Guadalajara, Mexico:Jamaica’s contingent here ended their participation in the XVI Pan American Games on a disappointing note yesterday.
The men’s 4×400 metres team was withdrawn from the final after an injury to Lansford Spence and there was a mishap for the second consecutive day in a sprint relay.
There are two days to go at the Games but Jamaica’s participation here has ended with the country’s overnight tally of seven medals – a gold, five silver medals and one bronze.
Going into yesterday, there was some hope that the track and field athletes could have added to the haul. However, early yesterday, Lansford Spence the 200m silver medallist, was declared unfit for the men’s 4×400 metres final and the team was withdrawn. A women’s 4x400m team was not entered.
Head coach Raymond Graham, in explaining the reasons for the men’s withdrawal, said they had arrived here short of genuine 400 metres runners.
“This morning we were told by the doctors that Spence could not run as he had a problem with his groin and we could not risk it. Isa Phillips (400m hurdler) told us that he could not run as he had just come off an injury and had come for just one event. We came here with only three genuine 400-metre runners. Sprinter Jason Livermore had run in the heats just to get us in the final and we were hoping that Spence could have filled in. Once he got hurt we were in trouble so we could not field a team,” Graham said.
sprint-relay failure
In the women’s sprint relay Jamaica failed to get the baton past the first exchange as there was a bad mix-up between starter Ornella Livingston and Anastasia LeRoy, two GC Foster College colleagues. The baton was not passed .
“I guess I did not get it right at the last … between myself and Anastasia,” Livingston said inside the mixed zone. She added that she is usually the anchor leg runner at GC Foster. Graham said later, however, that the running order which faced the starter was the one they had been practising since the team arrived here.
On Thursday, the men had crossed the line first in their sprint relay heat but were disqualified after they passed the baton outside the zone on the second exchange.
In other finals yesterday Jamaica’s Jabari Ennis was 10th in the men’s pole vault with a best of 4.90m with gold going to Cuba’s Lazaro Borges who cleared 5.80m for a new Pan American Games record. American Jeremy Scoot took silver with 5.60m while Mexico’s Giovanni Lanaro, 5.50m, was third.
Allsion Randall, 50.90m, was ninth in the women’s discus final.
Eight local-based members of Jamaica’s track and field team are due home today at 1:00 p.m. travelling through Panama. Officials and coaches are due home later at 8:10 p.m.
The Games end tomorrow with the men’s marathon at 8:00 a.m. to be followed later by the closing ceremony.
