By NAN Sports Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Oct. 4, 2019: Here are the top stories making Caribbean sports news for the week ending, Oct. 4, 2019:
Climate Change And The Athletes In Doha
By Ann Walters
As many watched from the television screens of our homes as Brauma Dabo of Guinea-Bissau helped the heat struck, delirious Jonathan Busbo of Aruba to finish the 5000-m race, few may have realized forcefully that sports sustainability is intimately linked to stabilizing climate change.
That’s according to Dr. Rachael Irving, the first person and firstwoman appointed professor of Biochemistry and Sports Science at the University of the West Indies.
Professor Irving, who has collaborated with industry leaders in medicine and science worldwide and has published widely, including in eminent journals such as Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise and the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sport, said while some athletes like Dina Asher-Smith and Shelly-Ann Frazer-Pryce were able to perform in Doha despite the brutal heat others like Elaine Thompson, Michael Norman, Dafne Schippers and Omar McLead had old injuries acting up as muscles failed to adopt to these unusual surges in temperature.
Dr. Irving, whose broad areas of academic specialization include atypical diabetes, metabolic pathways, sports testing and cardiovascular sufficiency studies, anti-doping research and atypical analytical findings in racial groups, noted that even though the Doha marathon was held at midnight, temperatures were still above 30 degrees Celsius and many runners were carted off in wheelchairs to hospital as their bodies collapsed.
The Jamaican-born professor who has worked on bio-energetics and heat regulation in athletes and is now being proactive and has began the design of temperature sensitive, bioactive sport clothing using indigenous material.
“These materials are able to withstand temperature surges ,are breathable and can serve as individual air conditioned suits,” she revealed to News Americas, while noting that many of the better funded athletes with temperature controlled clothing competing well while many of the elite athletes from African and the Caribbean were not equipped to adopt to the climate in Doha.
“We need the big companies like Nike, Adidas and Under Armour to consider inputs from the black scientists as they design sports clothing and equipment,” Dr. Irving urged. “Many of the Caribbean and African athletes have massive shoe contracts yet running shoes were not designed to cool the feet and sense when the hamstrings are maladjusted. Caribbean scientists must become a part of the negotiating group that advocate for better equipment for our athletes as they navigate climate change.”
Caribbean Has 8 Medals At IAAF 2019
Two Caribbean nations have managed to medal for the region at this year’s IAAF World Championships in Doha. Jamaica with six medals, is now in third place on the medal table, just behind the US and China. Jamaica’s athletes have bagged two gold medals, two silver and one bronze so far. The gold medal winners were Shelly Ann-Fraser-Pryce in the women’s 100-m and Tajay Gayle in the men’s long jump, where he dominated the final to win with 8.69-m.
Cuba and the Bahamas have secured the other two medals for the region to date – one bronze and one silver respectively. The 2019 World Championships wrap up on Sunday, Oct. 6th.
The Irish Are Coming To The West Indies
Irish eyes will be smiling on the West Indies in the new year as the Ireland cricket squad gets ready for a limited-overs tour of the Caribbean.
The side will play three ODIs and three T20Is in Barbados, Grenada, and St. Kitts between January 7th and Sunday January 19, 2020.
The full matches are: ODIs
January 7, Kensington Oval, Barbados
January 9, Kensington Oval, Barbados
January 12, National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
T20Is
January 15, National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
January 18, Warner Park, St. Kitts
January 19, Warner Park, St. Kitts
Fast Bowler Quits Windies For Middlesex
West Indies fast bowler Miguel Cummins has quit the West Indies squad to sign on with Middlesex.
Cummins has played 14 Tests and 11 ODIs, with his most recent West Indies appearance coming in the Antigua Test against India in August. He previously played under Middlesex’s coach, Stuart Law, when he was in charge of West Indies between 2017 and 2018. Middlesex, who were champions in 2016, finished eighth in Division Two in Law’s first season in charge.
CPL Counting Down To Finale
The Caribbean Premier League (CPL) cricket tourney, continues this weekend. The Guyana Amazon Warriors lead the points table with 16 followed by the the St. Kitts Patriots with 10 and the Trinbago Knight Warriors with 9. Tridents have 8 points followed by St. Lucia Zouks with 7 points. Jamaica’s Tallawahs is at the bottom of the table with 4 points so far. The match schedule for the tourney as it continues is as follows:
October 4, Friday
Match 30- Guyana Amazon Warriors vs Trinbago Knight Riders (Guyana)
October 6, Sunday
Qualifier 1 – 1st v 2nd
Eliminator – 3rd v 4th
October 10, Thursday
Qualifier 2- Winner of Eliminator v Loser of Qualifier 1 (Trinidad)
October 12, Saturday
Final- Winner of Qualifier 1 v Winner of Qualifier 2 (Trinidad) (Oct. 13)
