Israel surpasses expectation for glory

In his successful defence of the Class Two Boys' Long Jump title at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships, St Jago's Balvin Israel said he surpassed his own personal expectations, despite struggling with injuries this year.

Israel retained his title yesterday with a personal best distance of 7.33m on his fourth attempt to hold off Wolmer's Mark Phillips who came second in 7.02 while St Elizabeth Technical High School's Ricoy Hunter finished third with 6.90.

Israel's difficulties persisted throughout the opening rounds, having fouled on his first two jumps. Having saved himself with a leap of 6.96 to take the lead in the field on his third attempt, he made one more big jump in his next attempt for the win. He said that the feat was a surprise, given how he managed the injury and the pressure on his third attempt.

"I just feel very surprised because I didn't expect this today, seeing that I'm battling an injury on my take-off leg," Israel said after the event. "To get out there like that was just very amazing."

The battle between Israel and Phillips was tense as Israel found an answer to Phillips' attempts, even with the injury limiting him. However, Israel said, being pushed to the limit has been his driving force this year, similar to how he won the title last time.

"There is always going to be pressure," he said. "There are very good athletes out there. They did really well and I must commend them. The competition itself pushed me, so I went with the flow of it."

St Jago Boys' head coach and throws coach, Marlon Gayle, said that he was expecting strong performances in the field, hoping to help the team improve on their fifth place in the boys' championships last year.

"I know we won't win everything based on where some persons are in terms of fitness and also ability, but, certainly, we will better what we did last year because we are supported by a rounded coaching staff, both on track and in the field."