Shamar Breaks National 110H Record,

Thomas Wins Osaka HJ And ‘Superman’ 2nd In Doha Triple

 

By Gerrino Sunders

For The BAAA

 

I will be a force to reckon with, and don’t you dare overlook me; is the message Shamar Sands sent to the worlds’ top 110m hurdlers with his Bahamian record setting performance on Saturday at the Osaka Grand Prix in Japan on Saturday.

 

With the International Association of Athletic Federations World Championship schedule for August 15th-23rd in Berlin, Germany, and $60k on the line for a gold medal, Sands continues to improve over the hurdles and broke his own National record of 13.44 after clocking 13.40 to win the event.

 

Sands rebounded from a sub-par performance in his previous race and used, power, speed and a smooth technique over the barriers defeat China’s Dongpeng Shi who settled for second in 13.48 seconds. Wei Ji also from China finished third in 13.51 seconds.

 

However, Sands still has some work to do if he is going to be a serious contender for the gold medal at the World championships. His most recent clocking would likely take him deep into the rounds, but he will need to run in the 13.2’s to be a medal contender in Berlin.

 

Also at the same meet, defending World High Jump Champion Donald Thomas who won the title in the same stadium in 2007 was able to win again.

 

Thomas, who is coming off a somewhat disappointing season in 2008 that began with an injury suffered while in South America is looking for that magic once again.

 

He won the high jump event with a leap of 2.28m (7 feet, 4.5 inches) out jumping American Tora Harris who was second in 2.25m while Poland’s Grzegorz Sposób was third based on knockdowns with a leap of 2.25 meters.

 

However, Thomas knows that he will have to go much higher, perhaps between 2.32m and 2.37m if he is going to successfully defend his title at the World Championships.

 

Meanwhile, newlywed Olympic Triple Jump bronze medallist Leevan “Superman” Sands has been steadily improving at his outdoor competitions so far this season heading into the World Championships.

 

On Saturday at a Super Grand Prix Meeting in Doha, Qatar, he continued to work on the technical phases of his specialty while settling for a second place finish behind France Julien Kapek.

 

Kapek won the event with a leap of 16.64 meters (54’9”) while Sands settled with a leap of 16.59 meters (54’7”). Germany’s Charles Michael Friedek was third leaping the same as Sands.  However, Sands’ second round jump bettered Friedek giving The Bahamian the second place finish.

 

Sands, is the first Bahamian to break the 57-feet barrier in the triple jump and looks to go even further when it matters most in August.