KINGSTON, Jamaica — The 2025 Jamaica Athletics Administrative Affiliation (JAAA) Nationwide Senior and Junior Championships burst from the blocks on Thursday, marrying elite execution with youthful exuberance inside a raucous Nationwide Stadium.
From Lamara Distin’s managed mastery within the excessive leap to Bryan Levell’s sub-10 assertion within the males’s 100 meters, day one delivered ripple after ripple of world-class drama.
Crucially, the blue-ribbon 100-meter crowns won’t be settled till Friday night time—after each division navigates yet another spherical of semi-finals.
Distin defies pressure to three-peat within the excessive leap
Competing along with her normal ice-cool demeanor, Commonwealth champion Lamara Distin wanted solely two clearances—1.80m and a second-attempt 1.86m—to say her third consecutive nationwide title earlier than prudently calling it a day. “I knew precisely what I wanted to win; there was no cause to tempt destiny,” she remarked in understated trend after retaining gold.
World Championships finalist Ackelia Smith was equally scientific within the lengthy leap, stretching out to a wind-aided 6.81m (+4.3 mps) on her third leap to defend her title. A 6.72m (+2.7 mps) opener and 6.78m (+4.8 mps) fifth-round effort book-ended her sequence, sufficient to carry off Nia Robinson (6.52m) and Machaeda Linton (5.9 m).
Walker’s grit handles the 5,000m warmth
Whereas the sphere stars shone, endurance specialist Rahiem Walker braved Kingston’s late-afternoon heat to put up 16:52.59 minutes for a wire-to-wire victory within the males’s 5,000 meters. Omar Campbell (17:08.22) and Winston Dehaney (17:19.14) accomplished the rostrum.
Questions over Shericka Jackson’s sharpness vanished in 11.20 seconds (−1.4 mps) of silken velocity—the day’s quickest girls’s 100 m qualifier. Tia Clayton (11.21), Tina Clayton (11.27), and the retiring icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (11.33) all superior easily, joined by Olympic finalist Briana Williams, rising risk Alana Reid, and a cadre of collegiate standouts. The semi-finals and remaining—each slated for Friday—promise fireworks befitting the Jamaican dash pantheon.
Males’s 100m heats: Levell lights the fuse
Few predicted the night’s lone sub-10, however 21-year-old Bryan Levell uncorked a personal-best 9.99 seconds (−0.5 mps) to depart the group gasping. Seasoned contenders have been hardly rattled: Olympic silver medalist Kishane Thompson (10.12), World Indoor bronze winner Ackeem Blake (10.07), and world finalist Indirect Seville (10.12) every received their heats. Junior record-holder Bouwahjgie Nkrumie (10.14) and veteran Yohan Blake (season-best 10.24) additionally cruised by way of, guaranteeing Friday’s semis can be each a generational conflict and a range crucible.
Nationwide document holder Nickisha Pryce made her second skilled 400m appear to be a follow stride, clocking 50.68 seconds to high the heats. Stacey-Ann Williams (51.13) and sub-50 specialist Dejanea Oakley (51.30) adopted, whereas Shaquena Foote impressively superior regardless of competing in borrowed spikes after airline delays.
Junior highlight: Sprinters steal the present
The Below-20 boys’ 100m opened with thrice underneath 10.60—a tantalizing prelude. Antonio Powell led all qualifiers in 10.52 seconds, barely nipping Zachary Wallace and Johan-Ramaldo Smythe (each 10.58 seconds). Within the Below-18 part, Holmwood Technical’s Jaydon Collins rocketed to a lifetime-best 10.46 seconds, staking his declare because the age-group favourite.
Away from the observe, Merl Grove’s Abigail Bennett unleashed a career-best 47.57m to seize the Below-18 discus, toppling Penn Relays standout Jamelia Younger. Moments later, Vere Technical’s Martina Moxam hopped, stepped, and jumped 11.22m to grab Below-17 triple-jump gold from Amanda Codrington of Titchfield Excessive.
With each senior and junior 100m finalist now set, Kingston braces for a sprinting crescendo on Friday night. Semi-finals for all classes will sharpen the sphere, and solely then will the 2025 nationwide 100m crowns be determined. Add finals within the girls’s 400m and a full slate of area occasions, and day two guarantees yet one more chapter of high-voltage Jamaican athletics.
