With the Rio 2016 Olympic Games just weeks away, there are concerns over the fitness of some the nation’s top female athletes. This has been compounded by mediocre performances in some cases and inactivity in others.
With the Rio 2016 Olympic Games just weeks away, there are concerns over the fitness of some the nation’s top female athletes. This has been compounded by mediocre performances in some cases and inactivity in others.
Regarded by many as one of the best 100m sprinters of all times, multiple Olympic and World Champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, seems to be a shadow of her former self, only managing pedestrian times by her standards, of over 11 seconds. All this against the backdrop of a toe injury she has been carrying, which even after treatment seems to be giving some amount of discomfort and has hampered her training regime.
Veronica Campbell-Brown, one of the most decorated female athletes of all times and one who continues to make history, seemed to have been hitting top form at the right time. With times of 22.29 over 200m and 10.83 in the 100m, many thought that she would be a force to be reckoned with come Rio. However, injury setbacks caused her to finish outside of the automatic qualifying for the 100m at Jamaica’s Senior Athletics Championships, at the National Stadium. She, however, finished second in the 200m, well below her best.
Campbell-Brown has since competed and run 22.52, showing signs that she is coming back to some form.
Elaine Thompson is fast becoming a giant in the world of athletics. Bursting on to the scene in 2015, she went on to capture a silver medal over 200m, at the World Championships in Beijing, China. With times of 21.66 seconds and equaling the national record of Fraser-Pryce of 10.70 seconds, Thompson has already written her name in the history books. However, having pulled out of the 200m at the nationals in Kingston, Jamaica, with a medical exemption and to date has not competed; there are question marks as to her fitness and readiness for the Olympics which looms.
We wait with baited breath to see what will. As Jamaicans, we are a proud people and we will rally around our ladies win, lose or draw.
Prayers will be answered, nuh worry yuh self!