New start time for Milo Western Relays

BY EVERARD OWEN Observer Writer

Friday, February 03, 2012

MONTEGO BAY, St James — The 34th Milo Western Relays will have a new start time of 1:00 pm next Saturday — four hours later than its normal 10:00 am start — it was announced at the launch at the Grandiosa Hotel yesterday.

According to meet director Ray Harvey: "The time has been shifted to facilitate the patrons and the athletes who are very important ingredients.

"I spoke to some of Jamaica's specialist coaches and they approve this change and feel this is wise decision as better performance are recorded later in the evening," said Harvey.

"It's an advantage to the athletes...and we expect bigger and better crowds, better times and hope to maintain the high standard of efficiency and performance."

He said organisors hope to stick to the time schedule, with the last event scheduled for 8:50 pm.

Meanwhile, high school athletes will pocket $350,000 in prize money for six races — the Class 1 Boys and Girls 4x100-metre relays, the 4x400 and 4x800m, with the winners to get $30,000, second place $15,000, third $10,000 and fourth, $5,000.

Harvey pointed out that in this Olympic year, the top athletes from MVP, GC Foster, UTech, Comets MoBay and newcomers Mico University college will be on show.

Karen Willis-Mussington, consumer marketing manager for title sponsor Nestle Jamaica Ltd who backed the meet to the tune of $1.7m last year, said her company is still on board.

She pointed to the nutritional value of Milo to the athletes and the improvement made to the drink "in protein, calcium, carbohydrates and magnesium for tissue repair and strong bones for the health and nutrition of the athletes".

Speaking on behalf of the athletes, Green Island High School's O'Dail Todd, last year's World Youth 100m gold medallist, said: "It's the first relay carnival where athletes from across Jamaica come showcase their talent in preparation for 'Champs'.

"It will be a real showdown this year. I look forward to it as this is where I opened my season last year, which eventually turned out to be great," he said.