American Tianna Madison's winning jump (© Getty Images)
2005 World Championships medallists Tianna Madison and Lashinda Demus lead the line-up for the inaugural Carolina Classic, a NACAC-permit meeting, to be held today (18) in the city of Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Madison, the women’s 2005 World Long Jump champion, will make her second outing in the Caribbean in seven days, after winning at the Félix Sánchez Invitational in Santo Domingo, another NACAC meeting on Saturday (13). The 20-year-old will face the strong challenge of Jamaica's Elva Goulbourne, the CAC record holder at 7.16m, and the Bahamas´ Helsinki finalist Jackie Edwards.
In her first outing in Puerto Rico, Demus will try to improve her season's best of 54.20 for the 400m Hurdles, which ranks her second in the 2006 world lists. The Helsinki silver medallist will be challenged by four-time World Championships finalist Andrea Blackett of Barbados, Jamaica´s Allison Beckford, and Shevon Stoddart, as well as Puerto Rico´s Yvonne Harrison and Canada's Tawa Babatunde-Dortch.
With Olympic 400m Hurdles champion Félix Sánchez a ‘last minute’ withdrawal due to an injury sustained in his right calf in Santo Domingo, Jamaica's 2002 World Cup 400m winner Michael Blackwood will start as the main attraction in the flat 400m. Other top contenders include Obra Hogans od the US and Damion Barry of Trinidad and Tobago.
In the 400m Hurdles, Panama's World and Olympic finalist Bayano Kamani will try to run better than his third place performance in the Dominican Republic, a week earlier.
The men’s 100m field features 2000 Olympic relay medallist Coby Miller (9.98), Mardy Scales (10.07), Mark Jelks (10.02) and Edwards Monzavous (10.08), as well as their countrywomen Wylleshia Myrick and LaKadron Ivery.
Other fast sprinters are Jacey Harper and Kevon Pierre, members of the Trinidad and Tobago team who claimed the World 4x100m relay silver medal in Helsinki.
Allen Simms, the CAC Championships silver medallist, has great chances of giving a home win to Puerto Rico in the Triple Jump. Having shown a good early season form at over 17 metres, the former American will face USA's two-time Olympian Melvin Lister, who owns a personal best of 17.78.
Alex Greaux also has good chances of a home win in the 3000m Steeplechase, but the 2002 CAC Games champion will have to run near his national record mark of 8:27.91 to rival USA's Steve Slattery (8:17.87) and Canada's Matthew Kerr (8:20.14).
The other events to be staged will be the men's Shot Put and the women's 400m, 800m, Pole Vault and Hammer Throw, with athletes from over 12 nations.
The meeting also serves as a tune-up for athletes from Puerto Rico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, prior to the Iberoamerican Championships, to be held in Ponce, Puerto Rico, 26-28 May.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF
