WITH his early season injuries now behind him, Herbert Morrison’s Deandre Daley has declared that he is now fit and ready to deliver the gold medal in the Class One Boys’ 100m event at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) today.

The 100m event, one of the most anticipated at Champs, will feature the semi-finals and final, in all classes, on the second day of the five-day event.

Daley, who had a slow season due to a minor injury and a double bout of the flu, clocked 10.40 seconds to book his spot in the semi-finals yesterday.

Daley, 19, was a silver medallist in the event last year, during which he finished behind Kingston College’s (KC) Bouwahjgie Nkrumie who won the event in a championship record time of 9.99.

“I am 100 per cent confident that I am going to take home the gold medal in this event at Champs because I have been putting in the work,” he said. “At one point in the season I had some issues where I was hit with the flu twice, and it really hindered my performance at the Western Championships where I finished fourth, but now I am fit and ready and very confident that I will deliver this title.”

Daley, who has run 10.40 this season, is the second-fastest man in the field behind Jamaica College’s (JC) Hector Benjamin, who clocked 10.34 this year.

Benjamin, 19, who has been having an excellent season, also secured his place in today’s semi-final after clocking 10.81 to win his heat. He said that he is feeling upbeat about his chances of winning the event.

“I am pretty confident because I believe in my coach and I know that once I execute a proper race then I know that I can take home the gold medal,” Benjamin said.

Excelsior’s Damor Miller (10.60), Omarion Barrett of Steer Town Academy (10.64), Raheem Pinnock of St Jago (10.68), Shaquane Gordon of Calabar (10.71), Yourie Lawrence-Clarke of KC (10.74), and Khamani Gordon of Calabar (10.77) are the other main qualifiers for today’s semi-finals.

Wolmer’s Boys’ Mario Ross booked his spot in the semi-finals of the Class Three Boys’ 100m with an impressive time of 11.36 seconds. In fact, Ross has the fastest time going into today’s semi-final of the competition.

The other main qualifiers for today’s semi-finals are St George’s College’s Naethan Bryan in 11.39, and Calabar’s Ched Brown 11.42. Johan-Ramaldo Smythe of Muschett clocked a swift (10.65) to top the qualifying round for the semi-finals of the Boys’ Class One 100m event. Tavaine Stewart of Herbert Morrison (10.91), Kyle Bodden of KC (10.92), Nyrone Wade of KC (10.95), and Thomas Daley of Cornwall College (11.04) rounds out the other main qualifiers for today’s semi-finals.

KC’s Brian Kiprop leads all qualifiers into the day’s finals of the Boys’ Class One 1500m with a time of 4:10.42 minutes. He is expected to face stiff competition from his teammate Ethan Gioko, who holds the third-fastest time, 4:11.55, entering the final today.

Maggotty’s Charehon Connally, who has had a good season, is also expected to provide strong competition for the KC athletes as he enters the final with the second-fastest time of 4:10.66. St Jago’s Rahiem Walker (4:13.48), Bellefield’s Roquelme Walker (4:13.70), and Edwin Allen’s Joseph Park (4:13.99) are the other medal contenders in the final.

In the Class Two section, gold-medal favourite Selanki Brown of Calabar clocked an impressive time of 4:11.91 to lead all qualifiers for today’s final. KC’s Nahashon Rute (4:16.97), Rushane James from Clarendon (4:17.52), Delano Brown of STETHS (4:19.58), Chris Wanjiku of KC (4:19.61), and Raheem Palmer of Alphansus Davis (4:23.55) are the other leading qualifiers for the final.

In Class Three, Cavel Nooks of Jamaica College easily won his heat in 4:27.10 to qualify with the fastest time heading into today’s final of the event. Luke Plummer of Sydney Pagon (4:29.05), St Jago’s Phillip Palmer (4:35.44), Bevin Davey of JC (4:35.86), and Corey Christie of St Jago (4:30.14) round out the top five qualifiers for the final.

KC’s pair of Amal Glasgow (48.13) and Marcinho Rose (48.14) lead all qualifiers for today’s semi-finals of the boys’ Class One 400m event. Zachary Wallace from Maggotty High (48.67), Omary Robinson from JC (48.86), Daniel Francis from Alphansus Davis (49.14), Ryheem Mighten from Edwin Allen (49.15), Sean Paul Simmonds from Marcus Garvey (49.33), Joshua Wint from William Knibb (49.39), Shoy Clayton from Petersfield (48.91), and Devonric Mack from JC (49.16) round out the top ten qualifiers for the semi-finals of the event.

KC’s Markel Smith topped the qualifiers for the semi-finals of the boys’ Class Two 400m event with a time of 48.89. The other leading times through today’s semi-finals are Demarco Bennett of Excelsior (49.73), Rashad Buckle of St Jago (49.89), Gregory McFarlane from Excelsior (49.96), and Nickecoy Bramwell from Calabar (50.09).

In the field, KC’s duo of Nathan Wade, with qualifying round jumps of 7.48m, and Javar Thomas with 7.23m are highly favoured to take home the gold and silver, respectively, in today’s final of the Class One long jump competition. They are expected to face strong competition from STETHS’s Ricoy Hunter (7.22m), Balvin Israel from JC (7.06m), Javid Malcolm of Petersfield (7.04m), and Amari Officer from St George’s College (7.01m).