Will the Jamaicans dominate the World Athletics Finals in Greece?

Will Jamaican athletes continue their dominance at this weekend’s World Athletics Finals (WAF) in Thessaloniki, Greece? I am not so sure.

In the weeks immediately preceding the 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany, Jamaica’s elite athletes who had been battling injuries and poor form, suddenly hit their stride. It was just in time too, because early in the season it seemed like the exploits in Beijing were going to be proven to be a fluke – one extraordinary peaking of all this country’s athletic talent in one place at the same time. But what happened in Berlin washed away all those fears and cemented the notion that Jamaica had finally arrived as a true world sprint power.

However, since their latest amazing exploits in Berlin only a handful of the athletes have been performing well. Usain Bolt continues to do amazing things despite his admission that he is fatigued and Asafa Powell, who often leaves his best performances for late in the season have been great. Brigette Foster Hylton, too, has been exceptional. She has not lost since winning her first world title, and Dwight Thomas has been stepping up.

 However, Shelly Ann Fraser, Shericka Williams and Kerron Stewart, especially, have been looking really tired. And, Melaine Walker has also not been looking as sharp. Maybe they’ve lost focus coming off the emotional high having achieved so much in Berlin, or they’re just suffering from physical fatigue. Whatever it is, these women are not going into these WAF overwhelming favourites.

Bolt will win the 200 metres barring an act of God. The 100 metres will be between Powell and Gay, and Brigette Foster Hylton, armed with her new-found confidence, should be favoured to win the 100 metre hurdles. The other events, however, are dicey. Carmelita Jeter, I think, will start as favourite to win the women’s 100 metres. Since Berlin she has beaten both Stewart and Fraser twice and looks certain to continue that trend. She seems fresher and stronger than the two Jamaicans and I fancy her winning on the weekend. Of course, SAF always comes to run at the big events, and this is a big event. I am just not sure if it’s big enough.

Stewart looks like she wants to go home more than anything else. She is entered in both the 100 metres and 200 metres. She may well lose both. She goes up in the 200 metres against world champion Alyson Felix, already one of the greatest female sprinters of all time and perhaps the greatest female combination sprinter in history. Stewart might be faster but Felix is stronger and with a personal best of 10.93 seconds in the 100m is no slouch either.

Sanya Richards, like Usain Bolt, will win the women’s 400 metres but unless Shericka Williams manages to put in a much better performance than she has in the last two weeks, the silver will elude her grasp, like it did in her last outing.

Danny McFarlane and Isa Phillips will be competitive but we have not seen much from them to inspire confidence in recent weeks.

Melaine Walker, the second fastest woman of all time, looked tired her last time out but her American rival Lashinda Demus, who was ungracious in defeat in Berlin, might not be 100 per cent healthy which evens the odds a bit. Who wins will depend on who wants it more. That being said, don’t be surprised in Kaleise Spencer steals the show.

Overall though, win or lose Jamaican athletes will be in the mix and I am sure they will do us proud. They deserve all the love and rest they can get because it has been a challenging season.