Gordon, Solomon and Quow vie for selection

With a month to go to the March 9-11 World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, five local athletes are vying for spots on the national team to global premier indoor meet. Leading the way are 400m runners Lalonde Gordon, Jarrin Solomon and Renny Quow who are among the top 12 ranked quarter milers in the world at the moment.  All three have run under the 46.90 qualifying standard with Gordon highest ranked at 6th after his victory at the New Balance Games in New York on January 22. His 46.43 clocking was the fastest in the world at the time. The 2010 Commonwealth Games semifinalist further established himself as one of the favourites for the Indoor 400m title in Istanbul by clocking a fast 20.58 seconds  in winning the 200m event at the Terrier Classic on January 28. 

 

His clocking was the again the quickest for the year. He is now ranked at number 2 in the event (behind Bahamian Demetrius Pinder who clocked 20.50 on Friday). Solomon is 7th in the ranking (46.55) ahead of Quow who is at 12th (46.70). The runners will be seeking to win this country’s second individual meet after another quartermiler Ian Morris bagged silver in the 400m at the 1989 edition in Budapest, Hungary. While National Association of Athletic Administration (NAAA) will have a tough task of choosing  the top two to run in the individual event the trio will form a part of formidable 4X400 relay team to bid for gold.   Trinidad and Tobago won silver in the event at the global indoor meet at the 1993 Championships in Toronto Canada.  

 

The quartet of Dazel Jules, Alvin Daniel, Neil De Silva and Ian Morris clocked 3:07:02 to take the runner up spot behind the USA. With US collegiate runners Zwede Hewitt, Ade Alleyne-Forte and Deon Lendore not likely to be available because of school commitments 800m runner Jamaal James and possibly Rondel Sorillo are likely candidates for the remaining spots. Solomon and Quow have been members of this country’s mile relay team at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Osaka. Solomon and Gordon then helped T&T to bronze at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Puerto Rico. The top trio, along with Lendore raced to silver at the 2011 CAC Championships. Solomon and Quow competed in the 2010 World Indoor in Doha, Qatar. Veteran sprinter Marc Burns may go for gold in the men’s 60m. The multiple World and Olympic sprinter relay silver medallist is currently down the 2012 world performance at 22nd with his 6.64 clocking in Alabama, USA on January 21 which is inside the 6.67 qualifying time. The former Belmont Boys/El Dorado student cannot be discounted as he is known for peaking on the world stage.  Aleesha Barber is among the qualifiers in the women’s 60m hurdles following her 8.17 second run at the Penn State Invitational on January 27. The 2010 CAC Games 100m hurdles champion bettered the 8.18 standard by 0.01 seconds.

 

Ayana Alexander and Mikel Thomas are in pursuit of the qualifying standard in their events. Alexander, the 2010 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, has a season’s best of 13.68m in the women’s triple jump achieved on  January 28, short of the 14.10m standard while Thomas’ 2012 7.80  in the men’s 60m hurdles is 0.04 outside the qualifying barrier. Kai Sevlon and Annie Alexander have surpassed the World standards in their events with Selvon’s 7.30 inside the 7.35 for the women’s 60m and Alexander’s 17.70 superior to the 17.50 in the women’s shot put. However, the pair is unlikely to be available as the NCAA Division One Championships are carded for the same weekend as the World Indoors. The national squad has not yet been named by the NAAA but is expected to be released before the February 27 deadline. World Championships women’s 100m bronze medallist Kelly Ann Baptiste is not available for selection as her manager Cubie Seegobin confirmed that she will not compete in the 2012 indoor season. 

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AT THE WORLD INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS