14 JAMAICANS ORLANDO Bennett and LaFranz Campbell will feature in the 110m hurdles at an Olympic Development meet this weekend. Bennett has a career best time of 13.18 which was clocked in last August in the Bahamas, while Campbell’s time of 13.41 was done in June last year in Kingston. They will run alongside the USA’s Devon Allen, who is currently sixth in the world in the event. Allen, a threetime US national champion, is a twotime Olympian. He reached the finals in both the 2016 in Brazil and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Allen defeated Jamaican rival Omar McLeod last year with a time of 13.11. The mark set a Penn Relays record, topping Renaldo Nehemiah’s 1979 time of 13.29. He has bettered that with a personal-best time of 12.84. Other competitors include the Brazilian Rafael Pereira, who also competed at the Olympics in Japan. He is ranked ninth in the world with a personal-best time of 13.17. The time is a South American record he set last June in Rio de Janeiro at the Brazilian Championships. He also owns the South American record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.58. Outside of Allen, the USA has qualified three others for the race. Michael Dickson and Jaylan McConico each has the fourth-best times in the field with 13.23. Both hit their marks in the summer of 2021. Louis Rollins also joins the group with a personal-best time of 13.43, done last May in Kansas. The 127th running of the Penn Relays is set for April 27-29 at Franklin Field. It is one of the oldest and largest track and field events in the country, with over 15,000 athletes competing across three days ranging from high school, college, professional, and masters. OLYMPIC DEVELOPMENT MEN’S 110M HURDLES FIELD: Devon Allen (USA): 12.84 Rafael Pereira (Brazil): 13.17 Orlando Bennett (Jamaica): 13.18 Michael Dickson (USA): 13.23 Jaylan McConico (USA): 13.23 LaFranz Campbell (Jamaica): 13.41 Louis Rollins (USA): 13.43 Jamaican sprint hurdlers Bennett, Campbell for OD event at Penn Relays Orlando Bennett (centre) competes in the 110m hurdle event at the 2019 IAAF World Athletic Championships held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on Monday, September 30, 2019. GLADSTONE TAYLOR/MULTIMEDIA PHOTO EDITOR Oly Devon Allen. CONTRIBUTED THE WEEKLY GLEANER | APRIL 17 - MAY 23, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | SPORTS
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