Paris, France — As observe and area occasions start on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Jamaica’s athletes are as soon as once more spearheading the Caribbean’s quest for medals.
The competitors kicks off on Friday morning on the Stade de France, with roughly 16 Jamaican athletes set to take part, together with swimmer Josh Kirlew, who will compete within the males’s 100m butterfly on the Paris La Protection Area.
Jamaica, which has amassed almost 90 Olympic medals since its first participation within the 1948 Video games in London, is represented by a powerful contingent, together with five-time Olympian and two-time 100m girls’s gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Jackson’s absence
Generally known as the “Pocket Rocket,” Fraser-Pryce can be certainly one of three Jamaicans competing within the girls’s 100m first spherical at 5:50 am (EST). She is joined by teenager Tia Clayton and Shashalee Forbes, who was lately added to the lineup following Shericka Jackson’s withdrawal on account of damage and strategic concerns.
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Jackson’s absence presents a big problem to Jamaica’s hopes of surpassing the 9 medals received in Tokyo, which included 4 golds, one silver, and 4 bronzes. Regardless of this, Jackson is predicted to compete within the 200m, an occasion she has dominated in recent times.
Fraser-Pryce, aiming so as to add to her spectacular tally of three gold, 4 silver, and one bronze medals, is optimistic about her efficiency regardless of a difficult season. “I’m at all times excited to step up on the observe,” she mentioned. “For me, it’s attending to the road, and that’s most vital. The beginning is paramount in something that we do, so finally, as soon as I’m firstly, then I’m aiming for the very best. I don’t do time predictions in any respect. For me, it’s about attending to the road, executing, and simply leaving the remainder.”
One other athlete to observe
Teenager Tia Clayton, who stunned many along with her second-place end on the nationwide trials, clocking a private better of 10.86 seconds, is one other athlete to observe. Her coach, Stephen Francis, expressed confidence in her potential, stating, “The one query is, will she be at her greatest? She was barely off on the Nationwide Championships. And I’m anticipating that this time she can be at her best possible, and we’ll see what occurs because of this.”
Jamaica’s observe and area marketing campaign additionally options Lamara Distin within the excessive soar, triple jumpers Ackelia Smith, Kimberly Williams, and medal contender Shanieka Ricketts, in addition to Samantha Corridor within the girls’s discus. The 4x400m combined relay group, comprising Zandrian Barnes, Reheem Hayles, Andrenette Knight, and Ashley Williams, will even compete, alongside Adelle Tracey and Natoya Goule-Toppin within the girls’s 800m, and Rajindra Campbell within the males’s shot put.
Head Coach Maurice Wilson conveyed a way of optimism much like that felt throughout the 2008 Beijing Video games, the place Jamaica’s athletes delivered distinctive performances. “Thus far, the coaching has been excellent, the athletes are settling in, and what’s phenomenal about our athletes is that many have carried out extraordinarily effectively on the junior stage,” Wilson shared on Instagram. “They’ve that tenacity, braveness, and motivation. So we’re anticipating nice competitors, glorious performances from our Jamaican athletes, and we’re simply holding our breath, attempting to take care of the health that now we have developed over the lengthy section of coaching and preparing for competitors.”
As Jamaica’s observe and area athletes take to the stage, they carry the burden of a proud historical past and the hopes of a nation longing for Olympic success. The time has come for them to shine.
