Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
Members of the Sprint Capitol America Track Club, including United States 100m champion Me'Lisa Barber (left) and Olympic 200m champion Shawn Crawford (right) departing the Norman Manley International Airport on Tuesday for the U.S. The group have been training in Jamaica for a week. - CONTRIBUTED
MEMBERS OF the crack Sprint Capitol Track Club from the United States have expressed great satisfaction with the hospitality received here during their one-week training stint in Kingston.
The star athletes, including Olympic 100m and World Championship sprint double champion Justin Gatlin, Olympic 200m champion Shawn Crawford, and Jamaican sprinter Dwight Thomas, left the island on Tuesday.
The athletes, who utilised the opportunity to train at the National Stadium, were also guests at Saturday's Douglas Forrest Invitational Track Meet, having accepted an invitation from Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) executive Brian Smith.
GREAT EXPERIENCE
"I had a great time, great experience," said Gatlin. "I wish I could stay longer, I love Jamaica. I'm mad and sad that I've got to go."
Me'Lisa Barber, the United States' national 100m champion, also said she had a great time.
"It was a lovely stay. This was our second year back and it got better since last year," she said.
"The weather was great, the food was great and I
had a good time at the track meet (Douglas Forrest Invitational). I love Jamaica," she concluded.
Olympic gold medallist Crawford said: "The atmosphere was great, I like it here. The weather was cool, the people are very inviting ... and every time I come to Jamaica I have some of the best practices in my life so I need to come back more often."
The athletes' Jamaican-born coach, Trevor Graham, said the stint here was a good one.
"When you get a chance to practise in good weather you always accomplish a whole lot," he said.
"It takes a lot of pressure off myself being here.
"It's just tremendous with how the people greet us and the way they treat us and next year will be back," Graham promised.
