Photo by PhotoRun.net
New Jersey's Myasia Jacobs and Najee Glass both ran on the victorious multinational medley relay teams for the Americas on Monday at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and won gold medals.
Jacobs , from Paramus Catholic, ran the leadoff 100-meter leg on the girls’ team. She was followed by two Bahamians, Tynia Gaither and Rashan Brown, who ran 200 and 300, and by fellow American Robin Reynolds of Florida, who ran the anchor 400-meter leg. They won the race in 2:05.62. Africa was second, in 2:06.19, and Europe third.
Glass, from St. Peter’s Prep, ran the 300-meter third leg on the winning boys’ team. He was the lone American on the team and was joined by Caio dos Santos of Brazil, Odane Skeen of Jamaica and Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic. The Americas ran 1:51.38 to defeat teams from Europe (1:52.11) and Oceania (1:52.71).
Over the weekend, Jacobs also won the silver medal in the individual 100 meters, finishing second in 11.64, behind Josephine Amaka (11.58) of Nigeria. The Americas anchor, Reynolds, a student at Jackson High School in Miami, won the individual 400, in 52.57. She was the only American to win an individual gold medal in track and field in these inaugural Youth Olympics. These Games, for athletes 15 to 17 years of age, continue for another week and involve 25 other sports.
Glass finished sixth in the “A” 400 final, running 47.65. The winner of that event was Santos -- the Dominican who anchored the winning relay team -- in 47.11. The Jamaican sprinter Skeen, who ran second leg, was winner of the boys’ 100, in 10.42.
Claudia Francis, of Queens, finished 12th in the girls’ 1,000 meters, in 2:55.73. The winner of that event was Tizita Bogale Ashame of Ethiopia, in 2:43.24.
American competitors also medaled in the girls’ 200 and in both javelin throws. In the 200, Olivia Ekpone of Germantown, Md., ran a lifetime-best 23.75, for third place. Hannah Carson, of Chandler, Ariz., finished third in the girls’ javelin, throwing 166-2, and Devin Bogert, of Tomball, Tex., won the silver medal in the boys’ javelin with an excellent 252-3 with the 700-gram javelin, somewhat lighter than the standard high school implement.
- Jack Pfeifer