KINGSTON, Jamaica – Windward Road are champions of the INSPORTS All-Age & Junior High Athletics Championships for the fourth straight year.
They won the 39th championships by five points in a nail-biting finish on today’s final day at the National Stadium East field with former men’s 100m world record holder and Olympic gold medalist Asafa Powell present.
The curtains came down on the three-day event with the defending champions amassing a combined 503 points, edging bitter rival John Mills, who tallied 498 points.
Constant Spring was third overall with 326 points, followed by Swallowfield (211.5), Cockburn Gardens (206.5), Shortwood (204), New Day (198), MICO (158) and Calabar (134) rounding off the top performing teams.
For the first two days, Windward Road played second fiddle to John Mills, who entered the final day with almost a 20-point lead. But as the day progresses Windward Road edged away at the deficit and even led by 25 points at one stage.
John Mills rallied, however, in the relays to set up a tense finale. But Windward Road, coached by Oral Whilby, had just enough to stave off a brilliant fight back from their fiercest adversary.
The championships also showed signs that the John Mills/Windward Road duopoly could be broken in the not too distant future with Constant Spring being the only other team to accumulate more than 300 points. That achievement was aided by them winning the Class Two boys 4x100m relays in a time of 48.68 seconds ahead of Windward Road (49.73) and Norman Gardens, 49.86 seconds.
Naseem Clarke, who finished sixth in the Class One boys 100m final, turned the tables on his rivals, by striking gold in the 200m. The Calabar athlete won comfortably in 11.77 seconds to deny Constant Spring’s Antonio Phillips (11.85) from claiming the sprint double. Clarke’s teammate Rahiem Hamilton won the bronze in 11.93 seconds.
