The Grenada Athletic Association (GAA) stages its National Senior Championships on Saturday June 20, 2009 at the National Stadium, beginning at 2:00 p.m.The one-day championship will feature many of our top athletes who are preparing for regional and international competitions, including the likes of overseas-based athletes Hazel-Ann Regis, Andon Mitchell, Joel Redhead, Janelle Redhead and Kevin Bowen. Mitchell and (Joel) Redhead are fresh from competition after competing in last weekend’s NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The highlight of the 32-event championships is expected to be the men’s 400 metres which will feature Rondell Bartholomew, Kirani James, Redhead and Bowen.Bartholomew and James would be clashing for the fourth time this season with James getting the better of Bartholomew on all three previous occasions by the narrowest of margins.However, this time they will be joined by Redhead and Bowen who both enjoyed a good season on the US college circuit. Redhead also broke Sean Lambert’s national 200-metre record establishing a new mark of 20.49 seconds while (Andon) Mitchell is expected to be a strong campaigner over the 100 metres after he posted a season’s best 10.26 seconds.
Regis is on the come-back trail and after an unimpressive 2008 season the former Olympian has given notice that she is still competitive. Janelle Redhead is certain to add her flamboyance to the stadium. The Canada-based stylish but talented athlete would be competing for the first time in front of her home crowd since winning a 200-metre bronze medal at the World Juniors in Bydgoszcz, Poland last year.
This weekend’s championships should not be short of keen competition since many of the athletes would be vying for selection on the national team to represent Grenada at the inaugural Caribbean Games in Trinidad scheduled for July 12-19, 2009.The meet is also seen as an appropriate send off for Kirani James who will be departing one week later for Italy to participate in the IAAF World Youth Championships from July 6-12. .
