Olympians Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce lit up 33rd Milo Western Relays

Olympians Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce lit up yesterday's 33rd Milo Western Relays at the Catherine Hall Stadium, in Montego Bay, displaying dazzling speed in anchoring their respective teams to victory in the male and female 4x100 metres for clubs and institutions.


However, while Powell's magnificent burst of speed anchored his team to a record 38.53 seconds, the 43.68 done by Fraser-Pryce and her teammates fell short of the record 43.46, which the 2006 MVP team established.


Powell, who looked extremely fit, was quite pleased with his performance, describing the burst of speed that took him across the finish line in front as a "good run". Powell's effort was supported by Nester Carter, Ainsley Waugh and the veteran Michael Frater.

"I felt quite good out there. It is always a pleasure to come down here to Montego Bay and perform for my fans on this side of the island," said Powell, as he tried to make his way through a sea of autograph-seeking fans.

"It is good that we got the record," he added.

Fraser-Pryce, who recently completed a short IAAF ban, was a picture of composure as she got the baton in front after good early legs by Ayana Wilson, Sherone Simpson, and Sherika Williams, and raced to the finish line without being seriously challenged.

"I am happy with the way I ran today and the fact that the fans appreciated our effort," said Fraser-Pryce. "I always enjoy running here in Jamaica."

While he was pleased with the calibre athletes that were on display, meet director Ray Harvey was somewhat disappointed with the turnout of fans.

"It was good to see the likes of Asafa and Shelly-Ann coming here and running real fast," said Harvey. "It is a pity that we did not have a bigger turnout of fans but we just have to keep plodding along because we need an event like this here in the west."

One of the early highlights of yesterday's meet was the presentation of The Gleaner's/Youthlink award, which had three recipients for the first time. The three awardees were world junior 100m champion Dexter Lee, Youth Olympic 100m gold medallist, Odean Skeen of Wolmer's Boys' School and Herbert Morrison High's rising star athlete, Seidatha Palmer.