Akeem Bloomfield, Jamaica’s only sub-45 seconds 400m junior athlete, has pulled out of next week’s World Under-20 Championships.
The Carifta Games Under-20 400m champion, who ran 44.93 to win Boys Class 1 Champs title in 2015, is suffering from a calf injury.
Danny Hawthrone, the team’s head coach, told the Jamaica Gleaner they “realized that Akeem had an issue” on Friday.
“I spoke to him and he said he had a calf injury. I asked him if he was able to participate in the time trial and he said he could not because of the nature of the injury and because of this, we can safely say that Akeem is out,” Hawthorne said.
Bloomfield finished second in the 200m behind Nigel Ellis at Jamaica Junior Trials on June 19, 2016.
The Jamaica team will depart early this week for the Championships, set for July 19-24 in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Bloomfield not running is a blow to Jamaica 4x100m and 4x400m chances. Why they leave Martin Manley is a mystery to me. They will not be carrying two 400m runners that are better than Manley. As for Bloomfield, I hope he develop to his potential. If he does, Jamaica is in for a treat. I think some should control their urge to criticze when they are operating from a position of ignorance. Unfortunately this is not how life is in the real world.
Take your time son, you have a bright future ahead of you, just don’t get distracted