Finally! Clarke breaks first record at Champs 22
Camperdown star clocks 49.50 seconds in Class One 400m hurdles final
Published:Saturday | April 9, 2022 | 12:08 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
The crowd at the National Stadium has been wondering if any records would be broken at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) and Camperdown High’s Roshawn Clarke happily ended their wait last night.
In a blistering performance, he captured the Class One boys’ 400m hurdles title in a new mark of 49.50 seconds, erasing the year-old mark of 49.86 set by Jamaica College’s (JC) Javier Brown. Rayon Campbell of Kingston College (KC) came second in 50.54 while his teammate Antonio Forbes was third in 51.48.
Clarke had forgot what it was like competing in front of a crowd with last year’s competition held with no fans. He said that the roar of all fans at the National Stadium made the moment better.
“It is an excellent feeling to hear the crowd back in the stands,” Clarke said. My performance was all because of my confidence and the motivation of my coach. I always believed I could do it.”
Earlier KC co-captain Gianni Henry savoured the support of the purple and white clad fans, finally capturing Champs gold in his final season, winning the boys’ 2000m steeplechase in six minutes 10.78 seconds. JC’s Nellie Ambriton came second in 6:25.33 while St Jago High’s Jalen Brown finished third with 6:30:76. Henry took charge from the start, even having time with metres to go to celebrate and savour his win. He said he wanted to ensure that he gave KC every chance of winning the title in his final year.
“This is my final year with KC and I came out here confidently to give my team maximum points as we are chasing a championship,” Henry said.
In the field, KC’s Jamar Moore captured the pole vault open title with a best of 4.00 metres also contributing maximum points to their march towards the title. Nicholai Blossom of JC came second with 3.60m while Wolmer’s Boys’ Mark Phillips came third with 3.40m.
JC’s Michael-Andre Edwards captured gold in the Class Three long jump, with a distance of 6.55m in his final attempt, edging out Courtney Kinglock of KC who finished second with 6.18m. Deandre Jennings of St Jago came third with 5.94m.
Today’s final day could see multiple double sprint champions after the 200m finals. In Class One, Edwin Allen’s Bryan Levell, the 100m champion, will be up against 400m champion Gregory Prince of St Jago. Levell had the fastest time in the semi-finals, 21.14, while Prince had the second fastest with 21.34. Class Two 100m champion Mark Anthony Miller of JC will be up against 400m champion, KC’s Marcinho Rose. Meanwhile, in Class three, 100m champion Tavaine Stewart of Herbert Morrison is one step closer to sprint double success clocking the fastest time in the semi-final with 23.54
The fight for the title could come down to the relays, particularly the 4x100m where KC only advanced to the Class One and Class Two finals. KC were disqualified in their Class Three boys’ first round heat on Thursday. JC, however, advanced to all three class finals, giving them multiple chances to retain their title. KC, however, have such a big points cushion that the results in the relays may not matter.
After 20 finals, Kingston College were on 188 points, well clear of defending champions JC who are in second on 125.33. Calabar High are in third place with 75 while St Jago (67) and Edwin Allen (43) round out the top five.