Champs to the Caribbean - Promising regional athletes head to Jamaican schools and dominating marquee event
Published:Sunday | March 30, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Ryon Jones, Staff Reporter
Jamaica's dominance in the marquee event at most track and field championships, the men's 100m, has been quietly erased at the premier high school track event in the world.
The ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championship is widely accepted as the best meet of its kind in the world, but for the past three years the marquee event, the Class One 100m, has not had a Jamaican champion.
The latest winner was Kingston College's Anguillan, Zharnel Hughes, who won last Friday with a 10.12-second clocking to better the old record of 10.21 set by Yohan Blake in 2007.
In 2012 and 2013, the races were won by Delano Williams of the Turks and Caicos Islands, who was representing Munro College.
Williams, who now represents Great Britain, went on to win the sprint double, as he captured the 200m on both occasions.
He has remained in Jamaica to train at the Glen Mills-led Racers Track Club, home of World and Olympic champion Usain Bolt and Blake. It is also the training base for Hughes.
Both Williams and Hughes have local connections as their mothers are Jamaican, but that is not the only thing that pulled them to the island to compete in the world-renowned 'Champs'.
ISSA General Secretary Garth Gayle, who has also been an official at Champs for the past 36 years and assistant meet manager for the last 15 years, believes that given the global environment, we are likely to see more youngsters coming here to attend schools and take part in the meet.
"I think a flood might occur very soon, where more persons will come here to train and attend school," said Gayle.
"These small territories don't have a sustained development programme as we have, and that degree of robust competition that we offer.
"We are living in a global world and no longer isolated and, therefore, in the development of the sport, I see it as a positive that foreign nationals can wish to integrate themselves and be part of the landscape and programme here in Jamaica."
Coaches must take credit
Veteran coach Maurice Wilson, who guided Holmwood Technical to 10 Girls' Champs titles, including nine consecutive triumphs, believes local coaches must take the bulk of the credit for athletes from abroad desiring to come here and train and compete from a young age.
"With this sort of situation where you have youngsters coming from abroad to come here to go to school, I think it is one of the things that we would want to see happening, because it automatically becomes a marketing tool for Jamaica and even for the coaches, for them to earn extra for what they do," Wilson reasoned.
"It is the coaching that brings out the level of performances why they are attracted to Jamaica."
Gayle believes that Champs itself has reached a remarkable standard, which is encouraging young athletes to want to be part of it.
Wilson, who was Jamaica's technical director to the World Indoor Championships earlier this month, as well as the last World Outdoor Championships and head coach of our team to the last Olympics, echoed Gayle's views.
"Yesterday (Friday), a young man (Hughes) ran 10.12 seconds ... what it means is that the level of the championships has reached a certain standards where we are going to attract persons from all over the world."
Champs organising committee member for the past 13 years and consultant with media public relations for the championships, Ed Barnes, credits the level of competition available locally for athletes being attracted to the island.
"Well, first of all, I don't think they are enrolling mainly to compete at Champs," Barnes said. "There are very few countries that can provide this level of exposure to athletes, especially in the sprints, right now."
The veteran sports journalist added: "Once you are doing well, persons are going to want to come to find out why you are doing so well. That is why we have all of these groups of journalist and others doing documentaries and all kind of features here at this year's championships.