Jamaica uncovers another sprint star
Jamaica has a history of uncovering sprint stars and looks to have another on its hands in Odane Skeen.
Jamaica has a history of uncovering sprint stars and looks to have another on its hands in Odane Skeen, who claimed the 100-metre title at the inaugural Youth Olympics.
Skeen powered over the line in a personal best 10.42 seconds, ahead of Japan’s Masaki Nashimoto and Britain’s David Bolarinwa. His mark is well short of fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds, but Skeen is still just 15 years old.
He is following in the footsteps of not just Bolt, but also former world record holder Asafa Powell, another Jamaican sprint king.
In the women’s 100-metre, Nigeria’s Josephine Omaka ran powerfully to win in 11.58 seconds ahead of Myasia Jacobs of the US and Fany Chalas of the Dominican Republic.
Swimming
The future of women’s swimming revealed itself at the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore, and it had a distinctly Chinese flavour.
Less than two years away from the London Olympics, China’s women won 11 medals at the Games. Individually, Tang Yi claimed six gold and Liu Lan five.
While China’s women were in top form, traditional swimming power Australia won the most medals overall of any team with 16. Emily Selig, Nicholas Schafer and Kenneth To emerged as top swimmers to watch as London 2012 draws nearer.
Selig, who is a powerful breaststroke swimmer, dominated the women’s 200-metre race, while Schafer won gold in the men’s 100-metre breaststroke. To was part of the winning youth men’s 4x100 medley relay team.
Historic Victory
Cuba’s Ernesto Vila Sarria won gymnastics medal for Cuba. Sarria qualified for the eight-boy final in seventh place with a score of 14.1, scoring the highest points for both difficulty and execution in the boys’ floor exercise.
A teary Morales said that their high-risk strategy paid off. “This is a very emotional moment,” said Morales, before pausing to collect himself. “It was a difficult routine. We gave it everything.”
Ernesto is looking for more medals when he competes in the high bar and parallel bars finals today.
“This gold means a lot to me. Hopefully, I’ll be able to build on this result,” he said. “This is just the start for gymnastics in Cuba.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2010.
Skeen powered over the line in a personal best 10.42 seconds, ahead of Japan’s Masaki Nashimoto and Britain’s David Bolarinwa. His mark is well short of fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds, but Skeen is still just 15 years old.
He is following in the footsteps of not just Bolt, but also former world record holder Asafa Powell, another Jamaican sprint king.
In the women’s 100-metre, Nigeria’s Josephine Omaka ran powerfully to win in 11.58 seconds ahead of Myasia Jacobs of the US and Fany Chalas of the Dominican Republic.
Swimming
The future of women’s swimming revealed itself at the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore, and it had a distinctly Chinese flavour.
Less than two years away from the London Olympics, China’s women won 11 medals at the Games. Individually, Tang Yi claimed six gold and Liu Lan five.
While China’s women were in top form, traditional swimming power Australia won the most medals overall of any team with 16. Emily Selig, Nicholas Schafer and Kenneth To emerged as top swimmers to watch as London 2012 draws nearer.
Selig, who is a powerful breaststroke swimmer, dominated the women’s 200-metre race, while Schafer won gold in the men’s 100-metre breaststroke. To was part of the winning youth men’s 4x100 medley relay team.
Historic Victory
Cuba’s Ernesto Vila Sarria won gymnastics medal for Cuba. Sarria qualified for the eight-boy final in seventh place with a score of 14.1, scoring the highest points for both difficulty and execution in the boys’ floor exercise.
A teary Morales said that their high-risk strategy paid off. “This is a very emotional moment,” said Morales, before pausing to collect himself. “It was a difficult routine. We gave it everything.”
Ernesto is looking for more medals when he competes in the high bar and parallel bars finals today.
“This gold means a lot to me. Hopefully, I’ll be able to build on this result,” he said. “This is just the start for gymnastics in Cuba.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2010.