Bolt shocked by American sprinter’s comments
From Caribbean360
MOSCOW, Russia,– Sprint legend Usain Bolt has expressed shock at comments made by Mike Rodgers, a member of USA’s 4x100m team, which finished second behind Jamaica on Sunday’s final day of the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships.
United States led slightly from the second leg with Rodgers, but the exchange with Rakieem Salaam and Justin Gatlin wasn’t the best.
It was the error on the exchange that prompted Rodgers to say, “We would have won today.”
“I think we would have won, they know it, I think we gave away a gold medal today”.
The biggest name in track and field has objected to Rodgers statements, however
“They couldn’t have said that, they couldn’t have said that,” Bolt repeated four times while shaking his head
“They were like two metres in front of me, I have been in worst position running from my blocks and won. I wasn’t worried at all about USA beating us, because I was confident in my team and I know if my guys didn’t bring it to me leading, it would be close”.
Bolt said Gatlin “probably would have to have at least 10 metres ahead of me to win that race.” 
Jamaica, led off by Nesta Carter to Kemar Bailey-Cole, Nickel Ashmeade and Bolt, stopped the clock in 37.36, well below the country’s world record of 36.84.
USA clocked 37.66 for the silver medal.(CMC)
PHOTO: “I have been in worst position running from my blocks and won”
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Jamaica triumphs with clean sweep of 4x100m relays at World Championships
From Caribbean360
MOSCOW, Russia,– Jamaica closed the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships in fine style on Sunday as the Black, Green and Gold, won the Championships’ final two events, the women’s and men’s 4x100m relays.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who anchored the women’s relay team home in a Championship and National Record, will return home with three gold medals, a first for Jamaica and the Caribbean.
She had earlier won the 100m in 10.71 and 200m in 22.17.
Usain Bolt, track and field’s biggest star, brought things to fitting end by anchoring Jamaica to a 37.36 4x100m victory.
Jamaica without Michael Frater and Yohan Blake, members of last year’s World Record-breaking team (36.84), was expected to face stiff competition from USA, but Kemar Bailey-Cole and Nickel Ashmeade, the replacements, handled themselves very well.
Nesta Carter gave Jamaica the expected start before Bailey-Cole took care of Mike Rodgers on the backstretch.
Ashmeade held things together on the curve, and even though USA fumbled with Rakieem Salaam and Justin Gatlin on the final exchange, no one could have stopped Bolt, the king of sprinting.
Gatlin tried, but only to ensure USA stay within the medals.
In the women’s 4x100m final, the Jamaican quartet, considered the weakest on paper in the last 10 years, delivered like no other teams before in the country’s track & field history.
Carrie Russell and Schillonie Calvert, both got onto the team because of suspension to top sprinters Veronica Campbell-Brown and Sherone Simpson, were superb on the final day of the nine-day Championships.
Russell was very quick out of the blocks and destroyed American Jeneba Tarnmoh before leaving Kerron Stewart to take good care of Alexander Anderson on the backstretch.
Stewart’s lead forced American Anderson and English Gardener to fumble the baton exchange, which led Calvert to open the gap.
And by the time Fraser-Pryce collected the baton, she was basically alone. She took her team across the line in 41.29, a Championship and National Record, some 14 metres ahead of nearest rivals France 42.73 and USA, anchored by Octavious Freeman, 42.75.
Jamaica’s time is the second fastest on the world’s all-time list, only behind USA’s 40.82, done last year to win at the London Olympic Games.
Jamaica was the best placed Caribbean team with 6 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze, for third on the overall standing behind Russia 7-4-6 and USA 6-13-6.
Trinidad and Tobago was the only other English-speaking Caribbean team to win a medal, gold from Jehue Gordon in the men’s 400m hurdles.(CMC)
PHOTO: Fraser-Pryce leads Jamaica to relay glory
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T&T World Champs team wasn’t approved
From StabroekNews
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago team at the 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Moscow, Russia wasn’t approved by the General Council of the National Association of Athletics Administration (NAAA).
Former secretary of the national athletics federation, Clyde Forde said the NAAA Executive violated its own constitution by sending a team to the world championships without the general council’s ratification.
“The executive of the NAAA is only a committee selected by the general council to handle the day to day affairs of the organisation but what they did was contrary of the constitution when they selected the T&T team for the World Games in Russia without the approval or ratification by the General Council,” he was quoted in the Trinidad Express newspaper.
“We did not receive the minutes of the meeting as enshrined in the constitution, when the team was selected. We are to approve the team and give it the okay but without any approval of the general council, the executive went ahead and selected a team anyway.”
“If they had sent those minutes for us when they selected the team, we would have revoked the selection of Semoy Hackett because of the ban imposed by the world governing body for the sport.
Secretary of the NAAA, Allan Baboolal said the federation will comment at the appropriate time.
