Lee, the one to watch

Natoya Goule will be the first Jamaican on the track when the 13th IAAF World Junior Championships enters its second day in Moncton, Canada.

Fourteen Jamaicans will be in action, and after months of preparation, the young athletes will be hoping to better the performance of two years ago when they won six medals, including one gold in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

One event was contested yesterday, the girls' 3000 metres, which followed the opening ceremony where athletes from 165 countries paraded, including those from Jamaica.

Goule will be in action in the heats of the girls' 800 metres, but most attention will be focussed on the first round of the boys' 100 metres, as defending champion Dexter Lee will begin his bid for back-to-back victories in the event. He and France's Jimmy Vicaut are the joint world-leaders in the event with a time of 10.16 seconds, and this is expected to be a humdinger as both athletes appear to be peaking at the right moment. Camperdown High's Bernado Brady will be Jamaica's other representative in the event.

"This will not be easy. I looked at the start list and see other people running close times to me, but I am here to do my best and take back the gold medal (to Jamaica)," Lee told the IAAF website.

Lee's former teammate at Herbert Morrison High, Deandra Whitehorne and Siedatha Palmer will be the country's representatives in the girls' 100 metres. Both athletes will be hoping to better the performances of the two Jamaicans two years ago, Kaycean Jones and Shawna Anderson who both dropped out at the semi-final stage.

Easy advance expected

Overseas-based Jodyann Muir of Mississippi State University, who has been having a great season this year, will be hoping to continue that trend when she competes in the preliminary round of the 400 metres. She will be joined in the event by CAC Junior Championships silver medallist, Jeneive Russell. Both athletes are expected to advance easily to the next round.

In the boys' 400 metres, Vere Technical High teammates, Jermaine Gayle and Demar Murray, will be Jamaica's representatives.

In the other track events today, outstanding middle-distance runner Kemoy Campbell goes in the 15,000 metres, while Tonique Sobah and CAC gold medalist Danielle Williams will compete in the 100 metres hurdles.

In the field events, CAC junior long jump gold medallist, Wolmer's Boys' Kamal Fuller and St Hugh's High's Candecia Bernard, will contest the boys' long jump and the girls' discus, respectively.