Sport

Promising outdoor season

IT'S THE FIRST day of June and for many track and field fans it signals the real start of what should be an exciting outdoor season.

Big event this year is the World Outdoor Championships, set for August 6-14 in Helsinki, Finland but there are several other lesser meets leading up to that event. The Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior Championships is scheduled for Nassau, Bahamas July 8-10. Then there is the July 13-17 fourth IAAF World Youth Championships in Morocco and the Pan American Junior Championships in Windsor, Canada from July 29-31.

Later this month, Jamaica's best will line up at the National Stadium for the National Senior and Junior Championships where places on teams to the above championships will be up for grabs.

The national championships promises to be one of the most competitive in recent years. It is likely that athletes who won medals at last year's Olympics or even reached the finals of individual events could be left in the cold.

Circuit ablaze

The women's sprints, for example, have one or two rising stars looking to break into the big times. Best of the upcoming female stars is former G.C. Foster College student Sherri Ann Brooks. Brooks , a former schoolmate of Olympic 100m finalist and relay gold medallist Sherone Simpson, is setting the college circuit ablaze with some good times in both the 100m and 200m and she could force her way on the team in one of the sprint relay spots.

Another United States-based Jamaican, Ricardo Chambers, will be attempting to unseat one of the established men in the 400 metres. Chambers, a past student of Christiana Comprehensive, is the fastest Jamaican over the one-lap event this season with a 44.87 clocking. Last weekend, the Florida State University student showed that he was in top form when he won the event at the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division One East regional meet in 45.64.

Immense improvement

Former St. Jago High middle-distance runner Kenia Sinclair is another new athlete who should impress at the national championships. Sinclair has shown immense improvement this season and is poised to put Jamaica middle-distance running on the map in a big way this season. On Monday night, she beat some of the best American middle-distance runners over 1500 metres and is now going from strength to strength. Sinclair has good finishing speeds in both events and should break at least the 800m national record, 1:59.49, this season.

Among the junior ranks, a number of young athletes will be seeking places on the team to the World Youth Championships. Some outstanding athletes have made their first big impression at this meet. It was at the World Youth Championships in 1999 that Veronica Campbell, last year's Olympic 200m gold medallist, first came to prominence on the world scene. Campbell won the 100m in 11.49 in Bydgoszcz and came back the following year to win the sprint double at the more prestigious World Junior Championships.

Among the female athletes expected to feature in the World Youth ranks are Schillonie Calvert of Holmwood and St. Jago's Latoya King in the sprints and Natasha Ruddock in the 100m hurdles and St. Andrew High's Lataoya McDermott in the 400m. The male athletes expected to do well are Romel Lewis of Holmwood (400m) , Kawaye Jervis of Kingston College (100m and 200m) and Campion College's Theon O'Connor in the 800m.