Alain Bailey leaps to Berlin with personal best 8.21m

Friday, November 20, 2009 5:31 PM

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BY PAUL A REID, Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com

Monday, June 29, 2009

Alain Bailey saved the best for last, reached back and grabbed a spot on the team to the IAAF World Championships in August with a personal best 8.21m effort in the men's long jump on last night's final day of the JAAA Supreme Ventures National Trials at the National Stadium.

Alain Bailey in long jump action at the Supreme Ventures National Trials at the National Stadium in Kingston, yesterday. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

The 21-year-old junior at the University of Arkansas told the Observer minutes after winning that he felt "on cloud nine right now, an A-Standard and personal best, I feel real good right now".

Trailing defending champion Julian Reid going into the final round, the former Kingston College athlete said the mindset was "I realised that I had to do it and do it now and just laid it all out there".

Reid who won the triple jump on Friday night and who had the final jump in the contest, could only manage a wind-assisted 8.18m (2.4 m/s).

Olympian and national record holder Dorian Scott was an easy winner in the shot put event, retaining his title with a throw of 20.20m, lower than the 21.09m he threw at the Jamaica International Invitational in May.
Scott, who had already achieved the World

Championships A Standard of 20.30m, was consistent without being pushed yesterday, getting the shot out over the 19m barrier on every attempt.

Despite not going over the 21m barrier, Scott said he was pleased with the effort, as he is still training hard with Berlin in mind.

Given that he was expected to win here, Scott said, "I have been lifting heavy and training right through this meet and it is all about Berlin; Berlin is the focus right now."

MVP's Raymond Brown was second with 17.76m, while University of Technology's Odayne Richards was third in 15.40m. Sheree Francis won the women's high jump with 180m ahead of World Youth Championships team member Peter-Gay Reid of St Elizabeth Technical 1.75m.

GC Foster College's Taniesha Blair won her first national senior title when she scored a mild upset of Kateema Rietti in the javelin final.

Blair, who holds the National Junior Record (47.85m), twice threw 50.81m as Rietti had a best throw of 50.27m done in her second-to-last effort, while St Hugh's schoolgirl Kemoy Christie was third with 30.43m.

Rietti leads all Jamaican females in the event this year with a 51.38m effort done in Princeton, New Jersey, in April.

Lorenzo Johnson won the pole vault with 4.40m, beating National Junior Record holder K'Don Samuels on the count back, while Deon Dobson was third with 4.30m.

Nicky Grant retained the hammer throw title with a sub-par 58.40m effort, making only two legal throws with the winning effort coming on the second throw.

Grant, who has the meet record of 62.12m set six years ago in 2003, has a season best of 61.71m.

Suesanna Williams was second with a 52.37m throw, also getting just two legal throws in.

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