In a last minute push towards qualification for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, current national sprint champion Rawle Greene and overseas-based Guyanese Lee Powell secured comfortable victories in their respective 100m heats on Friday to qualify for the 100m final of the Hampton International Games at the Hasley Crawford Stadium, Trinidad.
Greene was the first to secure his place when he blew away the competition by some 10 metres in heat one, clocking a time of 10.50s.
“I just wanted to do enough to qualify, so I wasn’t at full blast, I’m leaving everything I have for the finals,” Greene said.
Powell, in the third heat, ran a blistering 10.47s, to gain his place in the final.
“The race felt real good, I jumped out ahead of the pack and cruised to the finish,” he said. “I am hoping to run somewhere in to 10.20’s so I can get to the Olympics this year,” he added.
Powell, who has also competed at the collegiate level in the United States, also won his 200m heat in a time of 21.28s to qualify for the final while Greene missed out on qualifying when he placed third in the same heat in a time of 21.62s.
Royal Youth Movement’s (RYM) Treiston Joseph did his club and country proud when he stormed through to the final in both the boys’ under 20 100m and 200m.
Joseph ran 10.95s to win his 100m heat and then turned in his personal best (PB) time (22.29s) for second place in the 200m. Joseph, who has bettered his PB three times this season, told Stabroek Sport… “I checked the qualifying times for some of the local athletes and although they are very fast I will run them down because I am determined to go back home with a medal.” Timothy Doris also of RYM placed second in the U-20 100m (11.23s) and the 200m (PB-22.78s) heats but only qualified for the 200m since his 100m time was bettered by competitors in other heats.
Kenneth Semple (11.25s) missed out of the men’s 100m final while Kizan Brumell 11.60s also came up short in the boys’ U-20 final.
RYM’s Octavia Austin clocked 30.06s in the girls’ U-11 200m for second place and a qualifying spot while Ianna Graham (28.06) settled for fourth in the girls’ U-15 200m. Rhondell Adams, Shannah Thornhil and Patrick King all ran their PB times in the 400m.
Adams clocked a blistering 48.57s for third place in the men’s 400m (awaiting qualifying status), while Thornhill (1.00.09s) qualified with second place, and King (52.6s) fourth in the boys’ U-20 400m.
The middle and long distance runners: Jonathon Fagundes, Alika Morgan, Jermaine Pilgrim, Dennis Horatio, Lionel D’Andrade, Cleveland Thomas and Kiev Chesney,who were scheduled to run heats yesterday, went straight to the finals.
