Holmwood Technical's Sonita Sutherland takes off after collecting the baton from Schillonie Calvert enroute to winning the girl's 4x400m High School girls open at last year's Gibson Relays at the National Stadium. Both will run at today's meet - Sutherland for G.C. Foster College and Calvert for her school. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer

The 31st staging of the Gibson Relays, the Carib-bean's biggest relay festival, takes centrestage today at the National Stadium.

Relay teams from several Caribbean countries, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Netherlands Antilles, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Curacao are down to compete at this year's event.

Also participating will be men's 100m world record holder, Asafa Powell, the fastest female in the world over 100 and 200 metres, Sherone Simpson, as well as three global medallists, and several other international athletes.

On the school's side, the boys section should be close as Calabar, Kingston College (KC), St. Jago, Wolmer's, Camperdown, Herbert Morrison and Jamaica College (JC), will be firing on all cylinders

Calabar and St. Jago are the top two for The Art Printery Class One 4x100m and Security Administrators mile relays, while KC should have things their way in the 4x800m relay.

Hottest

The 4x400m is expected to be the hottest and closest.

Not even Bertland Cameron, the man who has held the 400m record at this meet for over 20 years, was willing to call this event.

"It's going to be something to watch. I have not seen this (so many top teams) in a long time," the Wolmer's coach said of the event, in which he also gives his team a chance to win.

Holmwood Technical's girls should dominate, especially in the Championship events, JMMB 4x100m, Jamaica Biscuit Com-pany 4x400 and Western Union 4x800. However, Edwin Allen and St. Jago, should put up tough challenges.

Holmwood's mile relay team, which will include Schillonie Calvert, Anastasia Le-Roy, and Bobby-Gaye Wilkins, and 4x800m, which should have Wilkins, Keno Heaven, Vanessa Boyd and Susan Hall, should have the easiest task of the three.

Even Edwin Allen's coach Michael Dyke and St. Jago's Raymond 'KC' Graham, admitted to Holmwood's superiority in the 4x400m.

"I definitely will give it to Holmwood," Dyke said, while Graham says "Holmwood is unbeatable".

In the low sprint classes, Manchester should repeat their success from Western Relays.

"I am expecting to do just as well with the Classes Two and Three," Manchester High's coach Jerry Holness said.

Starting at 10 a.m., about one-and-a-half hour off the scheduled start, Powell, Simpson, along with World Championships silver medallists Michael Frater, Darrell Brown and Brigitte Foster-Hylton, will be on show.

Action should be hot as many of the teams will be chasing a share of the Gatorade $250,000 for record breakers. With this incentive, one expects more than the 14 records, which went in 2006, to be broken this time around.

Clubs/institutions

The top clubs/institutions - Maximum Velocity Power (MVP), High Performance Training Centre (HPTC), G.C. Foster College, Speed Unit, University of Technology (UTech), Royalty and Jamalco - should highlight the senior section.

Powell, Frater, Brown and Ainsley Waugh should be unstoppable once they pass the stick around in the JNBS-sponsored men's 4x100m, though the Netherlands Antilles who won at the CAC Games in 39.29 are expected to face the starter.

UTech, with Mario Foresythe, and Nester Carter, and Speed Unit with Andre Wellington, Winston Smith, Barbados national champion Andre Hinds, and Chumaine Fitten, all coached by Stephen Francis, should be pumped up to spoil the show.

While pointing out that MVP is the team among his group, Francis said: "UTech is the second best team, because they have Carter and Foresythe. I think the Speed Unit team is the next fastest team, that team has two 10.2 and two 10.30, so that is the next big team."

In the Port Authority-sponsored men's 4x400m open, HPTC is the team to beat, with Jermaine Gonzales and Usain Bolt who opened his season with a 45.92-run two weekends ago.

Track analyst Hubert Lawrence believes they are the favourites, but believes MVP with Gregory Little could be a surprise team.

"The fastest institution has been HPTC with 3:0814 in Montego Bay. They are leading the list ... but if MVP comes out with a full team, it should be a very good race."

The women's 4x100m and 4x400m should be easy for MVP, especially with Simpson, Foster-Hylton, Shericka Williams, Melaine Walker and South African Geraldine Pillay.

UTech with Nyoka Cole, Kaliese Spencer and Alecia Cutenar, along with G.C. Foster Club Sonita Sutherland, Rose-Marie White, Jerene Bolt and Crystal Bell, aren't out.

Send feedback to: anthony.foster@gleanerjm.com.