KINGSTON, Jamaica — In a stunning display of athleticism, Anastasia Richards of St Elizabeth Technical soared to a personal best of 5.49m in the girls’ Class Four long jump event at the 115th ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships held at the National Stadium on Thursday.
Richards, a standout at the County of Cornwall Athletics Association (COCAA) Western High School Championships, dominated the competition from the very first round. Her opening jump set the tone, followed by two more leaps — a 5.27m (0.2m/s) and a 5.30m (-0.2m/s) — both of which would have been enough to secure victory.
Edwin Allen’s Kemoya Campbell finished in second place with a jump of 5.21m (-0.1m/s), while the race for third was a tight one. Sanique Watt from Immaculate Conception High earned the bronze, edging out Jessica Francis of Alphansus Davis High. Both athletes recorded jumps of 5.18m, but Watt’s second-best jump of 5.16m narrowly surpassed Francis’ 5.15m.
With this remarkable performance, Richards further solidified her reputation as one of the top young talents in Jamaican athletics.
