

Hammer 10,000M

400M

400M Hurdles Heats

10,000M Shot Put

Qual. - Gp. B

Heptathlon

AFTERNOON SESSION TIME SEX EVENT

ROUND Heats

100 M 100M

ROUND

Semi-Final

110M Hurdles Semi-Final

Final Final Heats

Long Jump Shot Put

Discus

Qual. - Gp. A

Final

Pole Vault

1500M 1500M 100M

100M

Semi-Final

400M Hurdles Semi-Final

Final

Shot Put Discus

Qual. - Gp. B Heptathlon Semi-Final

200M 1500M

110M Hurdles Final

Final

100M

DAILY EVENT SCHEDULE

DAY 6 AFTERNOON SESSION TIME SEX EVENT

DAY 7 AFTERNOON SESSION TIME SEX EVENT

DAY 8 MORNING SESSION TIME SEX EVENT ROUND 06:15 W 35KM Race Wk Final AFTERNOON SESSION TIME SEX EVENT 17:05 M Pole Vault Qual. 17:40 W 4x100M Relay Heats 18:05 M 4x100M Relay Heats 18:20 W Javelin Final 18:35 W 800M ROUND Final 19:50 W 400M Hurdles Final 19:15 W 400M 19:35 M 400M Final

ROUND

15:20 W Javelin 16:25 W 5000M 16:50 W Javelin 17:20 M 800M

Qual. - Gp. A

17:05 M Javelin 17:10 W 800M 18:10 M 5000M

Qual. - Gp. A

Heats

Qual. - Gp. B

Heats 18:20 M Triple Jump Qual. 18:35 M Javelin

Heats 18:15 W 400M Hurdles Semi-Final 18:30 W Discus Final 18:45 W 400M Semi-Final 19:15 M 400M Semi-Final 19:45 W 3000M Steepl. Final

Qual. - Group B

19:00 M 800M 19:35 W 200M 19:50 M 200M

Semi-Final

Final Final

Semi-Final

DAY 4 MORNING SESSION TIME SEX EVENT

DAY 5 AFTERNOON SESSION TIME SEX EVENT

ROUND

Final

06:15 W 09:35 W 10:55 W 12:05 W

Marathon Long Jump

17:15 W 17:40 W 18:05 W 18:33 M 18:50 M 19:30 M 19:50 M

400M Hurdles Heats

Final

Heptathlon

High Jump

Javelin Javelin

Heptathlon - Gp. A Heptathlon - Gp. B

200M Discus 200M 1500M

Semi-Final

Final

Semi-Final

AFTERNOON SESSION TIME SEX EVENT

Final

400M Hurdles Final

ROUND Heats

17:05 M 17:10 W 17:45 M 18:00 W 18:20 W 18:35 W 18:55 W 19:20 M 19:50 W

200M Discus

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Qual. - Gp. A

Final Heats

(ALL TIMES OREGON LOCAL)

High Jump

200M

Triple Jump Final

Discus 800M

Qual. - Gp. B Heptathlon

3000M Steepl. Final

Final

1500M

DAY 9 MORNING SESSION TIME SEX EVENT

DAY 10 MORNING SESSION TIME SEX EVENT ROUND 06:15 M 35 KM Race Wk Final 09:35 M 110M Hurdles Decathlon 10:30 M Discus

ROUND

09:50M 100M

Decathlon Decathlon

10:40 M Long Jump

11:20 W 100M Hurdles Heats 12:00 W Long Jump

Decathlon - Gp. A Decathlon - Gp. B Decathlon - Gp. A Decathlon - Gp. B

Qualification Decathlon

11:40 M Discus 12:15 M Pole Vault 13:15 M Pole Vault

12:10 M Shot Put

AFTERNOON SESSION TIME SEX EVENT 16:10 M High Jump

AFTERNOON SESSION TIME SEX EVENT ROUND 17:05 W 100M Hurdles Semi-Final 17:05 M Javelin

ROUND

Decathlon

17:10 W 4x400M Relay Heats 17:40 M 4x400M Relay Heats 18:00 M Triple Jump Final 18:10 M 800M Final 18:25 W 5000M Final 18:35 M Javelin Final 18:55 M 400M 19:30 W 4x100M Relay Final 19:50 M 4x100M Relay Final

Decathlon - Gp. A

Final Final Final

17:25 M Pole Vault 17:50 W Long Jump 18:05 M 5000M 18:10 M Javelin

Decathlon - Gp. B

18:35 W 800M Final 19:00 W 100M Hurdles Final 19:20 M 1500M 19:35 M 4x400M Relay Final 19:50 W 4x400M Relay Final

Decathlon

2022 ODYSSEY TO OREGON

Championships, has been a Allyson Oregon but was topped by Tori MICHAEL A. GRANT

WALK GOOD, I n 2021, The USA’s Allyson Felix joined Jamaican sprint legend Merlene Ottey as the most decorated female athlete in global athletics, with 30 medals earned at the Olympics, World Championships and World Indoors combined. Though she does not quite match Ottey’s longevity in the sport, Felix is poised to hold the record all by herself when she makes her last appearance at Hayward Field this year, most likely in the 4x400 relay. Still only 36 in 2022, she has benefited from an early start, winning at the highest level in her teens. Felix was a phenomenon in high school, once clocking 22.11 for 200 meters in Mexico City in 2003, the year she was named national girls’ High School Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News. In 2005, still not yet 20, she would get the better of Jamaica’s Olympic champion Veronica Campbell in Helsinki to win her first world title at 200 meters. Having established her world‐ class bona fides so early, Felix created a sensation by waiving her NCAA college track eligibility to turn pro after high school – then shrewdly went straight to college anyway, with tuition paid by her sponsor. Her illustrious career, which she has managed with grace and class over five Olympiads and seven trips to the World

Allyson Felix powers down the straight in the 2005 World Championships 200 metres final. At left is Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell (4th) and at right, Christine Arron of France (3rd).

pageant of duels with Jamaican women. Except for that first encounter with VCB in 2005, the 2011 and 2017 World 4 00 meters, the 2017 World Championships 4x400 relay and the Tokyo Olympic 400‐meter final – five events – Felix has h ad the company of Jamaican women on the podium for every global medal she has won. Jamaicans also seemed to be at her heels at the Prefontaine Classic. Felix’s first encounter with a Jamaican athlete at Hayward Field came in 2007 in the 100 meters, where she finished third behind Torri Edwards and Muna Lee. Jamaica’s Sheri‐Ann Brooks was well beaten in seventh. The following summer, she returned to try her sprinting luck in

Edwards again, this time with three Jamaicans lining up with her: Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, who were ahead of her and Peta‐Gaye Dowdie, who finished seventh. By 2010, Allyson had won the 200‐meter world championship twice and was building her reputation in the 400 meters. This time at “Pre”, she won a close one‐lapper in 50.27 seconds from Botswana’s Amantle Montsho (50.30) and Jamaica’s Shericka Williams (50.31). The 2011 edition brought many of the familiar names together again, this time with Montsho winning in 50.59 seconds, Felix third in 51.41 and Williams sixth in a time of 52.16. In 2012, the year she would finally get the better of Veronica Campbell‐Brown in an Olympic 200‐meter final, Felix won the

2022 ODYSSEY TO OREGON

Felix comes up short against Veronica Campbell-Brown when the Jamaican wins the Olympic 200-meter title at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “I love running against Veronica,” Allyson has said, “I love high quality races, and I wish we could meet more. “Sometimes it’s just the way that it works out.”

half‐lap at Prefontaine by clocking 22.23 seconds, well ahead of Jamaica’s Anneisha McLaughlin, who managed 23.00 flat. For her stellar work in 2012, she was named IAAF Athlete of the Year. Allyson’s return to the 100 meters at Hayward Field in 2013 was rather inauspicious. With Jamaicans Shelly‐Ann Fraser‐ Pryce (10.71), Veronica Campbell‐ Brown (10.78) and Kerron Stewart (10.97) scorching three of the top four spots, she could only manage seventh in 11.07, fast enough to win many a global final, but pedestrian in this company. The tables turned somewhat in 2014, when the American was third behind Tori Bowie and Okagbare – with Fraser‐Price far down the strip in eighth. Three Jamaicans took Allyson on

in 2015 over 400 meters, where Felix won in 50.05 to eclipse not just perennial world number‐ one Sanya Richards‐Ross, but also Stephenie‐Ann McPherson (3rd, 50.40) Novlene Williams‐ Mills (6th, 51.89) and Christine Day (8th, 52.29). In 2016, though Elaine Thompson had covered Felix in the 200 meters (5th, 22.33), the Jamaican had to settle for third behind two special sub‐22‐second runs: the USA’s Tori Bowie’s meet‐record 21.77 and a 21.91 by Bahamian Shaunae Miller‐Uibo for second place. Jamaican track fans are sure to miss the fast, elegant American who battled the island’s women over almost 20 years. She also challenged the sports industrial complex and their policy of defunding female athletes who were sidelined by childbirth.

After highly publicized advocacy and testimony in Congress, she won, changing the future of every woman in professional sports. “I feel like track has really led me to that purpose,” she commented on her odyssey. “So just because I’m finishing my career on the track, it’s not finishing (those battles). I’m going to push for equality on all fronts.” After losing to Jamaica for the first time in the final of the 4×400‐meter relay at the 2015 IAAF World Championship tournament in Beijing, Felix made it clear that “the rivalry with Jamaica is a highlight … expect the next time to be another great showdown.” If there’s no next time, walk good Allyson.

2022 ODYSSEY TO OREGON TEAM JAMAICA

MEN 100M/200M Yohan Blake 32 yrs. SB: 9.85, Kingston

PB: 9.69, Lausanne Ranking: 10/53 Yohan Blake is the second fastest man of all time in the 100 and 200 metres with a clocking of 9.69 seconds and 19.26 seconds respectively. At the 2011 Daegu World Athletics Championships, Blake became the youngest male athlete of all time to win a world championships 100 metres title at the age of 21 years. sporting love was cricket before he devoted himself to track and field. In June, he won his fifth 100 metres national title in his fastest time in almost a decade at 9.85 seconds. 100M Oblique Seville 21 yrs. SB: 9.86, Kingston At St. Jago High School in Spanish Town, Blake’s first PB: 9.86, Kingston Ranking: 20 A former Holmwood Technical and Calabar High School star, Oblique Seville has had a stellar season after clocking a massive personal best of 9.86 seconds. Seville was the fastest Jamaican male athlete over the event heading into the Jamaica Trials in June. At the 2019 CARIFTA GAMES in Georgetown, Cayman Islands, Seville won the 100 metres in a time of 10.24 seconds as well as the 4x100 metres relay. He is heading to his first world championships where he will run the 100 metres and the 4x100 metres relay.

Leading the rebirth of men’s sprinting in Jamaica are ( L-R): 2011 world 100m champion Yohan Blake and newcomers Ackeem Blake and Oblique Seville.

Ackeem Blake 20 yrs. SB: 9.93, Kingston PB: 9.93, Kingston Ranking: 29 Formerly of Merlene Ottey High School, rising star Ackeem Blake of Titans Track Club ran a lifetime best of 9.93 seconds to secure his spot at his first global track and field championship. Blake is a former Under‐18 national 100 metres champion and is the third fastest Jamaican man in the event this season. Jelani Walker (Alt) 2 4 yrs. SB: 10.00, Kingston PB: 10.00, Kingston Ranking: 69 Jelani Walker is a former St. George’s College and University of Kentucky athlete has been named as an alternate for the men’s 100 metres. Walker will also be a part of the 4x100 metres relay pool. 4x100M The 2014 Commonwealth Games 100 metres champion Kemar Bailey‐Cole and Conroy

Jones of Elite Performance will make up the men’s 4x100 metres relay pool with Jamaica hoping to return to its winning ways in the event. The 4x100 metres world record of 36.84 seconds was set by the Jamaican quartet of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt at the 2012 London Olympics. 200M Akeem Bloomfield 24 yrs. SB: 20.22, Florida PB: 19.81, London Ranking: 101 Known for his prowess in the 400 metres in which he was a 2019 World Championships finalist Akeem Bloomfield has a notable 200 metre personal best of 19.81 seconds. He has the best time by a Jamaican in the 200 this year – 20.22 seconds. Bloomfield, who is formerly of Kingston College finished second at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships in which his 44.86 seconds ranks him at No. 6 on the all‐time list and is the Jamaican indoor record. Outdoors, he is the second

2022 ODYSSEY TO OREGON

fastest Jamaican in history at 43.94 seconds. Rasheed Dwyer 33 yrs. SB: 20.35, Kingston PB: 19.80, Toronto Ranking: 17 Rasheed Dwyer is a seasoned campaigner for Jamaica at major global championships in the men’s 200 metres. To date, his biggest successes are winning gold in 200 metres at the 2011 Summer Universiade and at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. In 2015, he was second to the current Olympic champion, Andre deGrasse, at the Pan‐ American Games. In those semi, he set his personal best of 19.80 seconds. Dwyer, who studied at the G.C Foster College in Spanish Town, represented Jamaica in the 200 metres at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in which he placed

champion and is currently ranked no.1 in the world in the event. At the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, Parchment took the silver medal in the final of the event. In addition, at the 2012 London Olympics, he won the bronze medal in a then Jamaican record of 13.12 seconds. Parchment is a former University of the West Indies, Mona athlete who won a gold medal at the 2011 Summer Universiade running a then‐personal best of 13.24 to win the title for Jamaica. Orlando Bennett 22 yrs. SB: 13.27, Kingston PB: 13.27, Kingston Ranking: 55 Orlando Bennett, who is a former Calabar High standout is no stranger to the World Championships stage having reached the semi‐finals in 2019. Just one year earlier, Bennett placed second at the World Under 20 Championships. Bennett won gold in the 110 metre hurdles at the 2021 NACAC U23 Championships held in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Rasheed Broadbell 21 yrs. SB: 13.20, Kingston PB: 13.10, Kingston Ranking: 39 Fast‐rising sprint hurdler Rasheed Broadbell is one of Jamaica's most promising athletes in the event. Last year, he was ranked fourth in the world after clocking a personal best of 13.10 seconds in Kingston, Jamaica. Broadbell clocked a season’s best of 13.20 to book his spot to his first major championship for Jamaica. Damion Thomas (Alt) 23 yrs. SB: 13.36, Kingston PB: 13.11, Kingston Ranking: 26 Damion Thomas is a former Louisiana State University athlete. He was also an Olympic 110 metres hurdles semi‐finalist at the 2020 Tokyo Games last year with a time of 13.39 seconds. In 2018, he equaled Wilhem Belocian’s 110m hurdles junior world record of 12.99 seconds to win the Junior national

seventh in the final. 110M Hurdles Hansle Parchment

32 yrs. SB: 13.09, Birmingham PB: 12.94, Paris Ranking: 1 Hansle Parchment is the Olympic 110 metres hurdles

Parchment (left) was a surprise winner of the Tokyo Olympic 110-metre hurdles over the USA’s Grant Holloway, but he has been ranked at world #1 during the 2022 season.

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