Author: Steve Brown

Kelly McLeod aims for victory in the men’s long jump at the All Japan Junior and Senior Track and Field Championships at the National Stadium on Saturday. (Photo: Naftali Jr.) Newly crowned national champion in the men’s long jump, Kelly McLeod, has high hopes for next month’s Olympic Games in Paris. McLeod, the reigning World Indoor Championships bronze medallist, won his first national title on Saturday with a jump of 8.38 metres. Tournament favourite Wayne Pinnock came second with 8.27m and Sean D. Thompson came third with 8.08m. McLeod reflected on his performance and expressed confidence heading into the Olympics.…

Chad Hendricks won the U-20 boys’ discus with a throw of 58.61m at the JAAA All Japan Junior Track and Field Championships at the National Stadium on Saturday. (Photo: Colin Reid) Chad Hendricks finally won the boys’ under-19 discus event at the All Japan Junior Championships held at the National Stadium on Saturday, beating Shaiquan Dunn by just nine millimeters after a fierce but friendly battle. Munro College’s Hendricks, the Western champion and Penn Relays winner, beat his University of Jamaica colleague for the first time, but both athletes broke the qualifying distance with throws of 55.50 metres, meaning they…

Kishane Thompson crossed the finish line in a world-leading time of 9.77 seconds to win the national title in the 100 meters at the All Japan Senior Championships at the National Stadium on Friday. (Photo: Naftali Jr.) Rising sprinter Kishane Thompson said he wasn’t surprised by his performance in the men’s 100m final at the JAAA Japan Championships on Friday, and suggested his best performance of the season is yet to come. Thompson, who is coached by Stephen Francis of the MVP Track Club, won his event in a world-leading time of 9.77 seconds and also recorded a personal best…

National 100m champion Sherica Jackson. (Photo: Naftali Jr.) After surviving a season marked by multiple postponements due to nagging injuries, reigning 200m world champion Sherica Jackson admitted to having some uncertainty heading into this year’s JAAA National Championships. The 29-year-old Jackson usually starts her season in late January, but this year she made her debut at the Japan Association of Athletics Federations national championships on May 4, winning the 100m in 11.03 seconds at the National Stadium, raising concerns about her fitness ahead of the championships. But Jackson, who is coached by Stephen Francis of the MVP Track Club, put…

India’s Virat Kohli (left) and captain Rohit Sharma celebrate with the trophy in hand after their win over South Africa in the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup final at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday. (Photo: AFP) NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Fans in blue India jerseys cried tears of joy and danced on tables in a New Delhi sports bar on Saturday after Rohit Sharma’s India beat South Africa in the T20 World Cup, ending a world title drought. India won a thrilling final in Barbados by seven runs to clinch their first major title since the 2013…

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) kept interest rates unchanged on Friday as inflation subsides, but gave its clearest signal yet that interest rates may be cut soon. The central bank said for the time being it would refrain from cutting the 7% interest rate, which it has maintained since November 2022, but would begin taking steps to make borrowing easier, given signs it is “having significant success in combating high and unpredictable inflation in Jamaica.” Inflation has been declining for the past four months, hovering within the target range of 4-6% for the last three months, reaching 5.2% in May,…

Ecuador fans celebrate after Alan Minda’s goal during the second half of their Copa America Group B match against Jamaica at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday. (Photo: AFP) HOUSTON (USA) (AFP) — Migrant fans – hordes of yellow-clad Colombian fans, hordes of green-shirted Mexican supporters and hordes of burgundy-clad Venezuelan spectators – provide a raucous and passionate backdrop to the on-field action at the Copa America. This year marks just the second time in history that the South American continental championships will be held at venues across the United States, offering a glimpse into what North America…

Small Ferguson…This recognition by the FATF provides a further boost to our local capital markets. Financial industry leaders and experts have welcomed Jamaica’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “grey list” following the country’s completion of measures to strengthen its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) protocols. The announcement came on Friday after the FATF’s three-day plenary meeting in Singapore, which saw Jamaica and Turkey removed from the grey list and Monaco and Venezuela added. Jamaica was first added to the grey list in February 2020 and has been threatened on multiple occasions with…

Swiss players celebrate after beating defending champions Italy in the first round of the UEFA Euro 2018 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, on Saturday (Photo: AFP) DORTMUND, Germany (AFP) — Hosts Germany beat Denmark 2-0 on Saturday in a storm-interrupted match to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, while reigning champions Italy were eliminated from the tournament after losing to Switzerland. A Kai Havertz penalty and Jamal Musiala’s second-half goal gave Germany the victory over Dortmund, where the round-of-16 match was suspended for 25 minutes late in the first half as a severe storm passed overhead. British referee Michael…

Dane Nicholson, chairman of the Jamaica Bankers Association’s fraud prevention committee; Following public outrage over the light sentence handed down to Kadane Thomas, who pleaded guilty to defrauding customers out of a total of $74.5 million, Dane Nicholson, chairman of the Jamaica Bankers Association’s fraud committee, is calling for amendments to the theft law to impose tougher penalties on those convicted of financial fraud. Nicholson, who is also the NCB’s head of fraud prevention, has called on authorities to consider establishing a financial court, given the rise in financial crime in Jamaica in recent years. “Given the prevalence of this…