JamaicanSprinters.com: May 2010

Athletics Hero: Asafa Powell

Full Name: Asafa Powell
Nationality: Jamaican
Event: 100 metres, 200 metres
Club: MVP Track & Field Club
Coach: Stephan Francis
Date of birth: November 23, 1982
Place of birth: Spanish Town, Jamaica
Height: 1.90 m
Weight: 88 kg
Personal Bests: 100m - 9.72s ; 200m - 19.90s

Asafa Powell C.D (born November 23, 1982) is a Jamaican sprinter who specialises in the 100 metres. He held the 100 m world record between June 2005 and May 2008, with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds respectively. Powell has consistently broken the 10-second barrier in competition, with his personal best of 9.72 s being the fifth fastest time in the history of the event.

Powell competed in the 100 m at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics but failed to convert his success to the world stage, finishing fifth both times. However, he won a gold medal and set the world and Olympic record in the 4 × 100 metres relay with the Jamaican team in Beijing. At the 2007 Osaka World Championships he won a bronze and a silver medal in the 100 m and 4 x 100 m relay respectively and he has been successful at the Commonwealth Games, winning two gold and one silver medal. At the 2009 World Championship he again achieved a Bronze medal in the 100 m and Gold in the 4 x 100 m. Powell has won at the IAAF World Athletics Final five times and is the 100 m record holder for the event.

Sub-10.0 runs (100 m)

To date, Powell has run the 100 m under 10 seconds legally on 60 occasions, breaking the record held by former world record holder Maurice Greene who ran 100 m sub 10's on 53 occasions. Powell has 31 runs in the 9.90 to 9.99 range (second in the category), Greene has the record with 42 between 9.90 to 9.99

Sub-9.90 runs (100 m)

Powell has run under 9.90 seconds 29 times, 22 of which are in the 9.80 to 9.89 range. Maurice Greene is second in this category, with 10 runs in the 9.80 to 9.89 range.

Sub-9.80 runs (100 m)

Powell is one of three men to have run legally under 9.80 seconds more than once, having done so seven times. Bolt and Gay are the other individuals to have achieved this feat.

Sub-10.0 runs, Season (100 m)

Powell is the only man to have run legally under 10.00 seconds 15 times in a single season (2008). He also has the joint-second best sub-10 seasons on record, with 12 runs in 2006 and 2009 and the joint fourth best of 9 runs in 2004, shared with Maurice Greene (1999) and Frank Fredericks (1997).

IAAF World Athletics Tour wins

Powell has recorded a total of 35 wins in IAAF Grand Prix events, 14 coming in Golden League events and 12 in IAAF Super Grand Prix events.

In the seven year history of the IAAF World Athletics Final (2003–2009), he won the most competitions of any male athlete and took home the most prize money in the male events. In his seven appearances at the competition, he won the 100 m four times and the 200 m once, winning US$173,000 in total.

Athletics Hero: Ray Stewart

Full name: Raymond Douglas "Ray" Stewart
Gender: Male
Nationality: Jamaica
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 73 kg
Date of birth: March 18, 1965
Place of birth: Kingston, Surrey, Jamaica
Clubs: Mazda Track Club
Personal bests: 100m - 9.96 (1991) ; 200m - 20.75 ; 60m - 6.52s.

Ray Stewart is a former Jamaican athlete who specialised in the 100 metres event. As a junior athlete Stewart found much success at the CARIFTA Games, winning five gold medals within a four year period.

In 1984 he reached the 100 m Olympic final and won an Olympic silver medal for the 4×100 metres relay. At the 1987 World Championships he took silver in the 100 m and bronze with the Jamaican relay team. A leg injury in the 1988 Olympic final of the 100 m ruined his medal chances in both the individual and relay events.

A new personal best of 9.97 seconds at the NCAA Outdoor Championships made him the number one ranked 100 m athlete in 1989 and the first Jamaican to officially break the 10-second barrier. At the competition he also recorded the third fastest relay time ever. He won his first Commonwealth Games medal the following year, taking bronze in the relay.

In 1991, Stewart recorded a national record of 9.96 seconds at the 1991 World Championships but this was surprisingly only enough for sixth place; two continental records and the world record were broken in the race.

Stewart reached his third consecutive Olympic 100 m final in 1992, becoming the first man to do so. He reached the 1993 and 1995 World Championship finals of the 100 m but failed to medal. He attended his last Olympics in 1996.

Stewart had a career that lasted almost twenty years, competing at four successive Olympic Games and six World Championships. He also won the 100 m at the Jamaican national championships seven times.

Powell, Bolt explodes in Ostrava

The spectators at the 49th Golden Spike Meeting in Ostrava were served with a glittering performances by two monsters from Jamaica.

A former world's 100 metres record holder Asafa Powell clocked a world leading 9.83s in the final of his race despite running at the rainy condition. The time tells us on his ability to approach the world record 9.58s in sooner time. In the semifinal, a question on his ability to seize the fastest man crown close to reality when he shutting down a few metres prior the finish line but still able to run a fast 9.88s. In a special arrangement by meet organizers, all 100m racers were also given a fully automatic time for 100 yards. Powell's time at the juncture, 9.09 seconds, eclipsed the 9.21, the fastest time ever recorded, run by Charlie Greene in 1967. The time also trumped the fastest hand time on record for 100y, 9.0, which Ivory Crockett ran in 1974.

Meanwhile, Usain Bolt was boosted by a solid start and cruised to an easy victory with a new personal best of 30.97s. But the wet track prevented him from challenging the world best of 30.85s set by Michael Johnson on March 24, 2000 at Pretoria, South Africa. The record that achieved at altitude (1271 m) remain unbeatable by any human but Bolt's performances has supplanted the sea level fastest time 31.31s by LaShawn Meritt. Take into account Johnson time of 30.85s performed at altitude would be around 31.06s at the sea level by using an altitude's calculator correction.

Full results are as follow:

Men's 100m - Heat 1
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark	Wind
1	Lerone Clarke	JAM	10.19	+0.7 m/s
2	Trell Kimmons	USA	10.22	+0.7 m/s
3	Craig Pickering	GBR	10.39	+0.7 m/s
4	Jan Veleba	CZE	10.44	+0.7 m/s
5	Olaf Paruzel	POL	10.58	+0.7 m/s
6	Václav Zich	CZE	10.79	+0.7 m/s
7	Nesta Carter	JAM	10.99	+0.7 m/s
	Vojtech Šulc	CZE	DNS
Men's 100m - Heat 2
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark	Wind
1	Asafa Powell	JAM	9.88	+1.2 m/s
2	Dexter Lee	JAM	10.20	+1.2 m/s
3	Mario Forsythe	JAM	10.22	+1.2 m/s
4	Tyrone Edgar	GBR	10.23	+1.2 m/s
5	Mark Lewis-Francis	GBR	10.24	+1.2 m/s
6	Ryan Moseley	AUT	10.29	+1.2 m/s
7	Rostislav Sulc	CZE	10.58	+1.2 m/s
8	Lukas Milo	CZE	10.62	+1.2 m/s
Men's 100m - Final
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark	Wind
1	Asafa Powell	JAM	9.83	-0.5 m/s
2	Lerone Clarke	JAM	10.18	-0.5 m/s
3	Dexter Lee	JAM	10.20	-0.5 m/s
4	Trell Kimmons	USA	10.22	-0.5 m/s
5	Tyrone Edgar	GBR	10.37	-0.5 m/s
6	Craig Pickering	GBR	10.43	-0.5 m/s
7	Mario Forsythe	JAM	10.43	-0.5 m/s
8	Mark Lewis-Francis	GBR	DQ
Men's 100y - Final
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark	Wind
1	Asafa Powell	JAM	9.07	-0.5 m/s
2	Lerone Clarke	JAM	9.38	-0.5 m/s
3	Dexter Lee	JAM	9.41	-0.5 m/s
4	Trell Kimmons	USA	9.41	-0.5 m/s
5	Tyrone Edgar	GBR	9.55	-0.5 m/s
6	Craig Pickering	GBR	9.60	-0.5 m/s
7	Mario Forsythe	JAM	9.61	-0.5 m/s
8	Mark Lewis-Francis	GBR	DQ
Men's 300m - A Race
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Usain Bolt	JAM	30.97
2	Jermaine Gonzales	JAM	32.49
3	Jonathan Borlee	BEL	32.50
4	Jamaal Torrance	USA	32.78
5	Gary Kikaya	CGO	33.05
6	Pavel Maslak	CZE	33.13
7	Jiri Vojtik	CZE	33.34
8	Rudolf Gotz	CZE	34.00
Men's 300m - B Race
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Ofentse Mogawane	RSA	32.51
2	Rabah Yousif	SUD	32.75
3	Marcin Marciniszyn	POL	33.55
4	Theodor Jares	CZE	33.80
5	Juraj Mokras	SVK	33.99
6	Matus Mentel	SVK	34.01
7	Petr Lichy	CZE	34.15
	Vojtech Sulc	CZE	DNS
Men's 800m
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	David Rudisha	KEN	1:44.03
2	Boaz Lalang	KEN	1:45.02
3	Marcin Lewandowski	POL	1:45.04
4	Adam Kszczot	POL	1:45.74
5	Jakub Holusa	CZE	1:45.87
6	Gary Reed	CAN	1:46.09
7	Michael Rimmer	GBR	1:46.47
8	Jozef Repcik	SVK	1:47.41
9	Andrew Baddeley	GBR	1:47.46
10	Antonio Reina	ESP	1:47.75
11	Haron Keitany	KEN	1:49.86
	Sammy Tangui	KEN	DNF
Men's 3000m
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Yusuf Biwott	KEN	7:31.68
2	John Kemboi	KEN	7:32.16
3	Bernard Lagat	USA	7:32.49
4	Remmy Limo	KEN	7:35.44
5	Sammy Mutahi	KEN	7:36.83
6	Lucas Rotich	KEN	7:37.33
7	Joseph Ebuya	KEN	7:38.34
8	Daniel Salel	KEN	7:38.91
9	Bethwell Birgen	KEN	7:39.65
10	Ben St. Lawrence	AUS	7:49.28
11	Carles Castillejo	ESP	7:51.00
12	Isaac Songkok	KEN	7:56.52
13	Josphat Bett	KEN	8:05.50
14	Jakub Zivec	CZE	8:14.97
15	Luka Kourek	CZE	8:17.26
16	Tomas Bednar	CZE	8:25.02
	Gideo Gathimba	KEN	DNF
	Collins Kosgei	KEN	DNF
	Cornelius Ndiwa	KEN	DNF
Men's 110m hurdles - Heat 1
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark	Wind
1	Dayron Robles	CUB	13.12	+0.3 m/s
2	Petr Svoboda	CZE	13.55	+0.3 m/s
3	William Sharman	GBR	13.57	+0.3 m/s
4	Matthias Buhler	GER	13.70	+0.3 m/s
5	Jeff Porter	USA	13.74	+0.3 m/s
5	Andrew Turner	GBR	13.76	+0.3 m/s
7	Artur Noga	POL	13.84	+0.3 m/s
8	Daniel Kiss	HUN	DQ	+0.3 m/s
Men's 110m hurdles - Heat 2
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark	Wind
1	Tyrone Akins	USA	13.48	+1.7 m/s
2	Dayron Capetillo	CUB	14.22	+1.7 m/s
3	Matúš Janecek	SVK	14.27	+1.7 m/s
4	Viliam Papso	SVK	14.29	+1.7 m/s
5	Adrián Novosád	SVK	14.61	+1.7 m/s
6	Jakub Uher	CZE	14.63	+1.7 m/s
7	Jirí Smola	CZE	14.92	+1.7 m/s
	Martin Mazác	CZE	DQ
Men's 400m hurdles
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Kerron Clement	USA	48.69
2	David Greene	GBR	49.05
3	Isa Phillips	JAM	49.16
4	Rhys Williams	GBR	49.28
5	Josef Robertson	JAM	50.26
6	Josef Prorok	CZE	51.01
7	Michal Uhlík	CZE	51.08
8	Rafal Ostrowski	POL	51.48
Men's Hammer Throw
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Krisztian Pars	HUN	79.15m
2	Dilshod Nazarov	TJK	78.69m
3	Sergej Litvinov	GER	77.64m
4	Markus Esser	GER	76.45m
5	Olli-Pekka Karjalainen	FIN	75.87m
6	Ali Mohamed Al-Zinkawi	KUW	75.00m
7	Aleksey Zagornyi	RUS	74.99m
8	Szymon Ziolkowski	POL	72.50m
9	Marco Lingua	ITA	70.34m
	Libor Charfreitag	SVK	nm
Men's Javelin Throw
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Petr Frydrych	CZE	88.23m
2	Martin Benák	SVK	76.42m
3	Jakub Vadlejch	CZE	74.10m
4	Robert Szpak	POL	72.97m
5	Vítezslav Veselý	CZE	72.73m
6	Dániel Patkó	HUN	68.78m
Women's 100m
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark	Wind
1	Shelly-Ann Fraser	JAM	11.04
2	Chandra Sturrup	BAH	11.13
3	Sheri-Ann Brooks	JAM	11.17
4	Yevgeniya Polyakova	RUS	11.36
5	Mikele Barber	USA	11.36
6	Gloria Asumnu	USA	11.51
7	Katerina Cechova	CZE	11.61
8	Schillonie Calvert	JAM	11.65
Women's 400m
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Denisa Rosolová	CZE	50.85
2	Shericka Williams	JAM	51.13
3	Rosemarie Whyte	JAM	51.28
4	Christine Ohuruogu	GBR	51.58
5	Kaliese Spencer	JAM	51.64
6	Natalya Nazarova	RUS	52.81
7	Zuzana Bergrová	CZE	53.03
8	Shareese Woods	USA	53.06
Women's 800m
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Yvonne Hak	NED	2:00.53
2	Egle Balciünaité	LTU	2:00.55
3	Lenka Masná	CZE	2:01.06
4	Ekaterina Kostetskaya	RUS	2:01.21
5	Lucia Klocová	SVK	2:01.81
6	Christin Wurth-Thomas	USA	2:01.87
7	Angelika Cichocka	POL	2:02.37
8	Yevgeniya Zinurova	RUS	2:02.87
9	Winny Chebet	KEN	2:04.33
10	Tetiana Petlyuk	UKR	2:04.62
11	Jana Hartmann	GER	2:05.06
12	Sylwia Ejdys	POL	2:06.02
13	Veronika Mrácková	CZE	2:06.29
	Veronika Jelínková	CZE	DNF
Women's 10,00m
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Meselech Melkamu	ETH	31:04.52
2	Pauline Chemning Korikwiang	KEN	31:06.29
3	Jessica Augusto	POR	31:19.15
4	Lebogang Phalula	RSA	34:01.97
5	Zivilé Balciünaité	LTU	34:47.13
6	Dina Lebo Phalula	RSA	35:02.72
7	Linda Byrne	IRL	35:15.28
	Anikó Kálovics	HUN	DNF
Women's 100m Hurdles
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark	Wind
1	Priscilla Lopes-Schliep	CAN	12.69	+1.7 m/s
2	Delloreen Ennis-London	JAM	12.73	+1.7 m/s
3	Danielle Carruthers	USA	12.77	+1.7 m/s
4	Lolo Jones	USA	12.85	+1.7 m/s
5	Anay Tejeda	CUB	12.97	+1.7 m/s
6	Aleksandra Fedoriva	RUS	12.98	+1.7 m/s
7	Lucie Škrobáková	CZE	13.04	+1.7 m/s
8	Eline Berings	BEL	13.16	+1.7 m/s
Women's High Jump
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Chaunté Howard Lowe	USA	1.98m
2	Levern Spencer	LCA	1.92m
3	Blanka Vlašic	CRO	1.92m
4	Kamila Stepaniuk	POL	1.89m
5	Oldriška Marešová	CZE	1.85m
6	Viktoriya Klyugina	RUS	1.85m
7	Nicole Forrester	CAN	1.80m
8	Karolina Blazej	POL	1.80m
Women's Pole Vault
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Tatyana Polnova	RUS	4.56m
2	Anastasiya Shvedova	BLR	4.41m
3	Anastasiya Savchenko	RUS	4.21m
4	Jirina Ptácniková	CZE	4.21m
5	Ekaterina Kolesova	RUS	4.21m
6	Romana Malácová	CZE	4.21m
	Kristina Gadschiew	GER	NM
Women's Hammer Throw
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Anita Wlodarczyk	POL	75.74m
2	Betty Heidler	GER	75.25m
3	Darya Pchelnik	BLR	73.00m
4	Kathrin Klass	GER	72.32m
5	Jennifer Dahlgren	ARG	72.18m
6	Tatyana Lysenko	RUS	71.00m
7	Zalina Marghieva	MDA	70.21m
8	Clarissa Claretti	ITA	69.16m
9	Stephanie Falzon	FRA	68.71m
10	Marina Marghiev	MDA	67.83m
11	Katerina Safrankova	CZE	63.52m
12	Romana Gromanova	CZE	59.41m
Women's Javelin Throw
Pos	Athlete	Nat	Mark
1	Martina Ratej	SLO	64.68m
2	Barbora Špotáková	CZE	62.94m
3	Madara Palameika	LAT	58.62m
4	Goldie Sayers	GBR	56.05m
5	Jarmila Klimešová	CZE	55.11m
6	Nikola Ogrodníková	CZE	53.94m
7	Barbara Madejczyk	POL	50.74m
8	Elisabeth Eberl	AUT	50.35m

Athletics Hero: Veronica Campbell

Name : Veronica Campbell
Nationality: Jamaica
Date of birth : 15th May, 1982
Place of birth : Trelawny, Jamaica
Height : 1m 63 cm
Weight : 61 kg
Nationality : Jamaica
Education : Barton Community College, USA
Speciality : 100m, 200m

Veronica Campbell was born to Cecil Campbell and Pamella Bailey in Trelawny, Jamaica on May 15th, 1982. She has 9 brothers and sisters. She attended Claredon High School before pursuing higher education in the U.S. Campbell attended Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas USA. She also excelled in academics earning an Associates Degree from Barton County in 2002 with a 3.8 grade average. She went on to attend The University of Arkansas. Inspired to compete in Track and Field by fellow Jamaican athletes Donald Quarrie and Merlene Ottey Campbell began competing internationally. In 2007, she married Omar Brown, a fellow Jamaican sprinter and University of Arkansas alumnus.

She won the 100m at the 1999 World Youth Championships at the age of 17. In 2000 she became the first woman to win the sprint double at a World Junior Championships. In 2000 Campbell also competed in the Olympics earning a Silver Medal on the team that finished 2nd to the Bahamas infamous "Golden Girls." She found herself running with her idol Merlene Ottey on the team.

At the 2004 Olympics, Campbell first placed third in the 100 m and two days later won the 200 m, beating out Allyson Felix of the United States. She later teamed up with Aleen Bailey, Tayna Lawrence, and Sherone Simpson to win the 4 × 100 m relay race.

In August 2005, Campbell won the silver medal in the 100 m at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics as well as another silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay (together with Daniele Browning, Aleen Bailey and Sherone Simpson).

At the 2007 World Championships, Campbell won three medals with a gold in the 100 m, a silver in the 200 m (second to Felix) and a silver in the 4 × 100 m relay.

In 2008, she successfully defended her Olympic 200 m title in a new personal best time of 21.74 s. Teamed up in the 4x100, Jamaica did not finish the race due to a mistake in the baton exchange. At the end of the 2008 season, Campbell-Brown was selected the top 200 m runner in the world as well as the fourth best in the 100 m (following three other Jamaicans) by Track and Field News. She also finished eighth overall in voting for the magazine's Woman of the Year.

At the 2009 World Championships Campbell was fourth in the 100 m final behind teammates Fraser and Stewart. She then won her second World 200 m silver behind American Allyson Felix. She closed the season at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, recording her fastest of the year (10.89) to take second behind Carmelita Jeter, who became the second fastest ever with 10.64 seconds.

Athletics Hero: Usain Bolt

Full Name: Usain St. Leo Bolt
Nationality: Jamaican
Date of birth: 21 August 1986
Place of birth: Trelawny, Jamaica
Height: 1.95 m
Weight: 93.9 kg
Event: 100m, 200m, 4x100m
Personal bests: 9.58 WR, 19.19 WR, 37.10 WR

Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He holds the world record for the 100 metres, the 200 metres and, along with his teammates, the 4x100 metres relay. He also holds the Olympic record for all three of these races. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Bolt became the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in all three at a single Olympics. In 2009 he became the first man to hold the 100 and 200 m world and Olympic titles at the same time.

Bolt distinguished himself with a 200 m gold medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, making him the competition's youngest-ever gold medalist. In 2004, at the CARIFTA Games, he became the first junior sprinter to run the 200 m in under 20 seconds with a time of 19.93 s, breaking Roy Martin's world junior record by two-tenths of a second. He turned professional in 2004, missing most of his first two seasons due to injuries, but he competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In 2007, he beat Don Quarrie's 200 m Jamaican national record with a run of 19.75 s. In May 2008, Bolt set his first 100 m world record with a time of 9.72 s. He set world records in both 100 m and 200 m events at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics: 100 m record time of 9.69 s broke his own previous record of 9.72 s; with a record time of 19.30 s he broke previous record of 19.32 s by Michael Johnson at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. In August 2009, a year after the Beijing Olympics, he lowered his own 100 m and 200 m world records to 9.58 s and 19.19 s respectively at the 2009 World Championships. His record breaking margin in 100 m is the highest since the start of digital time measurements.

His achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname "Lightning Bolt".

Athletics Hero: Merlene Ottey

Full name: Merlene Joyce Ottey
Nationality: Jamaica/Slovenia
Gender: Female
Date of birth: May 10, 1960
Place of Birth: Hanover, Jamaica
Height: 173cm
Weight: 59kg
Events: 100m, 200m, 4x100m

Marlene Ottey is a Jamaican-born sprinter. She became a Slovenian citizen in 2002, and now resides in Ljubljana, where she represents her new country in international events. Ottey began her career representing Jamaica in late 1970's to 2001. She is ranked fourth on the all-time list of female performers in the 100 meters and third in the 200 meters.

Ottey holds the record for being the oldest track medalist ever, for running the fastest Women's Indoor 200 metres (in 21.87 seconds). She is also the fastest in the world among all female athletes over 30. She has recorded the fastest time for any female athlete at age 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 and age 44. For having the most Olympic appearances (seven) than any other track and field athlete, and for having the most women's World Championships medals (fourteen)Her career achievements and longevity have led to her being called the "Queen of the Track".

ACHIEVEMENTS:

Medals at Olympic Games: 8
Medals at World Outdoor Championships: 14
Medals at World Indoor Championships: 6

Personal Records:
60 metres: 6.96s (1992)
100 metres: 10.74s (1996)
200 metres: 21.64s (1991)

Run sub-11 of 100metres: 67
Run sub-22 of 200metres: 16

World Records/bests:

200m (indoor): 21.87s
300m (indoor): 35.83s
150m (outdoor): 16.46s
100m (age record): 14 30-44 years
200m (age record): 12 30-43

Unbeaten in 57 100 metre finals (1987-1991)
Unbeaten in 36 200 metre finals (1989-1991)

Athletics Hero: Herb McKenley

Full name: Herbert ("Herb") Henry McKenley
Nick name:
Nationality: Jamaica
Gender: Male
Date of birth: July 10, 1922 (Died at November 26, 2007)
Height:
Weight:
Events: 220 yd, 200 m, 440 yd, 400 m,

Herb McKenley was a Jamaican athlete, winner of a gold medal in the 4x400 m relay at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

Born in Pleasant Valley, Clarendon, Jamaica, Herb McKenley enrolled at the University of Illinois and won the NCAA championships in 220 yd (200 m) and 440 yd (400 m) in 1946 and 1947. He was also the AAU champion in 440 yd (400 m) in 1945, 1947 and 1948, and was also the head of the list of world best times in 100 m (10.3), 200 m (20.4) and 400 m (46.2) in 1947. He is the only person to have ever done this feat.

Just before the 1948 London Olympics, McKenley ran the new world record in 440 yd (400 m) of 46.0, a record he broke again a month later, clocking 45.9. But at the Olympics itself, McKenley finished only second in 400 m, behind teammate Arthur Wint and was fourth in 200 m. He probably lost a gold medal in the 4x400 m relay when Wint pulled his muscle in the final.

At the 1951 Pan-American Games in Buenos Aires, McKenley was third in 100 m, 200 m and 400 m, the only person to ever perform this feat.

At the Helsinki Olympics, McKinley was second in 100 m (the first four clocked 10.4 in a very close race) and also second in 400 m. He finally got his Olympic gold, when he helped the Jamaican 4x400 m relay team to win the race with a new world record of 3.03.9.

After retiring from sports, McKenley was a coach of the Jamaican national team from 1954 to 1973 and served also as a president of Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association. For his contributions in track and field, he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit in 2004.

McKenley died at the University Hospital of the West Indies, according to Howard Aris, president of the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association, who was speaking for the family. The cause of death was complications of pneumonia.

Athletics Hero: Juliet Cuthbert

Full name: Juliet Jean Cuthbert

Nationality: Jamaica

Gender: Female

Height: 160 cm

Weight: 54 kg

Date of birth: April 9, 1964

Place of birth: Saint Thomas, Jamaica

Juliet Cuthbert is a Jamaican athlete who competed mainly in the sprints (100 and 200 metres).

Cuthbert attended Morant Bay High School and later Olney High School in Philadelphia and the University of Texas at Austin.

She competed for Jamaica in the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Spain in the 100 metres and 200 metres where she won the silver medal in both, finishing behind Americans Gail Devers and Gwen Torrence respectively. After running a great 2nd leg in the sprint relay final she pulled a muscle before completing the second change and pulled up. This was a sad end to a fantastic championship for her and deprived the Jamaican relay team who would have most certainly won a medal, perhaps the gold. The same year she was deservedly elected Jamaican sportswomen of the year.

Four years later at the Atlanta 1996 Games, she helped the Jamaican 4 x 100m relay team of Michelle Freeman, Nikole Mitchell and Merlene Ottey to the bronze medal.

With the Jamaican sprint relay team, she also won a gold medal (1991) and two silver medals (1995, 1997) at World Championships.

Athletics Hero: Shelly-Ann Fraser

Full name: Shelly-Ann Fraser
Nationality: Jamaica
Gender: Female
Height: 160cm
Weight: 52kg
Date of birth: December 27, 1986
Place of berth: Waterhouse, Kingston, Jamaica
Clubs: MVP Track & Field Club

Shellly-Ann Fraser is a Jamaican sprinter, who specializes in the 100 m. Fraser attended the Wolmer's High School for Girls and represented her school in many athletic occasions. She is the reigning Olympic champion and World champion over 100 metres, clocking a time of 10.78 and 10.73 respectively. She is only the second female sprinter to hold both World and Olympic 100m titles simultaneously (after Gail Devers), and is tied with Christine Arron as the fourth fastest woman in history over 100 metres.

Fraser, who trained for the Olympics with teammate Asafa Powell, became the first Jamaican woman in history to win an Olympic gold medal in the 100 metres sprint. In her first round heat, she placed first in a time of 11.35 to advance to the second round. She then improved her time to 11.06 seconds, finishing first in her heat. In the semifinals Fraser again finished in front, outsprinting Muna Lee and Lauryn Williams in 11.00 seconds.

In the final, Fraser surprisingly clocked a personal best time of 10.78 to win the gold medal. Her time was the second-fastest 100 metres ever recorded by a Jamaican woman, a mere 0.04 seconds shy of Merlene Ottey's 10.74 record.

Together with Sheri-Ann Brooks, Aleen Bailey and Veronica Campbell-Brown, Fraser also took part in the 4×100 meters relay but the team did not finish the race due to a mistake in the baton exchange

In 2009, Fraser took the 100 m Jamaican title in June, winning with a world-leading time of 10.88 s against a strong headwind (-1.5 m/s). This made her the number one Jamaican qualifier for the 2009 World Championships. Fraser took full advantage, holding off a late surge from compatriot Kerron Stewart who had a slow start to win by two one-hundredths of a second in a time of 10.73, the fourth fastest time in the event's history and a Jamaican national record.

Athletics Hero: Winthrop Graham

Full name: Winthrop Graham
Nationality: Jamaican
Gender: Male
Height: 178cm
Weight: 72kg
Date of birth: November 17, 1965
Place of birth: St. Elizabeth, Jamaica
Event:s: 400mh,400m, 4x400m
Personal Bests: 400H - 47.60 (1993); 400m - 45.57 (1989)
Related Olympians: Brother-in-law of Mark McKoy.

Winthrop Graham is a retired athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres hurdles. He won two Olympic medals and three World Championship medals.

His personal best time was 47.60 seconds, achieved in August 1993 at the Zurich Weltklasse meet where he beat Samuel Matete and Kevin Young. This was also the Jamaican record.

He is married to Yvonne Mai-Graham, a former East German 1500 m and 5000 m world level runner.

Diamond League 2010 Doha: Asafa Powell eyes Usain Bolt's 100m world record

Asafa Powell heads into his first competition of the season on Friday still believing he can reclaim the 100 metres world record from fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt.

The 27-year-old is the hot favourite to open his campaign with victory at the inaugural IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha.

Another Jamaican, Nesta Carter, is the fastest man in the field so far this year, with a time of 10.09 seconds clocked in Kingston earlier this month, but Powell is accustomed to operating below the 10-second mark, having dipped beneath it a record 60 times in his career.

On two of those occasions – when he clocked 9.77 in June 2005 and 9.74 in September 2007 – the world record fell, and Powell, who finished third at last year's World Championships in Berlin when Bolt ran a world record time of 9.58 to win gold, feels the current mark is within his reach.

"It's something that I'm confident I can go below," Powell told Press Association Sport on a visit to the Al Jazeera Children's Channel headquarters.

Not that Powell is particularly concerned by times so early in the season.

"I've been feeling good so far since the start of the year so I'm thinking positive," he added.

"I'm not really focusing on any times right now, not really focusing on the world record.

"I'll be going out there to give my best and if my best is better than the world record I'll be happy."

Powell's lifetime best of 9.72, set in Lausanne two years ago, is the joint fifth-fastest in history.

Were he racing in any other era, he would be the undisputed number one. Rivals Bolt and American Tyson Gay are the only two athletes to have gone quicker, but Powell is far from disappointed at having the limelight taken from him.

"No, I'm not feeling unlucky," he added.

"This is the best time to be in the sport, when the sport is at the highest level. The sport has never been at this level before so what better time to be in the sport?

"It's driving me, I'm still up there in the spotlight.

"Although Usain is the main man right now, I'm still there and I'm running very well.

"I have nothing to be worrying about, just to try and compete and run very fast."

The British presence in Doha will be headed by Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu, who faces a very strong field in the 400m.

World champion Sanya Richards-Ross was last week forced to withdraw though injury, but Ohuruogu will still be up against world indoor champion Debbie Dunn, Olympic and World Championship silver medallist Shericka Williams, world leader Novlene Williams-Mills and three-time world 200m champion Allyson Felix.

Ohuruogu could only manage a disappointing fifth in Berlin last summer after an injury-disrupted preparation, her time of 50.21 well down on the 49.62 she ran to win in Beijing the year before.

Felix, though, does not feel the 25-year-old has anything to prove as she starts her build-up to July's European Championships in earnest.

"I think it's always difficult coming off injury, so I wouldn't say necessarily Christine has something to prove, but I'm sure for herself she just wants to get back up to where she was and even beyond leading up into London 2012," the American told Press Association Sport.

"She's extremely talented, she has experience. She's a great competitor."

Elsewhere, Croatian world champion Blanka Vlasic competes in the high jump, world champion Kerron Clement goes up against Olympic champion and fellow American Angelo Taylor in the 400m hurdles, and in the 100m hurdles world indoor champion Lolo Jones faces Olympic champion Dawn Harper and Canada's Priscilla Lopes-Schliep.

Kenyan trio – Moses Masai, Bernard Kiplagat and Micah Kogo – will not race in the 5000m after they were injured in a car accident in Kenya this morning while on their way to the airport.

Michael Rimmer in the 800m and Steph Twell in the 1500m complete the British contingent.

>> telegraph.co.uk.

Athletics Hero: Kerron Stewart

Full name: Kerron Stewart
Nationality: Jamaica
Gender: Female
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 61 kg
Born: April 16, 1984
Place of birth: Saint Andrew, Surrey, Jamaica
Clubs:
Personal Bests: 100m - 10.75s, 200m - 22.00s

Kerron Stewart is a Jamaican sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She is the 2008 Jamaican national champion in the 100 m clocking 10.80s. She defeated World Champion Veronica Campbell-Brown in the process and now is the 2008 Summer Olympics silver medalist after she tied with Sherone Simpson in a time of 10.98s. She also earned a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics with a time of 22.00s.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing she competed at the 100 metres sprint. In a remarkable race with fellow Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser taking the gold, Stewart and Sherone Simpson both finished in 10.98 seconds to share the silver medal and to complete the Jamaican sweep. She teamed up in the 4x100m final but their team did not finish their race due to a mistake in the baton exchange.

In 2009, Stewart came second in the 100 m at the Jamaican national championships, finishing in 10.93 s. Later, at the 2009 IAAF Golden Gala, Stewart won a gold medal in the Women's 100m in front of Olympic Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser, with a time of 10.75s, which tied the meet record. This was the fastest time in ten years recorded by a woman in the event, and the third-fastest time ever recorded by a Jamaica, shy of Merlene Ottey's 10.74s and Shelly Ann Fraser's 10.73 national record.

At the 2009 World Championships Kerron Stewart won a silver medal in 100m just two hundredths of a second behind Jamaican team mate Shelly-Ann Fraser equalling her personal best of 10.75 seconds and ensuring a Jamaican one-two. Stewart did not compete in the 200m due to an ankle injury, but was anchor for the Jamaican quartet that took gold in the 4x100m Relay.