It’s do or die for Fortune, Greene

May 22, 2009 Sports

– as Caribbean Games hope fades

Rawle Greene

National sprinters Alisha Fortune and Rawle Greene are in a historic battle to compete at the inaugural Caribbean Games in Trinidad and Tobago. The duo has one more chance to qualify at the Brooklyn Games in the Twin Island Republic.
Fortune and Greene failed to reach the qualification standards in the 100 and 200m races at last weekend’s Austin Sealy Classic and are likely to depart Guyana today to attempt the qualification standard at a final meet in Trinidad.
Fortune ran 12.1 seconds in the 100m last weekend and 24.6 in the 200m, which was well above the 11.50 and 23.80 seconds required respectively. Greene did a slow 10.71 time in the 100m and was disqualified in the 200m.

Alisha Fortune

The male qualifying standards set for both races are 10.40 and 21.00 seconds respectively and Greene had a reality shock when he told Kaieteur Sport that his chances at competing in the historic event looks bleak at the moment.
“I had a good chance if I didn’t false start in the 200m but I have this weekend [Trinidad] to qualify. The closing date for qualification is just around the corner and if I do not run this weekend, it looks like a big no, no for me,” he said.
The initial qualification period for athletes hoping to compete at the Games was between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2008 but apparently the date for entries was moved back to around mid-June to facilitate early and late entries.
This newspaper was informed that Fortune was definitely expected to leave today for the meet in Trinidad but Greene’s status could not be confirmed up to press time. He uttered prior reservations about getting leave from work.
Fortune said that the whether in Barbados affected her performance. She indicated that it was “cold” and “windy”. In addition, she said that injuries earlier in the year prevented her from the necessary preparations for the meet.
She expressed more optimism over qualifying for the Caribbean Games. “I don’t feel that it would be hard. I have my chance at the Brooklyn Games and I definitely feel that I will qualify in [especially] the 200m,” Fortune highlighted.
The two athletes are among the locally-based that have not qualified for the event in their respective discipline. They will have to be restricted to relays that have no qualification standard if they do not qualify for individual events.
(Edison Jefford)