Burns beats Brown in 100m scorcher
MARC BURNS ran the race of his life in the Sagicor National Senior Track and Field Championship at the Hasely Crawford Stadium yesterday when he defeated his life-long friend and schoolmate Darrel Brown to win their anticipated clash in the Men Open 100 Metres final in a time of 9.96 seconds. Burns had literally set-up the win when he produced a blistering run in an earlier heat which impressed the crowd. Fans who predicted the unpredictable one, two, three in the 100 metres final also benefited with a $500 award from sponsors Sagicor. Brown collected the silver medal in an impressive 9.99 seconds after being edged out in a race fans would long remember. Both Brown and Burns got out the blocks quickly and appeared to be level pegging after 50 metres but Burns pulled out that little bit extra in the final five metres to just get the nod. Not strangely the times for the top four sprinters were all personal best times. Aaron Armstrong, son of ex-national sprint ace Ainsley Armstrong, who returned from the United States, produced his best time in filling third position with a 10.04 seconds clocking, while the effervescent Jacey Harper was fourth in 10.10 seconds. The race had been the fastest seen in Trinidad and Tobago for the past decade, as all four athletes clocked ten seconds and under. United Kingdom-based Mark Findlay failed to make it to the final although he placed second, as unfortunately his starting blocks slipped and he was off to a poor start resulting in 10.54 clocking. Kelly Ann Baptiste also produced a new national record and another personal best time when she disposed of a competitive field to win the Women’s 100 metres final in 11.17 seconds. Despite finishing only second in her heat an hour earlier, the Tobago lass sprinted to the line a deserving winner. Sedonie Mothersill of Guyana just edged out Fana Ashby for the silver medal in 11.24 seconds. Ashby clocked 11.29 for the bronze medal, with Ayana Hutchinson fourth. Meanwhile, Rhonda Watkins did not disappoint the crowd when she leapt to a distance of 6.19 metres to win the Women’s Open Long Jump. She left a number of followers in her trail to the delight of the few thousand fans that made their way to the Mucurapo stadium for the games. Among those who trailed the Bishop Anstey athlete was second placed Sheron Mark (QRC) who had a leap of 6.09 metres and Joanna Trotman (UK) 5.87 metres. Sade St Louis continued where she left off in the Junior Championships at the same venue last week, winning gold in the Open Women’s 400 metres in style. The Memphis athlete completed the run in an impressive 54.80 seconds followed closely by Simplex runner Ricci Alleyne (55.80) while Aisha George collected the bronze in a time of 57.29 seconds. Sancheze Ross (Eagles) made his mark in the 110 metres hurdles whipping his rivals in 14.20 seconds, leading from start to finish. The talented Keal Armstrong of Tobago Falcons also put on a good show in getting silver in 14.90, while Jerome Guy clocked 15.90 seconds for the bronze medal.
Comments
"Burns beats Brown in 100m scorcher"