“Chat bout, wi lickle but wi talawa’. Day three and already Jamaica has won three medals at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Jamaica’s Trecia Smith was first up on the winner’s block with gold in the triple jump event with a leap of 15.11metres. This is actually very historic for Jamaica as it marks the first ever that Jamaica has landed a gold medal in a field event. In fact it’s the first medal of any kind in a major international championship. ‘You go girl’.
Next up was Michael Frater who took the silver in the men’s 100metres. ‘Man, mi did want him fi beat that show aff Justin Gatlin’. However I’m not complaining. Frater did us very proud. Even without Asafa Powell ‘the fastest man in the world’ who is suffering from a groin injury, Jamaica stood firm.
Veronica Campbell was the third Jamaican on the winner’s block with silver in the women’s 100metres with a time of 10.95. Talk about a close race. The time different between Veronica and Lauryn Williams of the United States who came first was .02 seconds. The second Jamaican in the finals, Sherone Simpson also did us proud, for although she placed sixth she was not far behind with a time of 11.09.
Apart from the three medals so far the Jamaicans have maintained a strong presence in other events. Korene Hinds finished fourth in the 3000metres steeplechase with a time of 9:33.30. This represents a national record for Jamaica and a personal best for Hinds. What more could we ask for.
We were a bit disappointed not to have had a finalist in the women’s 400metres for the first time in 12 years. Our girls Shericka Williams and Lorraine Fenton were eliminated in the semi finals. Anyway, not to worry there is still ‘nuff more’ to come and the Jamaican’s are looking good. Keep watching.
Nuff Love