Golden Night For club MVP

Photo: Golden Cleat winners Kaliese Spencer and O’Dayne Richards

The Maximizing Velocity and Performance ( MVP) Track Club swept the top awards at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA)/Scotiabank Golden Cleats Awards last Friday night at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel.

The major awards went to first winners in Shot putter O’Dayne Richards and 400m Hurdler Kaliese Spencer who both had outstanding seasons on the track and in the field. Both athletes were left elated and beaming with pride as they latched on to the Laura Facey-sculpted trophies.

Richards got an early birthday day gift for his historic feat, becoming Jamaica’s first gold medallist in the shot putt at the Commonwealth Games, and in the process establishing a Games and National record 21.61 metres.

Richards a many time CAC and World University Games medalist also finished second at the Continental Cup and had creditable performances on the circuit. He was guided throughout the season by Coach and Motivator Linval Swaby, throwing coach at MVP who was also among the nominees for the Coach of the year award.

Richards expressed his shocked at copping the top prize. He was quoted as saying; “I am very surprised because I really thought that Rasheed Dywer would have got it, as it was joy to see him going below 20 seconds in the 200m,”

Former Mannings School athlete, Spencer was the clear favourite on the the night for the female award and it came as no surprise when she was announced has the winner following a sensational season in which she won several major titles which included the national title, Commonwealth Games and the IAAF Continental Cup before wrapping up another diamond league win.

She also won double silver medals in the 400m at the 2014IAAF World Indoor Championships.

The reward on the night is now a motivation for her in the upcoming she season as she expressed in her post award interview.

“This is just a stepping stone, and I am happy that last season was a great one and will inspire me to train harder and, hopefully, 2015 will be a much better season,” said Spencer.

The man at the helm of the MVP track club, Stephen Francis, copped the Coach of the Year award for another year, after he led several of his charges to various world titles throughout the past season. These include the likes of female nominees Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who won the world 60m crown indoors and Stephanie-Ann McPherson the CommonWealth Champion and Bronze medalist Christine day. His club had four of the ten nominees ( both genders), that were vying for the respective awards on the night.

The Howard Aris Award – given to an athlete for outstanding performance in non-traditional events – was awarded to 2014 World Junior 400m hurdles and Youth Olympics 110m hurdles champion Jaheel Hyde of Wolmers Boys.

The Junior male and female athlete of the year award went to Hyde and Youth Olympics 200m Champion, Natalliah Whyte of St Jago. They both received the Howard Aris Scholarships, each valued at $250,000, tenable at the University of the West Indies, University of Technology or G.C. Foster College.