Brown, Boldon clash in dash

DARREL BROWN, the 2002 World 100 and 200-metre junior champ and Ato Boldon, the 1992 double world junior champ and four-time Olympic medallist, will face off on the Mondo track today in the 100m dash when the Sagicor-sponsored National Senior Track and Field Championships begin at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo. But Ken Doldron, president of the National Amateur Athletic Association (NAAA), has strongly criticised the administrators of the stadium for their flagrant disregard to the athletes preparing for this weekend’s events.

“Everything seems to be on course,” he said on Thursday, while adding: “the major setback (was) our international athletes (who didn’t) have the benefit of the stadium to train because they have to be running between footballs.” On Wednesday, the athletes held their training sessions while CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh and Tobago United were engaged in a senior division T&T Pro League match while, 24 hours later, the sprinters (including Boldon and US-based Marc Burns) went through their paces while Jabloteh and North East Stars were squaring off in a Pro League Under-20 knockout semifinal.

“The Stadium (management) has not looked at it properly and now we (had) football taking place while our athletes had to train,” Doldron said. “It’s a concern,” he bemoaned, “if you imagine an athlete coming down the road at 30 miles per hour and a football comes across his path, what is going to happen? We (the NAAA) would’ve preferred to see proper rostering that  we wouldn’t have to be competing against football.” “We have done everything we can to ask the stadium (management) that, two days before, that the venue is made available for us. And we have a serious problem with that,” he stressed. But the main feature of today’s agenda is the 100m, with Brown and Boldon facing 2003 national double sprint king Jacey Harper, Niconnor Alexander, Marc Burns (members of the national 4x100m relay team) and national youth sprint champ Marcus Duncan.

The women’s 100m will also be contested today, with junior sprint stars Kelly-Ann Baptiste and Wanda Hutson facing off against the experienced Fana Ashby and Ayanna Hutchinson. The 400 metre events will be staged today, with Josanne Lucas and Melissa De Leon meeting in the women’s final while Damion Barry, Ato Modibo, Julieon Raeburn, Sherridan Kirk and Simon Pierre will face the starter’s blocks in the men’s quartermile. Also on today’s agenda will be the high jump, long jump and javelin. Entry for this weekend’s activities are $20 for the covered section and $10 for uncovered.