Chat-bout.net - St Jago, Calabar set for big 4x400m battle at Gibson

St Jago, Calabar set for big 4x400m battle at Gibson

One of the events which will surely bring the house down at this Saturday's Gibson Relays will be the high school boy's 4x400 metres relay, which will be a championship event.

It will be the final event of the night, and track and field fans could see something special as it will be a 'dog fight' between the Javon Francis-led Calabar High and the Martin Manley-led St Jago teams.

Six years ago, a St Jago quartet, which included the likes of Yohan Blake, Nickel Ashmeade and Riker Hylton posted a record of 3:08.32, and this record will be under severe threat on Saturday.

At the recent Camperdown Classic St Jago downed the gauntlet, as they easily won the event in 3:10.40, and could have gone faster had World Youth 400 metres champion, Manley, not simply gone through the motions on anchor.

At the Ben Francis Invitational meet, both Ivan Henry and Nathon Allen underlined the strength of St Jago in 400 metres, as both were quite easy in clocking sub-49-second times, and with Kadesh Willis to join the team, they look set to run a fast time on Saturday and should start as favourites for the event.

Best anchor leg

Calabar will be led by their inspirational runner, Francis, one of the country's best anchor-leg runners based on what he did at the Penn Relays, the Carifta Games and the World Championships last year. The other likely members from the Calabar team looks to be Michael O'Hara, Jason Drake and Malcolm Campbell.

On paper, the St Jago team looks the stronger team, but the big question will be, if Francis gets the baton behind a much-improved Manley on anchor, can he overcome him? Many track and field pundits are touting Manley to upset Francis at Champs this year in the Class One 400 metres event, based on his pre-season preparation.

It's certainly set to bring an exciting end to the 2014 Gibson Relays, as this finale is expected to be a thriller, with the country's future in the one-lap event on show.

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