The four-day 2016 Supreme Ventures/ National Senior Championships (“Jamaican Trials”) starts today (June 30) with several key preliminary events. Day 1 will feature the men’s and women’s 100m races, the 400m hurdles races as well as the men’s javelin and triple jump. Day 1 will feature Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the reigning Olympic champion as she begins her quest to defend her 100m title. Fraser-Pryce is seeking her third consecutive 100m Olympic title in Rio and her preparation starts with the Jamaican Trials.
It should be noted that Fraser-Pryce by virtue of being the defended champion, having won the title at the London 2012 Olympics, is automatically qualified for Rio. A group of talent sprinters, including Elaine "ET" Thompson, Veronica Campbell-Brown (VCB), Remona Burchell, Simone Facey, Kerron Stewart and Carrie Russell will be vying to join Fraser-Pryce in Rio.
400m Hurdles
The women’s 400m hurdles will feature the rising star Janieve Russell, who has a season and personal best time of 53.96 seconds in this event. This is the second fastest time in the world this year behind American Shamier Little (53.51). The veteran hurdler Kaliese Spencer, who had a good season coming into the Jamaican Trials along with Ristananna Tracey and Ronda Whyte, will also be competing for a spot on the team.
The men’s 400m hurdles is an interesting event. Veterans Roxroy Cato, Leford Green and Annsert Whyte should be favored to make the team. But this may be a coming out party for the former IAAF World Junior champion, Jaheel Hyde, whose transition to the senior rank has not gone as smoothly as expected. With a personal best 49.01 seconds in this event, the nineteen year-old Hyde has the quality and championship experience to snatch a spot on the team. Marvin Williams may also be a factor.
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