LYON, France – Jamaica ended its participation at the 20thWorld Masters Athletics Championships in Lyon, France on Sunday, August 16, coming away with a total of two gold medals.
Its second medal was gained in the Men’s 40 Long Jump where James Beckford leapt 7.40m on Saturday to win the event ahead of Robert Lehman of Australia and Bakri Rociechi of France. This was in addition to the other gold medal won by Winston Chambers in the Men’s 45 400m Hurdles earlier in the week.
Gleneta Kenyon was the lone competitor for Jamaica on the final day, finishing the Women’s 60 Half Marathon in a PB of 1hour :54:24. Earlier on Saturday as well, Gavin Sand did well to reach the Men’s 35 400m semi-finals where he finished 5th in 51.60 and did not advance to the finals. With its two gold medals, Jamaica ended 41st on the medals table.
Commenting on the team’s performance, President of the Jamaica Masters Athletics Association, Leo McEwan said it was a good showing given the various challenges faced by the team. “When one considers that Masters Athletics in Jamaica is still in its developmental stage with all the attendant issues which accompany that stage of growth, then I think commendations are quite in order,” he added.
Some eight thousand athletes from 98 countries participated in the Championships. The next World Masters Athletics Championships will be held in Malaga, Spain.
