media_artricles :: 2015

St Fort bids for Pan Am Juniors title

Khalifa St Fort opens her bid for the 2015 Pan American Junior Championship women's 100 metres title, tomorrow afternoon (TT time), in Edmonton, Canada.

St Fort would be confident ahead of her qualifying heat, following her silver medal success in the event at the IAAF World Youth Championships, in Cali, Colombia, a fortnight ago. St Fort clocked a personal best 11.19 seconds in the World Youth final, and should have no problems advancing to the 8.30 p.m. Pan Am Juniors championship race.

Seventeen-year-old St Fort has a good shot at gold at the hemispheric Under-20 meet, but could face a strong American challenge. Aleia Hobbs is the fastest sprinter on the entry list at 11.13 seconds, while her United States teammate Teahna Daniels has an 11.24 PR (personal record).

Hobbs is third on the 2015 world junior performance list, while St Fort and Daniels are fifth and sixth, respectively.

The Pan Am Juniors women's 100m field also includes Jamaican Jonielle Smith and T&T's Kayelle Clarke.

The T&T team in Edmonton has been weakened by the absence of sprinters Akanni Hislop and Jonathan Farinha, and quarter-miler Jacob St Clair. They are all off the team because of injury.

Jeminise Parris is among the 17 athletes who did make the trip to Canada. She will be in action today in the women's 100m hurdles.

Andwuelle Wright and Che Richards will fly the T&T flag in tonight's men's long jump event. It will be a very tough competition, featuring Cuban eight-metre jumpers Maykel Masso and Juan Miguel Echevarria, and American KeAndre Bates, who has also bettered the eight-metre mark.

Portious Warren and Chelsea James are the T&T representatives in the women's shot put. American Raven Saunders is the favourite for gold.

TEAM T&T

Male: Aaron Lewis, Andwuelle Wright, Che Richards, Corey Stewart, Francis Louis, Joash Huggins, Kenejah Williams, Nathan Farinha, Omari Benoit

Female: Chelsea James, Jael Fergusson, Jeminise Parris, Jendayi Noel, Kayelle Clarke, Khalifa St Fort, Portious Warren, Thyla-Marie Scott

Officials: Dawn Washington (manager), Antonia Burton (coach), Ian Carter (coach), Kerron Browne (coach), Reynold Porter-Lee (coach), Wendell Williams (coach)

Medical: Clint McKenzie, Shurlan Bonas

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