JAMAICA’S YOUTH ATHLETES DID US PROUD

Yanique Thompson, Marvin Williams, Martin Manley, Jaheel Hyde, Michael Ohara, and Tiffany James have so far this week been overlooked and there is something very wrong with that. It is true bad news sells more than good news but this good news is historical and thus, should not have been side-swiped by anything. Eight medals; six gold and two bronze is not something one ignores, not when they mean that this country topped all nations.

These afore-mentioned youngsters travelled to Donetsk in the Ukraine for the IAAF World Youth Championships and not only topped the medal table – a feat never yet accomplished by Jamaica at a global meet – but they set a number of records along the way. Thompson, the talented sprint hurdler from Holmwood Technical set a record that can never be broken. She became the first youth athlete (athletes under the age of 18 years) go run below 13-seconds for the girls 100-metre sprint hurdles. In doing so she set a new world youth record of 12.94 seconds. She executed an almost flawless race to establish herself as one that Jamaica would do well to nurture for the future.

This soft-spoken girl from Spanish Town who looks up to Brigitte Foster Hylton, Jamaica’s most successful sprint hurdler male or female to date, and plans to exceed her accomplishments. When you consider that her record is similar to Usain Bolt’s claim to being the only junior athlete to have run under 20-seconds for the 200 metres, if she can make the transition the way Bolt has, her senior career will be something special to behold.

In some quarters there was concern about who were the athletes who were going to replace the recently retired Foster Hylton and Deloreen Ennis, two of the women who carried Jamaica’s sprint hurdling flag high over the last decade winning one gold, one silver and four bronze medals between them, Thompson and athletes like Danielle and Shermaine Williams could be the next formidable trio that will take up the mantle and take it an even higher level.

Her medal was also Jamaica’s first medal in the sprint hurdles at this level. Hyde became the first Jamaican male athlete to win a sprint hurdling medal came within 0.01 seconds of the current world youth record of 13.12s. One is forced to wonder if he would have become the first youth male hurdler to dip under 13 seconds had he not been facing a stiff wind of -1.1 m/s when he was destroying the field of the world’s best youth hurdlers.

Hyde, a national under-17 football representative, is an exceptionally talented athlete and it will be interesting now to see what event he chooses, now that he is world youth champion but also a talented 400-metre runner as well.

What is also interesting to see how Jamaica has come on over the sprint hurdles in a time when everybody wants to run the sprints, but very gradually this island is starting to diversify it’s other talents. The throws emerged first in these recent times with Traves Smikle and Federick Dacres setting the bar pretty high for other youngsters to follow, the latter being the only discuss thrower to hold both world youth and world junior titles at the same time.

But with the success of Thompson, Hyde and Marvin and Okeen Williams in the 400-metre hurdles, even though the latter fell in the finals denying Jamaica a potential 1-2 in the event, a lot more youngsters could start making the switch to the hurdles to get their 15-minutes or more of fame at this level with some making a successful transition to the senior ranks. The future of the  hurdles certainly looks bright.

In 1948 and ’52 Herb McKenley, Arthur Wint, Les Laing and George Rhoden set Jamaica on its way in Olympic glory and helped the country develop a reputation as a force in the 400 metres. That strength was demonstrated many years later, first with Bert Cameron and then later with athletes like Danny McFaralane, Davian Clarke, Gregory Haughton, Michael Blackwood, Michael McDonald and Roxbert Martin. The injury plagued Jermaine Gonzales and Ricardo Chambers, for a while seemed like they were set to carry on but their efforts have been hamstrung in recent years.

However, a new cadre of quarter-milers have emerged with the likes of Jevere Bell and Javon Francis who will be making their debuts at the World Championships in Moscow this summer, and now Martin Manley, the talented youngster from St. Jago who claimed the world youth title with an impressive 45.89s. In doing so he joined Francis as the only two Jamaican schoolboys to break 46 seconds this year. Manley, who was a winner at the CARIFTA Games this year has progressed steadily and looks set to move on to greater things once his career is carefully and strategically managed going forward.

OHara, obviously disappointed at finishing fourth in the 100 metres at the WYC spoke about dropping the event all together and maybe he should. After all he is so much better at the 200m, 400m and the sprint hurdles. He can pick and choose what he wants to do and it was great to see him cap off his championships in such fine style winning in a world youth leading 20.63s, his strong 400 metre pedigree seeing him home safely from all challengers.

When you combine these youngsters on a medley relay special things can happen and they did as Jamaica capped off its best global performance ever with a world youth record 1:49.23 seconds. It was a glorious way to end what was a glorious collective performance that was unfairly dulled by the doping scandal that rocked the sport just hours after this talented bunch had done their work. It is clearly the best of times and the worst of times but with these kids to emerge in the near future, the very best of times is not very far away.