Fiery Trials begins today

The country's top junior and senior athletes will take centre stage over the next four days, starting today inside the National Stadium, as the JAAA National Junior and Senior Championships get under way, with places on several teams to international events up for grabs.

For the seniors, the main target will be the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 2, while the country's leading juniors will be aiming for selection to the World Under-20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon from August 5-9. Athletes will also be competing for spots on teams to the Pan American Championships, NACAC Under-23 Championships, and the CAC Games.

Action will get under way at 9 a.m. with the qualification round of the men's 100 metres. The six fastest athletes will advance to the preliminary round to join 25 other competitors later in the day at 6:10 p.m. The organisers have made an adjustment, as action will be on the backstretch where athletes will run with the wind to aid in facilitating faster times.

With several events on the track being straight finals due to a lack of entries, the next action on the track will see the Under-18 and Under-20 Boys in action at 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., respectively. This will be followed by the Under-18 Boys' 800 metres at 1:20 p.m. and the Under-20 Boys at 1:45 p.m.

Kelly-ann Beckford, who recently went under two minutes twice this season, will lead the charge in the qualification action among the senior women at 2 p.m. With a personal best of 1:58.46, Beckford will run in Heat One, while last year's third-place finisher, Adelle Tracy, will contest Heat Two.

A new champion will be crowned in the men's 400m hurdles, with first-round action set for 4:10 p.m., as defending champion Roshawn Clarke will contest the 200 metres. Assinie Wilson, who was second last year, is the number one seed with a season's best 48.29 seconds, while Malik James-King, Tyriece Foreman and Demar Murray are among the other top contenders.

The senior men's 400 metres will close out action on the track today at 7 p.m. with the preliminary round. 

A new champion will also be crowned here as defending champion Rusheen McDonald has not entered. Antonio Watson, the 2023 World Championships gold medallist in Budapest, will lead the field with a season's best 45.11 seconds, while Tyrece Grant of Texas Wesleyan University, Raheem Hayles of Racers Track Club, Kimar McPherson, Zandrian Barnes of Sprintec, former champion Sean Bailey and Bovel McPherson all look set to advance.

Seven field event finals will be contested on today's opening day, with the senior women's long jump final at 3:02 p.m. in the spotlight. 

Event leader Nia Robinson, who finished third in her first Diamond League appearance in Stockholm with 6.82 metres, will face World Championships representative Ackelia Smith, who has a season's best 6.81m, and NCAA silver medallist Shantae Foreman, who has jumped 6.57m.

There will also be action among the senior women in the high jump at 5:10 p.m., with World Championships representative Lamara Distin leading the way.