ST. JAGO'S Marvin Anderson, the hot favourite for the sprint double in Class one, clocked the fastest time in the heats of the 200 metres at the VMBS Boys and Girls championships yesterday.
Anderson, a finalist in the half lap event at last year's World Junior Championships in Chile, stopped the clock at 21.46 seconds in registering a facile victory in heat 3. Bridgeport's Derrick Downer had the next best time of 21.82 and they were followed by Dewayne Barnett (STETHS) 21.92, Manchester's Mark Barnes 22.03, Jervis Tomlinson of Grange Hill, 22.08, and Vere Technical's Steve Mullings, 22.33.
St. George's Tesfa Latty, who is fancied to take the Class 2 200 metres gold on Saturday, had the leading time in the heats. Latty blew away the field in heat 10 winning in 22.19. William Knibb's lanky Usain Bolt was the next best qualifier with 22.27 to top heat 7 while Aubyn Grant of Yallah's Comprehensive won heat 9 in 22.32. Multi-talented Patrick Lee, the man who could ensure Jamaica College retain the championship trophy, passed his first test, cruising to victory in heat 4 in 22.35. Lee is also entered for the 400m and 110m hurdles. He is also an important member of JC's Class 2 4x100m and 4x400m quartets.
Kemar Brown of Wolmer's Boys was surprisingly the fastest qualifier in Class 3. Brown displayed impressive acceleration in the last 50 metres to win heat 6 by a wide margin. Pre-meet favourite Andre Wellington of Kingston College looked equally good in taking heat 7 in 23.42. The other leading second-round qualifiers were Dwayne Eccleston (St. George's), 23.46, Matthew Palmer (Wolmer's), 23.50, Toussaint Crooks (Ardenne), 23.82, and Andre Pratt (JC), 23.94.
Heavy showers halted the meet for more than 45 minutes in mid-afternoon and at press time last night the Class 1 and 2 1,500 metres heats were being run.
Action begins early today with the start of the heptathlon. The opening event is the 110m hurdles to be followed by the high jump, shot put and 200 metres.
Two boys finals will be contested today. The Class 1 long jump and Class 2 shot put will both begin at 6:40 p.m.
