Brown and Burns set up 100m clash at Trinidad’s Track and Field Championships 

Trinidad and Tobago's World 
junior 100m record holder 
Darrel Brown (James Davis/
Photo Images)

by Gary Smith
for Caribbean Net News

Thursday, June 23, 2005

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad:  Trinidad and Tobago's top two male sprinters Darrel Brown and Marc Burns will come face-to-face in the 100-metres at this year's two-day Sagicor National Open Track and Field Championships at the Hasely Crawford Stadium starting on Saturday.

Brown the reigning World Championships silver medallist has joined forces with Burns, a former Auburn Tigers sprinter in Alabama last year, but both athletes are now back in Trinidad to fine-tune for the nation's championships. 

"I'm not the man to beat, I'm just another person trying to compete and hoping to give everyone down there a show," Burns told the Trinidad Express Monday.

Burns and Brown highlighted the 100m at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica which saw Brown running away with the victory in a championship record 10.09-seconds with Burns following him at 10.18.

This season Burns has run a personal best 10.11 seconds in capturing the men's 100m at the Felix Sanchez Invitational in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on May 14 and he says that everything is gelling at the moment. 

"I'm satisfied with my progress so far and looking forward to bigger and better things," Burns said.

Brown’s fastest this season is a 10.12 performance, established at the Jamaica International Invitation in Kingston, Jamaica, on May 7. The World junior record-holder at 10.01, said his goal for Saturday’s championships is just to win the national title and worry about the time later.

"I'm just going for the win, and whatever time appears, appears," Brown told the Express.

In their last head-to-head clash at the 2005 Banamex Galatlética, on June 11 in the northern parts of Mexico city, Burns defeated his training partner but was edged out into second place by American J.J. Johnson as both runners broke the tape at 10.18, while Brown took the bronze in 10.31. 

At last year’s Sagicor championships, Burns finished third behind recently retired sprinter Ato Boldon and Nicconnor Alexander, who will also be a factor this year along with the inform Jacey Harper. In that same race Brown sustained an injury to his right hip and finished eighth.

Collegiate Kelly Ann Baptise is set to battle with defending champion Fana Ashby for the women’s dash title. Baptiste is currently the top rank female sprinter on the IAAF top list with a modest 11.26-sec, achieved in Bloomington in the latter part of May.

Others expected to be on show are: Ato Modibo and Damion Barry in the men’s 400m as well as Rhonda Watkins and Candice Scott in the women’s section of the field events.

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