No joy for Jamaica - VCB, Bailey look to mend broken hearts

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

ISTANBUL, Turkey:

Defending women's 60m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown will look to bring back some smiles to Jamaican faces, after a miserable opening day for her compatriots, when she makes her entry at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships inside the Atakoy Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, today.

Campbell-Brown, who is the strong favourite to reclaim the title she won two years ago in Doha, Qatar, will have veteran and friend Aleen Bailey for company as the two, along with women's triple jump finalist Kimberly Williams and male 60m hurdlers Richard Phillips and Eric Keddo, begin Jamaica's repair mission.

Williams, a first-time finalist at a major senior championship, was elated with her effort and is looking forward to the medal round, which starts at 10:05 a.m. A former Vere Technical student, like Campbell-Brown and Bailey, Williams registered the seventh best jump in qualifying, 14.15m, to book her spot in the final.

Confidence-booster

"This is definitely a confidence-booster, so hopefully I can come out in the final and do even better," she told The Gleaner yesterday.

Campbell-Brown and Bailey are expected to get their campaigns off at 3:10 a.m. today while Richards and Keddo will feature in round one of the 60m hurdles at 2:40 a.m.

Jamaica ended the opening day without much success; Lerone Clarke and Vonette Dixon failing to advance beyond the opening round of their respective events, while quarter-milers Dominique Blake and Patricia Hall stumbled at the semi-final stage.

Medal favourite Clarke, the national record holder over 60m, was one of several athletes who were greatly affected by an apparent acoustic problem with the host venue - Atakoy Arena - that caused difficulties in hearing the starter's gun.

Clarke, was last to get up and ended up finishing his heat in fourth spot with a time of 7.05 seconds, way above his season's record mark of 6.47. Dixon suffered a similar fate and did not get beyond the first hurdle in her heat.

"I am devastated," Dixon lamented, while fighting back tears. "I felt good and was looking forward to competing here."

A formal protest by the Jamaican management team led by technical leader Fitz Coleman was dismissed with the management committee, which stated through a release:

"The false-start equipment has been checked. It was confirmed to be working properly. All athletes were competing under the same conditions. No races will be rerun."

Nesta Carter, 6.74, managed a second place finish in his heat and will line up in the semi-final today at 10:30 a.m. (Jamaica time) with an eye on the final which is scheduled for 1 p.m.

"I am through to the next round and I am happy about that, I am pleased with my race," said Carter.

Blake, 53.00, and Hall, 53.32, both finished their respective semi-finals in third place and failed to make the cut for the final.

"I am very disappointed," said Hall after her race. "I think I could have made the final, and on another day I probably would have, but I just didn't have the legs to run two 400m races in one day."

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