SPORTS SECTION E
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2017
Miller-Uibo, Gardiner in the Diamond League Final today By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net haunae MillerUibo and Steven Gardiner continue their busy post-IAAF World Championships schedules on the Diamond League circuit. Miller-Uibo will be a part of a stacked field for the 200m while Gardiner will contest the 400m in the Diamond League Final today at Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich, Switzerland. The women’s 200m, scheduled for 2:24pm local time, will include the top three finishers from the recent World Championships in London – Dafne Schippers (Netherlands), MarieJosee Ta Lou (Ivory Coast) and Miller-Uibo, alongside reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson (Jamaica) Less than a week ago, Miller-Uibo decided to run the 100m at the Grand Prix Birmingham in Birmingham, United Kingdom, and finished eighth in 11.37 seconds. She appeared alongside Schippers and Thompson at a promotional press conference yesterday ahead of the Diamond League Final. “The 100 in Birmingham was basically for speed work, coach threw me in there so I was just excited to get some 100s in. Just making it to the finals was a great experience for me and to come out with a PB was great. “It was speed work, I was pleased with it and I’m excited for this 200m running against a lot of great athletes and looking to great competition,” she said. “Me personally, I’m not one that takes on a lot of pressure so everything I do in track and field is just fun
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NO.11 RANKED ANFERNEE SEYMOUR ON HOT STREAK AT THE PLATE FOR FIRE FROGS By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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SHAUNAE MILLER-UIBO smiles with her bronze medal won in the 200 metres at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in London on August 12.
STEVEN GARDINER bites his silver medal won in the 400 metres at the London World Championships. (AP Photos/Martin Meissner)
for me. Just to be able to compete with such a great class of girls and in a great country like Zurich. I’m excited and I’m just ready to compete.” The men’s 400m is scheduled for 3:43pm local time. Gardiner’s toughest challenge could come from Botswana’s Isaac Makwala who was forced out of the 400m World Championship final when he was placed in quarantine, suspected of having the norovirus. Gardiner and Makwala are the only two members of the field to dip under the 44-second barrier this
which athletes accumulated points through the season with double points in the finals, was replaced with a championship-style format in which earlier meets act as qualifying meets for the finals where the top eight or 12 athletes, depending on the event, will qualify. A total of 17 world champions and 14 Olympic champions from Rio are competing in Zurich. The participants have qualified in the previous 12 meetings of the Diamond League. Now the final competition decides the winner of the worldwide series. Miller-Uibo earned sev-
season. Other noteworthy competitors today include Gil Roberts of the United States and Kevin Borlee of Belgium. This year’s Diamond League circuit is the first to feature the new championship-style system in which overall event winners are determined only by the results of the final meet. The winner will receive the coveted Diamond Trophy, which is endowed with $50,000 dollars. The Diamond League’s format was completely overhauled last offseason. The Diamond Race system used in previous years, in
en points and ranked ninth with her lone 200m on the circuit, a 21.91 secondplace finish in May at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. Gardiner is ranked fourth in the 400m with a total of 16 points earned on a pair of Diamond League wins. He took first place in 44.60 in May in Doha, Qatar and again in 44.58 in June in Stockholm, Sweden. Vernon Norwood of the United States comes into the final as the highest ranked competitor with 19 points earned in four events.
THE international media has taken notice of Anfernee Seymour’s hot streak at the plate for the Florida Fire Frogs. Seymour was ranked No.11 on the latest edition of Baseball America’s “Prospect Hot Sheet” which recognises the top performing prospects in Minor League Baseball during the given time period. During the week of August 11-17, Seymour hit 1628 in eight games, including six multi-hit outings and raised his average 32 percentage points during the week from .254 to .286. Seymour is currently listed as the 25th ranked prospect in the Braves organisation, and has risen five spots since his move to Single-A Advanced. After an 0-4 game to halt the hit streak, Seymour continued his efficiency and hit 5-13 in the last three games. Since the call up to the Fire Frogs, Seymour has appeared in 78 games in the Florida State League. The 22-year-old outfielder is hitting .287 with 17 RBI, an OBP of .346, OPS of .711 scored 42 runs and stole 17 bases. Despite playing in just 78 of the team’s 118 games, he ranks fourth on the team in hits (84), fourth with triples and second in stolen bases. Seymour was promoted to Class-A advanced and joined the Fire Frogs in May. In his first game with the Fire Frogs, he hit leadoff, finished 1-4 and scored the only run of the game for his team in the Frogs’ 2-1 loss to Daytona. Prior to the promotion, Seymour was enjoying his
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McMinns looks to make immediate impact with Axemen By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net EUGENE McMinns is back at the top level of collegiate football in Canada and looks to make an immediate impact in his second stint with the Acadia Axemen. McMinns was one of the bright spots for the Axemen in their 20-17 preseason loss to the Saint Mary’s Huskies in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He established himself as a deep threat in the passing game with two receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns. After a scoreless first half, McMinns recorded a 44-yard touchdown reception on the Axemen’s opening drive of the second half. He struck again later on a 41-yard touchdown reception. The 6’1”, 190-pound wide receiver spent the 2015 season with the Axemen but left the programme the following year. In five games he finished with five catches for 101 yards and one touchdown. He had a breakout
game with two catches for 48 yards and a touchdown against McGill. And he also led Acadia with three catches for 53 yards in his team’s 27-0 win over Huskies. “As a player I would as physically nothing has changed I am still an athletic and explosive wide receiver,” he said. “Mentally as a player I understand the game of football more and I can say I am more of a student of the game by watching film with a closer attention to detail in order to have a better edge on my opponent. Also understanding my role on every play and performing it to the coaches’ design.” Axemen head coach Jeff Cummins told the team’s athletic website that the effort was ahead of the pace for a first preseason game. “I thought they played well. We had enough mistakes in the game to create some teachable moments. We had some opportunities for big plays,” he said. The Axemen will face the Mount Allison Mounties in
EUGENE McMinns in action.
Sackville, New Brunswick at 2pm this Saturday in the Atlantic University Sport regular season opener. Acadia is a member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and (AUS). They hold more conference and national championships than any other university in Atlantic Canada and has the highest number of Academic All-Canadians for primarily undergraduate universities in the country. In their history, the Axemen have appeared in four Vanier Cup national championships, winning two of those in 1979 and in 1981. Recently, the Axemen had their most success in the 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2012 seasons, when the teams finished first in the AUS and reached the Uteck Bowl all four years. In 2014, they finished 3-5 and lost in the semi-finals to St FX, 18-17. After two years with the Holland College Hurricanes, McMinns transferred from Holland College to join the Axemen. In two years with the
Hurricanes, McMinns developed into one of the team’s top playmakers as they claimed back-to-back Atlantic Football League titles in 2013 and 2014. McMinns was named the Holland College male Rookie of the Year as he finished with 21 receptions for 441 years and two touchdowns. He was also an impact player on special teams with 11 returns for 189 yards. Following football season, McMinns’ success continues on the track as a sprinter. He was named the Hurricanes’ male athlete of the week after he won both the 60m (7.32s) and the 200m (24.01s) at the Atlantic Indoor Track and Field Championships. He also won the 60 metre and 200 metre events at the Atlantic Indoor Track and Field Championships in Moncton, Canada. In his second season, McMinns caught three touchdowns, but saw his season cut short when he was sidelined due to a head injury in the AFL semi-finals.