Spirits high as track and field training resumes at STETHS

National senior triple jump representative Shanieka Ricketts, along with members of the St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) track and field team, have resumed training following the devastating passage of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, which wreaked havoc across the western end of the island.

The hurricane caused extensive damage to STETHS, with repair costs expected to reach millions of dollars. The school’s classrooms, dormitories, and gym facilities were all affected, though the field was spared the worst of the storm, allowing the athletes to get back to training sooner than expected.

Kerry-Lee Ricketts, who coaches both Shanieka and 2025 World Athletics Championships long jump silver medallist Tajay Gayle, as well as serving as the jumps coach at STETHS, expressed relief at seeing his athletes return to the field.

“Shanieka is back in training and the STETHS athletes who can come to training are back in training also. Tajay is still in Kingston because the place that he is due to stay down here is damaged, so we have to wait until it is repaired so that he can come down here and start training,” Ricketts said.

Shanieka, 33, won silver in the triple jump at the Doha World Championships in 2019 and Eugene in 2022. She also won silver in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Despite the widespread destruction, Ricketts said the atmosphere during training has been positive.

“Despite all that has happened down here, the mood is good in training because everybody couldn’t wait to get back out there. For some of them, it’s a good to come out from where they were. Some said it is good they are not home and stressed out over what happened with the hurricane,” he stated.

Ricketts noted that most of the athletes at STETHS are from western Jamaica, and many have been directly affected by the storm.

“Most of our athletes are from western Jamaica and a lot of them suffered damage to their homes and some also lost clothing items and livestock. But the good thing about it is that most of them wear the same size shoe like Shanieka, so she has been giving out sneakers and other stuff,” he said.

He also praised the wider Jamaican track and field community for stepping up to help during this difficult time.

“I must big up some of the athletes in Kingston who have donated some second-hand spikes, people like Antonio Watson, Roshawn Clarke, and Malik James-King have rallied around us in this time of need,” he said.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall on the south-western coast of the island on October 28 and has claimed the lives of more than 30 Jamaicans.