Paul Wright | Excellent performances at Gibson McCook Relays

The preparation of our athletes for major meets this year continued, with the Gibson McCook Relays held on Saturday.

The adults and children on show put on a performance that convinced attendees and viewers that the return of this island to the zenith of track and field as the ‘sprint capital of the world’ is on track.

For me, the performance of the meet must be the 4x100-metre run of a group of 15-year-old girls from Edwin Allen High School.

The quartet of Serena Cole, Tina Clayton, Brandy Hall and Tia Clayton completed a circuit of the 400m track at our National Stadium in a time of 43.73 seconds.

The ages of these girls are important because the record is better than all the previous relay times by older girls in the history of 4x100m relays at Champs! When you consider some of the previous relay quartets that included present-day legends and icons, and compare the time done on the last day of February this year, this group of soon-to-be legends and icons must be tenderly and expertly handled to preserve their obvious talents.

There were other noteworthy performances among the children and the adults.

The Sprintec ladies’ quartet that won the 4x100m relay, Rhonda White, Anastasia Le-Roy, Natasha Morrison and Sashalee Forbes, carried the baton successfully around the track to finish in 43.42, the fastest time in the world this year.

The victory of the Sprintec ladies in the 4x400m is even more remarkable when you consider that Le-Roy and White were joined by Tovea Jenkins and Dawnalea Loney to victory in a time of 3.35.16. Are Jamaicans great or what?

GRANGE’S ANNOUNCEMENT

Track phenom Kevona Davis was also on show, running the second leg in Edwin Allen’s victory in the older girls’ 4x100m relay. All of this mind-boggling activity on the track was equalled by the announcement of Sport Minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange that the Government had decided to assist athletes (of worth) who are preparing for the Olympics and in need of financial assistance.

But, and this IS a big but, all of this good news and awesome preparation performances could be scuppered by “Murphy’s Law” – A truism that insists that if something can go wrong, it will.

The coronavirus scare now grabbing the attention of health authorities all over the world saw last weekend’s Tokyo Marathon having their entries restricted to the best 200 runners, and the streets through which the race was run, empty of cheering spectators. Definitely not a good sign.

Tokyo has been spending and preparing for this summer’s Olympic Games and if this virus fulfils the projections of infectious disease experts worldwide, the Olympics could be postponed and even cancelled.

A severe blow to all athletes worldwide, and a definite postponement of this nation’s resurgence to the pinnacle of world athletics in the post-Bolt era.

As a fan told me this weekend, “We salt sah”. As scientists around the world strive to produce a vaccine and effective early- detection kits, the Olympic Associations of all the member countries are crossing fingers and seeking divine intervention in an effort to preserve this year’s Olympic Games.

They are not alone. At present, the future of this year’s Olympics seems to be 50-50. There seems to be a 50 per cent chance it will go on, and 50 per cent chance it will be postponed or cancelled. Let us pray!