media_artricles :: 2012

T&T sprinters chase berths in Olympic finals

Trinidad and Tobago track star Kelly-Ann Baptiste goes head-to-head with Jamaica's reigning Olympic 100 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, at the Olympic Stadium here in London, England, today.

The Caribbean sprinters will clash at 2.43 p.m. (T&T time) in the second London 2012 women's 100m semi-final.

Baptiste secured her lane in the semis with a 10.96 seconds sizzler in round one, yesterday. Drawn in the opening heat, Baptiste won easily, the 2011 World Championship bronze medallist throwing down the gauntlet to the other title contenders.

There was an immediate response from world champion Carmelita Jeter, the American dominating her heat two rivals with a 10.83 scorcher.

There were also sub-11 round one victories for Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare (10.93), Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown (10.94), and Ivory Coast sprinter Murielle Ahoure (10.99). The other heats were won by Fraser-Pryce (11.00) and American Allyson Felix in a wind-assisted 11.01.

The other T&T sprinters in the event, Semoy Hackett and Michelle-Lee Ahye, will also be on show in today's semi-final round.

Hackett finished second to Fraser-Pryce in a personal best 11.04 seconds, and will square off against Jeter and Campbell-Brown in the opening semi (2.35 p.m.).

Ahye, meanwhile, runs in the third semifinal (2.51 p.m.). In round one, she clocked 11.28 to claim third spot in her heat, behind Okagbare and American Tianna Madison (10.97).

The final will be contested at 4.55 p.m.

The first men's 100m round one heat is scheduled for 7.30 this morning. T&T will be represented in the event by national champion Keston Bledman, 2008 Olympic silver medallist Richard "Torpedo" Thompson and Rondel Sorrillo.

At two p.m., Jehue Gordon will run in the first men's 400m hurdles semifinal heat.

The 20-year-old T&T athlete has been drawn in lane five, next to Dominican Republic's Felix Sanchez, in four, and T&T-born American Kerron Clement, in six. Great Britain's reigning world champion, David Greene will run in lane seven.

Gordon was impressive on his Olympic debut. Running way out in lane nine, the 2010 world junior champion clocked 49.37 seconds to cop second spot in the fifth first round heat in 49.37 seconds, securing an automatic berth in the semifinal round. The 2000 and 2008 Olympic gold medallist, Angelo Taylor won the race in 49.29.

Gordon, the 18th fastest hurdler in the opening round, looked strong coming home. Off the final turn, he seemed to be in a battle for the runner-up spot. On the straight, though, he showed his class, pulling away from the other contenders and gaining on Taylor.

"I felt good," Gordon told the Express. "Apart from the two hurdles that I messed up on, on the bend, seeing that the breeze kind of caught me off-guard, I had fun. I saw Angelo coming off the turn before me, so I just focused on my technique. I know what I'm about. It's just about executing your race to the best, and forget about the others.

"My overall goal," he declared, "is to go up to the top. It's not going to be easy, but I want to execute and have that faith that what we've been doing over the past years and past couple months is going to work out.

"I'm feeling ready," said a smiling Gordon. "I'm feeling good."

Ayanna Alexander was the first T&T athlete to see action in track and field, at London 2012. The 30-year-old produced a 14.09m effort to finish seventh in Group B and 14th overall in the women's triple jump qualifying competition, a commendable effort in an event that featured 35 athletes. The top 12 advanced to tomorrow's final.

Alexander missed out on 12th spot by just seven centimetres.

"I went out there," Alexander told the Express, "and gave it my best. I missed the final by two spots. It's tough but I can't beat myself up too much. I had a great season, the best season of my career. I broke the national record, jumped over 14 metres. I know this is the beginning of bigger jumps to come and bigger improvements."

Alexander set the current national record--14.15m—on May 19, at the Quantum Invitational, in Trinidad.

The US-based athlete said she was hoping to jump the automatic qualifying distance of 14.40m, in yesterday's competition.

"I wanted to hit the auto, I wanted to get into the final, like everybody else. I wanted to make the podium, but it's my first Olympics, first time Trinidad and Tobago has ever had a women's triple jumper in the Olympic Games, so it's a historical moment for me, as well as my event.

"I am an Olympian, yeah," said a beaming Alexander, contentment painted all over her face.

In the opening round of the men's 400m, today, Renny Quow runs in heat one against South African double amputee Oscar Pistorius and Dominican Republic's reigning world junior champion Luguelin Santos. The race is scheduled for 5.35 a.m.

Quow's T&T teammate, Deon Lendore will do battle in heat two (5.43 a.m.), squaring off against Grenadian world champion Kirani James. And in heat six (6.15 a.m.), national champion Lalonde Gordon takes on American LaShawn Merritt, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist.

Njisane Phillip will be at the Velodrome today, bidding to break the Olympic record in the men's flying 200 metres. The T&T cyclist is the Pan American record holder, at 9.775 seconds, while the Olympic record, established by Great Britain's sprint gold medallist Chris Hoy at the 2008 Beijing Games, is 9.815.

The flying 200--the qualifying event for the sprint--starts at five a.m., and Phillip will be the seventh man to race against the clock. Seventeen cyclists are listed to compete.

Andrew Lewis finished 35th in the seventh race and 46th in the eighth, in the men's Laser class competition, in Dorset.

At one stage, in race seven, the T&T sailor was 42nd, but battled back to secure the number 35 spot. In race eight, however, he languished in the 40s throughout.

Lewis has slipped three spots on the overall standings, moving from 42nd at the start of the day to 45th after race number eight. He has a net score of 276.

The ninth and 10th races will be staged today, starting at seven a.m. The top 10 sailors at the end of race 10 will compete in Monday's medal race.

Australian Tom Slingsby is first, ahead of race nine, with 23 net points. Pavlos Kontides, of Cyprus, is second with 28, while third spot is occupied by Croatia's Tonci Stipanovic (40).

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