Sport

Medals rising at World Junior Champs

By ANTHONY FOSTER, Freelance Writer

THOUGH HAVING THE slowest time going into the final, Jamaica's Sonita Sutherland captured silver in the women's 400-metre at yesterday's 10th Coca Cola/IAAF World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy.

On a day when Jamaica increased its medal tally to three -one silver and two bronze- Sutherland's 400-metre silver and Sherene Pinnock's bronze in the women's 400 metres hurdles, gave a lot of local track & field fans something to celebrate, especially the manner in which the athletes performed.

Superb race

Affected by the flu in the preliminary heat (53.52) and later in the semi-final (54.19), the slim built Sutherland, who made it into yesterday's final with the slowest time - justified the statement 'we little but wi tallawa' by running a superb race out of lane one to become the second Jamaican woman, behind Claudine Williams to win silver in this event.

In stopping the clock in 52.41, Sutherland who had a narrow lead at the top of the bend, had to dig deep in her reserves in the last 50-metre to prevent what appeared to be an American one-two finish. However, in the end, the 17-year-old Sutherland, who won the Class Two event at the High School National Championships for the Christiana-based Holmwood Technical, finished behind World Junior champion Natasha Hastings of USA who won in a personal best 52.04, but ahead of world leader Ashlee Kidd who was third in 52.45.

Sutherland, the reigning Carifta Games Under-20 champion said it was a difficult task. "I said a prayer before I went on the track, for God to hold me," she said. "I was very tired when I reached the 150m mark, but I know I have to win a medal for my country, so I ran and I was successful," explained Sutherland who was a seven place finisher at last month's National Senior Championships.

Personal best

In becoming the seventh Jamaican to win a 400-metre hurdle medal, Pinnock ran a well-timed race out of lane eight for bronze in a personal best 57.54 seconds. World champion Ekaterina Kostetskaya of Russia won the event in a world junior leading 55.55 ahead of Zuzana Hejnova' from the Czech Republic in a national junior record, 57.44.

Pinnock, a 17-year-old student at Edwin Allen High School, said she was nervous going into the race. According to her, "that feeling changed when my coach spoke to me and told me to relax." "He told me to just go out there and run my race," she said of Michael Dyke's advice.

"I am very proud. Thanks to my coach for all the hard work he has put in."

Jamaica's disappointments came when Markino Buckley finished seventh in the first heat of the 400m hurdles semifinals with a time of 52.89 seconds and failed to advance. Nester Carter, with a time of 21.24 in the 200 metres, also failed to advance.

Meanwhile, Jamaicans Nickesha Anderson and Anneisha McLaughlin won their respective heats in the semifinals and are in with good chances of pushing Jamaica's medal tally to five.

McLaughlin who ran a season best 23.27 in her heat and a 23.41 in the semi-final, and Anderson's 23.57 are the second and third fastest times going into today's final. However, the woman to beat is American Shalonda Solomon who took semi-final two in 23.13, a season best for the athlete who beat McLaughlin at the Pan American Junior Championships last year.

Sprint hurdlers Monique Morgan (13.59) and Keisha Brown (13.93) have advanced to today's semi-final, with the possibility of running in the final later in the afternoon. Heptathlon athlete Nadina Marsh, long jumper Peta-Gaye Beckford and Patrick Lee will taste action today for the first time.