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MARCH 12, 2007
JAMAICA’S
RICH FEMALE SPRINT HURDLES TRADITION—PART I In a country with a First World profile in track and field, it is not surprising that some of the more than respectable, even high level, performances by our athletes, are not given the recognition they deserve. Jamaica’s record in female sprint hurdling provides a clear example. Recently, in a conversation with a young, bright and extremely promising young lady, carving out her contribution to a quite healthy tradition, in the event, I was stunned by the admission ‘’I have never heard of Gillian Russell’’. But then, why should there be this surprise, after all, neither, it seemed, did the organizers of the Kingston staged World Junior Championships when they sat to recognize our junior athletes who had been outstanding at previous editions. Read on. The JAAA website, in a three part series, carrying out its mandate to spearhead the promotion of the sport, charges itself with the responsibility to inform on such matters. Let it be known the plain truth about our ladies who have added prestige to the nation’s track and field by their prowess in the sprint hurdles sector. THE EARLY DAYS The event was launched, in fine style, at the Jamaica team’s first appearance at the Olympic Games in 1948, when one of only two female members, Vinton Beckett participated in the event. She placed fifth in her heat of the 80m hurdles, as it was then, and found time and energy for fourth in the High Jump and eleventh in the long jump. GILLIAN RUSSELL This precocious talent did her high school stint at the more academic exploits inclined, Campion College and, coached by Dad, Gilbert, won the senior national title, in 1988 at age 14, her only such win. That same year, she went to the Sudbury for the World Juniors and made the semi-final. Her four gold medals in future stagings of this stellar event for under-20 athletes—Plovdiv, 1990 and Seoul, 1992 crowns her as the most highly decorated competitor, ever, at this level. They came from back to back wins in her pet event and same leading off the sprint relay. Other notable junior performances posted were, silver, CAC Juniors, Havana, 1990 and silver, Pan Am Juniors-Kingston, 1991. At the senior level she made the 1992 Barcelona Olympic team at age 18 and secured a semi final 100m hurdles berth. The following year, 1993 she again made the semi final cut, this time at the Stuttgart World Championships. In 1995 she was sixth at the Gothenburg World Championships and got to the second round at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and the same at the Seville staging in 1999. In Atlanta there was a silver on the sprint relay as an alternative runner. In non global events, she secured CA Games (12.66--PR) and Goodwill Games silver and Commonwealth gold in 1998 and CA Champs gold in 1999 and Pan Am Games 4th place in the same year. At the World Indoors there was silver in 1997 but failed to exit the opening round in 1999. MICHELLE FREEMAN
She overcame early final obstacle stumbling problems to win at the NCAA Outdoor level, 1992 after a world record in the scarcely run 55m hurdles in US Junior College competition. There was last hurdle disaster in the second round at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1993 World Indoors, the latter while looking a clear gold medalist. Indoors again, there was gold at the 1997 staging, silver in 2001 and a semi final exit in 2006, her last appearance for her country. To continue her Olympic record, she was 6th in Atlantic in 1996 but did not get past the second round in Sydney, 2000. In the World Championships, she entered at Tokyo in 1991 and made the semi final, 1993 she took 7th and her opening leg helped to earn her country bonze in the sprint relay. 1997 gave her the only elite medal, a bronze at the Athens edition of the IAAF blue ribbon event. Her non-global medals were gold at the Commonwealth, 1994 and bronze at the Goodwill Games, 1998. DIONNE ROSE
Throughout her career, she maintained the long jump as an extra event, winning the National Championships in 1995, posting her PR of 6.72m. In her pet event, she made the semi finals at both the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the Stuttgart World Championships the following year. A succession of World Championships final placings then followed, at Gothenburg, 1995, she was seventh, Athens, 1997, fifth, Seville, 1999, sixth, repeating that position in her final international appearance in Edmonton, 2001. This was the more noteworthy as she did not even make the final at the Trials but season ending injury, on the circuit, to Ennis-London, the national champion and Freeman, 4th, booked her ticket at the last moment. Her fifth spot at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics stood, at the end as her best performance. Also at the global level, she was seventh at the 1999 World Indoors. In lesser events, she took gold at CA Games, 1998, fifth at the Goodwill Games, 2001 and fourth at World Cup, 1998, a true testimony to her commitment and the ability to ‘’hang on in there’’. Next month we continue with Lacena Golding-Clarke & Vonette Dixon.
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In 1988 Michelle
Freeman blew the first notes of the trumpet that was to herald a new era
of excellence in the event, winning the 100m hurdles and flat races at
the Girls High School Championships and at the Carifta Games, hosted by
Jamaica. Brought into the St. Jago High School programme by that
‘’Father of Track and Field’’ the late Carl March, she owes her late
transformation to a high school standout status to the coaching of
Michael Clarke. The arguably most accomplished at that level, Clarke
had, at the time, left the Monk Street institution where he won Champs
with the boys, taking up duties at Jamaica College, soon to engineer
another string of victories for the Old Hope Road school. Hamstring
injuries hampered the former Spanish Town Secondary and Johnathan Grant
student, limiting her performance at the Sudbury World Juniors and
forcing her out of the team to the Seoul Olympics, where she would have
done relay duties.. 
A product of the
‘’factory’’ for female national athletes, Vere Technical High School,
Dionne, save for a single triumph at Girls Champs did not distinguish
herself in high school or junior competition. It was only due to the
persistent and seriously challenging efforts of ‘’friends’’, close to
the sport, that she obtained a scholarship to the Barton County
Community College in Kansas where she formed, along with three other top
Jamaican former national junior sprinters, a crack relay squad that
whipped all in sight on the USA Collegiate circuit.
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