TWO MORE FOR TOKYO

NAVASKY Anderson joined Adrian Kerr in punching individual tickets for the Tokyo World Championships after winning the men’s 800m on Saturday night at the Sound Running Sunset Tour inside the Jack Kemp Stadium in Los Angeles.

The former St Jago High athlete stopped the clock at 1:44.40 and break his previous best national record of 1:44.61 seconds done in Newark, New Jersey, on July 8. Anderson, who finished second behind Tyrice Taylor in the event at the National Senior Champions in 1:46.03, beat out the World Championships qualifying mark of 1:44.50.

“It was a great race, man. I mean, when I came around at 400 metres, I felt pretty great. Six hundred metres, I was in the lead, I felt great. I was like, there’s no way I’m going to lose this race, you know,” said Anderson.

The two-lap specialist does not believe his new national record indicates he is at the peak of his powers yet though, saying he intends to go faster ahead of the World Championships.

“I’m there right now,” he said, about making the qualification standard.

“Back in training, buckling down, hit some hard 800-metre training, you know what I’m saying?

“And then, I’m gonna just keep getting better every meet as I go along.”

In the meantime, several of the country’s senior athletes were busy over the past weekend competing at the two-day Ed Murphey Track Classic in Memphis, Tennessee, a World Athletics Continental Tour - Silver meet held on Friday and Saturday.

Long jumper Carey McLeod was the only Jamaican winner at the meet, capturing his pet event — the men’s long jump — with a distance of 8.24 metres in a positive wind of 3.00 metres per second. Marquis Dendy of the United States was second with 8.18.

There were five second-place finishes for Jamaican athletes, with former Kingston College sprinter Kerr leading the way.

Kerr, who finished third in the men’s 200 metres at last month’s National Senior Championships in 20.49, failing to book an automatic berth to the Tokyo World Championships, posted a new lifetime best of 20.09 to secure second place and book his ticket to Tokyo.

The United States’ T’Mars McCallum won the event in a personal-best and world-leading 19.74, surpassing previous world leader Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who had run 19.76.

Kerr, who bettered his previous best of 20.46 done in March at G.C. Foster College, is now the number one Jamaican in the event, overtaking Bryan Levell, who won at the Trials in 20.10 and was then the only automatic qualifier for the World Championships. Second-place finisher Christopher Taylor, who clocked 20.28, will be hoping to achieve the qualifying standard when he competes at next month’s NACAC Senior Championships in The Bahamas.

Levell, Tyrice Taylor, and Roje Stona were the other Jamaican males to finish second at the meet.

In a blanket finish, Levell clocked 10.07 in the men’s 100m, the same time as winner Davonte Howell of the Cayman Islands. Ryiem Forde, who was fourth in the event at the Jamaica Trials, ended third in 10.09.

Newly crowned national champion in the men’s 800 metres, Tyrice Taylor, clocked 1:46.46 for the runner-up spot, as Abdullahi Hassan of Canada won in 1:46.16.

Stona had a throw of 64.01 metrse to finish second in the men’s discus, with Reggie Jagers III of the United States winning with 64.87.

National Senior Championships men’s 400-metre runner-up Delano Kennedy placed third in the one-lap event in 45.00 seconds. Outstanding United States teenager Quincy Wilson lowered his previous under-18 world best of 44.20 to win in 44.10. His teammate Bryce Deadmon, also a member of the United States’ gold medal-winning 4x400-metre team at the Paris Olympics, was second in 44.39.

Leah Anderson had the best result by a Jamaican woman at the meet, finishing second in the women’s 400 metres in 50.90.

Britton Wilson of the United States won in 50.54. Joanne Reid ended sixth in 52.95.

Rajindra Campbell was fourth in the men’s shot put with a throw of 21.59 metres, Candice McLeod was second in the pre-programme women’s 400m in 51.92, Sanique Walker was fourth in the women’s 400m hurdles in 55.30, while Antonio Watson was second in the men’s pre-programme 400m in 45.24.

Yanique Thompson was sixth in the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.81.