How did the 100m Men’s Heats go in RIO?!

 

Let us start with Usain Bolt’s Heat. He had the usual slow start and had a fast, relaxed finish in 10.07. Andrew Fisher, a Jamaican running for Bahrain who Usain passed close to the line, came second in 10.12s.

Kemarley Brown, the Jamaican from Bahrain won his heat in 10.13s. The US athlete, Marvin Bracy clearly was not expecting such a fast Heat as a Jamaican was in disguise and Bracy came 3rd in 10.16s.

Gatlin won his heat easily in 10.01s.

Ashmeade (10.13) did what he needed to do as a Chinese athlete ran almost his fastest to win in 10.08s.

DeGrasse of Canada, one to watch as well as US’s Bromell won his heat well in 10.04.

Bromell was a casual 2nd in his heat. Ivory Coast’s Meite (PB 9.99) won that heat in 10.03.

Yohan Blake won his heat easily in 10.11 with a good start. A fellow Jamaican now representing Turkey, Jak Ali Harvey came 2nd in that heat in 10.14.

Richard Thompson of Trinidad & Tobago with Ato Boldon as his coach did not qualify with 10.29. Change of coach needed perhaps?

South Africa’s Simbine won the last Heat in 10.14.

Marvin Bracy and familiar names such as Vicaut, Kim Collins and LeMaitre went through as fastest losers.

Have you seen the Starting Lineup for the Women’s 100m Semis?!

There will be showdowns before the Final starting today at 7pm!

It is doubtful that young, Christania Williams will make the final but we expect Shelly and Elaine to go through. Christania is quite determined though and is a promising sprinter with good form for our near future.

Semi-Final 1

Photo: www.iaaf.org

Semi-Final 2

Photo: www.iaaf.org

Semi-Final 3 !

Photo: www.iaaf.org

Enjoy!

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100 is Ready for Rio! Are you?

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I’m looking forward to choosing from their menu and you should be too!

Biggest screen in town and best place to watch Sports at the moment. Big up.

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Disappointing Performance from Alia Atkinson in RIO

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Photo (2015): www.zimbio.com

Last night Jamaica was on pause to see Alia Atkinson medal and possibly win Gold in the 100m Breaststroke Final in RIO, but we cannot even say she fell short, she finished dead last, 8th in 1:08.10.

Janelle Atkinson, a former Jamaican Swimmer and Olympian who is not related to her, was commentating on ESPN Carribean and leading up to the race, took us through how she would be thinking and joked that she just wouldn’t want to come last. I do not think she thought that would even be close to the outcome of Alia’s race last night but sadly it was. She probably felt like swallowing her words after the race.

Leading up to the race, one of the other commentators, Alexis Nunes said that no matter the outcome, she has still achieved a lot and should be proud. She is the first Caribbean swimmer to reach 2 Olympic Finals. It was as if she was trying to prepare Jamaica for a possible failure. Because to be fair, these things can happen. However, I sat on my couch remaining positive, because from what I knew, with the chance Alia had and the previous disappointment before of being so close, she should have destroyed that field.

My previous blog outlined her chances as well as her competitors’. To recap a bit, Alia came 4th in the London 2012 Olympics with a time of 1:06.93.

Rūta  Meilutytė of Lithuania, currently the World Record holder of 1:02.36, was the only one that returned to the Finals in Rio amongst the other medallists from London. Alia is also capable of swimming as fast as Rūta, which I don’t believe the others have proven just yet. Alia won the gold at the World Championships in DOHA in 2014, beating Rūta who got the silver. Alia not only won the gold but equalled Rūta’s World record time of 1:02.36, which is her Personal best. She just needed to swim to her full potential or even close to it and the Gold would have been hers. Easier said than done though. What happened?!

Their was obvious rivalry between Russia and the USA. That would fire me up even more. I would be thinking, what about Jamaica?! It is time they realise we are going to be put on the map in swimming tonight. I’m 27. I may not EVER have this chance again. There are new flying fish in this pool every 4 years. Let’s do this. Now stop thinking because I need to hear that buzzer that is going to sound like a bullet!

What was goin on in Alia’s head before the race? It should have been that. I wish it was that. I wanted that Gold for her. Jamaica wanted that Gold for her. She usually has a great start. My world was not on pause for her just for the race. The anticipation was so huge I was sitting on my couch biting my nails for about 45 minutes before her race, putting aside things I had to do because I did not want the time to cut too close to the start of her race. So yes, this may all seem harsh while the majority of Jamaicans and our own media houses are saying, ‘Well done Alia!’ ‘You were brave!’ ‘You did us proud’. Yes she made us proud by reaching the Final for the second time, but she did not execute to her full potential or even close to. That is what Champions do at the Olympics. She was surely brave to continue swimming after possibly diving into the pool 2s after everyone else. Because where would she go from there? Her entire game plan would have to change and she already has a weak finish. At one point I am sure everyone thought she was making a comeback in the race, but it was too much for her. Her lack of alertness at the start unless she can tell us otherwise and her inability to recover in a small amount of time, hurt her. Poorly done Alia. She knows it too. It was said on the radio that she walked right past the Jamaican reporters after the race. I wouldn’t want to talk to anyone right after that huge disappointment either.

For those who may not know the outcome of the rest of the race, Lilly King of the USA took 1st with an Olympic record of 1:04.93 beating the Russian, Yulia Efinova (1:05.69), who was caught up in the doping scandal and booed when she walked out and was announced for the race. Bronze went to another American, Katie Meili (1:05.69). The defending Olympic Champ Rūta Meilutytė was a surprising 7th.

I am not an Olympian or even close to, but I am athletic and competitive. I seize the opportunity or opportunities to win at all costs. So let us not sugar-coat the result and say, ‘Well done Alia’, perhaps we should say, ‘Try again Alia’ or ‘Rise above Alia’. I know the instant reaction of most Jamaicans was, ‘Jah know, she come last’. It would have been worse if she was on the track. So let us not compromise or settle just because it is Swimming. We should have been much more upset. That is exactly why she needed to do better, to raise our expectations for the future of Swimming and expect nothing less than the best.

I am not saying I am not proud of Alia. I am very proud of her accomplishments, but she failed to seize the opportunity she had for an Olympic medal. I am so sorry she did not get what she worked so hard for. 4 years is a lot of time to work on a remedy to remove the salt out of the wound of just missing a Bronze medal at the Olympics. Last night I wished I could just hug her. I was sad and extremely distraught. So I cannot imagine how she felt. I feel like that song by Alaine, ‘Born again’ that plays on our local channel in the ad for Olympics, featuring Alia, was meant for her. ‘It’s my Time, It’s my Place, It’s my Destiny. No one can take away what was meant for me…’ That ad will be a sad one now, like a dagger everytime it is played…until Jamaica hits the track!

So the question is, if she does not give up, will she get an opportunity like this ever again? It would be hard, but never say never. Grey haired, David Plummer of the USA won Bronze in the 100m Backstroke at 30 years old and he will be 31 in October. He never gave up and put up the fight against the youngsters with his experience and determination. At his age in swimming, a Bronze probably felt as good as Gold.

Rise above Alia. Rise above.

Alia Atkinson swims in the Final tonight at 8:54pm! What are her chances?

Alia Atkinson swims in the Final of the 100m Breastroke tonight with the 5th fastest time of 1:06.52.

What exactly are Alia’s chances to medal in the event?

Let us recap the London 2012 Olympics where she came 4th with a time of 1:06.93.

Rūta  Meilutytė of Lithuania is currently the World Record holder. She set the World record of 1:02.36 at the 2013 FINA World Championships in Moscow. Of the medallists in London 2012, she is the only one that has returned to the Finals in Rio.

At the London 2012 Olympics, she was just 15 years old. By age 17, she was the first and only to win all possible swimming titles in all age groups.

She has been looking pretty consistent over the years at the different European Championships with times of 1.04.35 etc. She also edged out Alia at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan taking the silver and Alia, bronze.

How did she look in the Semis in Rio?

How did the others look in Alia’s Semi Final?

So, the questions are, how fast can Lilly King, Shi  Jinglin, Katie Meili and Yulia Efinova really go? And what kind of shape is World record holder, Rūta   Meilutytė in? Has she just been taking it easy? Has Alia just been taking it easy as well?

Because Alia is also capable of swimming as fast as RÅ«ta, which I don’t believe the others have proven just yet. Alia won the gold at the World Championships in DOHA 2014, beating RÅ«ta who got the silver. Alia not only won the gold but equalled RÅ«ta’s World record time of 1:02.36, which is now her Personal best.

If Alia swims even just a second slower than her Personal best in the Finals tonight, she is contention of not only an Olympic medal but that Olympic Gold medal.

Let’s go Alia! Strive for GOLD. You can do it!

In other RIO 2016 News,

GYMNASTICS:

Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Williams took Jamaican Gymnastics to the world, ending her floor routine with the famous Usain Bolt, ‘To di Worl’ pose. However she did not make it to the next round. Her weakest event was the uneven bars but she had a strong vault with 14.1 being her highest score. Great floor routine but low degree of difficulty, which factors into the scoring. The beam was ok for her as well. She remains in good spirits hoping she encouraged others from Ja and will see Gymnastics improve in Jamaica. Well tried Toni-Ann, you made history and made Jamaica proud.

TENNIS

Photo: i.stuff.co.nz

Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina upset World No. 1 Novak Djokovic from Serbia with a 7-6(4), 7-6 (2) win after being stuck in an elevator for 40 minutes before the match. The power went out, he had no phone signal and had no choice but to yell for help. He was rescued by his Argentinian handball team, nicknamed, ‘The Gladiators’.

Juan’s biggest accomplishment was winning the 2009 US Open, defeating Rafael Nadal in the Semifinal and Roger Federer in the Final.

Are you ready for RIO RIO RIO?!

Photo: @michaelsstores

The Games of the 31st Olympiad in Rio, Brazil began yesterday with football but officially start today! The Games will run from August 5-21. Athletics begin next Friday, August 12.

The Opening Ceremony will start at 6pm this evening at the Maracaná Stadium and will be shown on TvJ with a Pregame show at 4pm. No station seems to have full rights to show the Games so no channel should be blocked.

Brazil’s Olympic Village may not be ready but our Jamaican athletes surely are ready.

However, Suga does not expect the level of magic that occurred in Beijing and London to occur in Rio. Jamaicans need to understand that our Athletics is going through a change in generation, where veterans are either no more such as Kerron Stewart or not as fast after rounds as they used to be, e.g. VCB, and most of the young, upcoming athletes are not quite ready to deliver the quality we have been spoilt with over the past 2 Olympiads.

However, enough of being a Debbie Downer. Even though that may be at the back of my mind, I remain positive and know that veterans like Usain Bolt can still deliver and newcomers like Elaine Thompson should deliver. Omar McLeod and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce are on the ropes but there seems to be something about the Olympics that just puts a torch under our you know what and then sparks just fly.

We have newcomers to look forward to in Gymnastics such as Toni-Ann Williams, Yona Knight-Wisdom for Diving and Timothy Wynter for Swimming.

Will our Alia Atkinson finally get her Olympic medal? I sure hope so. She gets closer every time.

Swimming, Tennis and Basketball start tomorrow. Fret not for the hot races in Athletics because they are mostly in the evenings and on weekends. You can set in your calendars from now:

Women’s 100m FINAL:

Saturday, August 13 @ 8:35pm

Men’s 100m FINAL:

Sunday, August 14 @ 8:25pm

Women’s 200m FINAL:

Wednesday, August 17 at 8:30pm

Men’s 200m FINAL:

Thursday, August 18 at 8:30pm

The 4×100m Relay FINALS will be run on the Saturday before the Olympics end.

If you didn’t get your Free Jamaica Observer Olympics Supplement in the Sunday paper, you can be sure to stay tuned to Suga’s posted schedules, updates and commentary on this website and like Suga Lifestyle’s Facebook page.

There is also a Flow Rio 2016 App that you can download on your phones for free. Not sure if it is as user friendly as the London 2012 app yet but it seems to have a decent layout so far. Too early to endorse.

Well Suga Bears, let the Games BEGIN!!!

SuGa Global Readers

Happy 1st Anniversary to SuGa Lifestyle!

SuGa Global Readers

SuGa Lifestyle has kept readers up to date for the past year on Restaurant Ratings and Reviews, Recipes, Health and Fitness, GW ART, Charities and What’s Hot, for instance with popular Sports events or tournaments. Restaurant Reviews continuously proves to be the most popular posts amongst readers.

Conceptualizer, Gabrielle Williams has traveled across the United States, the Caribbean and as far as Japan, where the local cuisines and fine dining options are a must stop. On most weekends, regardless of which parish or country she may be in, she can be found satisfying her fancy of exploring the culinary talents on offer at the restaurant of her choice.

Gabrielle also had the pleasure of being a Table Talk Observer Food Awards Judge for 2014. She will unhesitatingly give restaurants, chefs or caterers fair recognition for their good work, objectively highlighting those that have been inconsistent, mediocre or low in quality and by offering suggestions for general improvement.

What is considered as a simple website with a slow start and hardly any promotion, has attracted over 7600 hits and readers each month from as far as Spain, Bulgaria, Israel, Italy, Malta, India, Algeria, Thailand and Uganda to name a few and sustains consistent readers from the USA, Canada, Barbados, UK, Cayman Islands, Brazil and ofcourse, Jamaica.

SuGa Lifestyle is happy to receive the continued support and feedback from its readers, whether it’s from Facebook, WordPress, LinkedIn, Google Groups, Twitter, word of mouth or other sharing avenues and looks forward to being a part of the journey of Jamaica rising as a Foodies Paradise.

Keep on reading SuGa and continue to make us the Go-to website to keep you in the know and aid in deciding on your dining destination. Thanks SuGa Readers!

It’s over. German Glory for the World Cup!

Germany gained their 4th star yesterday in a stunning match against Argentina in the World Cup 2014 finals staged at the historic, Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Though scoreless on both sides for full-time, it was a highly contested match all the way through. It was substitute, Mario Gotze in the 112th minute of extra time who made it happen for Germany, scoring a fantastic goal to win 1-0 aka One Love, a hot Bob Marley, as Jamaicans would say.

Congrats to the Germans! Russia 2018 next!

SuGa Lifestyle would like to thank all its readers, especially over the past few weeks from as far as Spain, Brazil, Bulgaria, Israel, Italy and India and the faithful readers from Canada, Barbados, UK, Cayman and ofcourse, Jamaica.  Stay tuned for more things to come in this sizzlin’ Summer.