Sport

Still a class meet

THE FIRST JAMAICA International Invitational track and field meet has been given a body blow just days before the grand show with the announced withdrawal of teenage sensation Usain Bolt.

Bolt has been the darling of the Jamaican public since his outstanding performance in the 200 metres at the World Junior Championships at the National Stadium in 2002.

He was the big draw card for the meet as many were anxious to see him run the 200m again on local soil following his smashing world junior record 19.93 seconds at the Carifta Games in Bermuda.

Lost lustre

The 200m has surely lost much of its lustre with Bolt out and he will be missed along with the injured pair of Olympic 400m silver medalist Lorraine Fenton and Sydney Olympics 400m bronze medalist Gregory Haughton.

There are several other athletes on the card, however, who should make the meet a memorable one.

American Marion Jones and Maria Mutola, Mozambique's queen of the 800m, are two such athletes.

Jones, a triple gold medalist (100m, 200m and 4x400m) in the 2000 Sydney Games is one the comeback trail after having her first child last year. The American is without doubt the top female sprinter of her generation and she will want to start showing the form which won her the sprint double in Sydney.

She will be competing in a top class field which includes Jamaica's Tayna Lawrence, the bronze medalist in Sydney, Aleen Bailey who reached the World Championships final last year in Paris and 2000 national 100m champion Peta-Gaye Dowdie who has been dogged by injury over the past four years.

Mutola is one of the greatest 800m runners ever who has swept all before her during the past four years winning world and Olympic gold over the distance.

The men's 100m should be a thriller with world record holder Tim Mongomery looking to keep out his young compatriots John Capel and Darvis Patton. Capel and Patton were the 200m gold and silver medalists respectively in last year's Paris World Championships.

American Gail Devers, a three-time world champion in the 100m hurdles and a former Olympic 100m champion should also delight the crowd with her efficiency and speed over the hurdles. She will compete against two outstanding Jamaicans, Delloreen Ennis, who reached the final of the event in Sydney and Com-monwealth Games champion Lacena Golding-Clarke.

The men's long jump, which pits Jamaica's James Beckford against America's World Indoor champion Savante Stringfellow, will be a classic. Beckford who won Olympic silver way back in 1996 is on top of his form having bagged silver at both the outdoor and indoor World Championships. He will want to do well in front of his home crowd while Stringfellow is quite a showman and the fans will love him as he is very good.

Impressive running

Those who reach the National Stadium Stadium in time for the 6.30 p.m. start should also been some impressive running from the high schools. With the schools allowed to run their best athletes local fans will be able to see some of the outstanding running usually displayed by the high schools at the annual Penn Relays.

The big event among the high schools is the Vere Technical versus Holmwood Technical clash in the girls 4x100m. Holmwood clocked some fast times before their colours were lowered at the Penn Relays but now back on familiar turf they could turn the tables.

In the boys relays Calabar, who have been dogged by bad baton changes will want to put that behind and put on a good show.