From the Fanstand with with Paulton Gordon

After the weekend adrenalin rush, travelling fans settled down on Monday to watch preliminaries for a number of events, followed by a brave run from Danny McFarlane in the finals of the 400-metre hurdles. The general sentiment was that Danny gave it his all and made us very proud. Kenia also performed with distinction but could not match the effort of Pamela Jelimo (Kenya), who obliterated the field in winning the 800 metres in a new world junior record.

Expectation rising

Our exploits in track and field, so far, are resulting in heightened expectations every time an athlete dons the colours and enters the track. As such, with two finals on Tuesday having fair Jamaican representation, the argument around the travelling contingent was about who would medal and what colour. As a prelude to the finals, in which we had interest, man of the moment Bolt jogged the semi-finals of the 200m, looking extremely bored and, as such, we wondered if he had dozed off.

Veronica led the trio of girls into the semi-finals of the women's 200 metres and the view was that she was as sharp as ever. Clearly, she intends to leave with an individual medal and her motivation seems very high after she missed out on competing in the shorter sprint.

Maurice Wignall appears to have recaptured some of his old fire as he won his heat in the 110-metre hurdles looking very sharp. Richard Phillips also advanced under the fastest losers rule.

Finals: 400w, 100 H w

National 400m champion Rose-Marie Whyte gave it all she had and Shericka Williams showed real guts and dug in to come away with unexpected silver. Some experts felt that although it was on the radar, a medal here was somewhat of a long shot. On a related note, we sat close to relatives of Sanya Richards, who got the bronze. Mention was made that she felt leg cramps before the start and could not report at her best.

The veteran hurdlers, Brigitte Foster-Hylton and Delloreen Ennis-London, were fancied to make the podium but, in a rush for the line, they were clipped by the smallest of margins. These ladies have served us well and we congratulate them for representing Jamaica with distinction.

As we approach the relays, the predictions and arguments are many, as to the make-up and running order of the relays. Can we challenge the Americans in the mile relay and should Shericka now anchor? What of the sprint relay? Should VC carry it home? Where should 'Lightning' strike?

The travelling fans are eager to see what today brings. Groups are practising the national anthem, and are saying that on the weekend it sounded so nice we want to hear it twice.

Sharon Richards (foreground), mother of Jamaican-born United States 400-metre bronze medallist Sanya Richards, watches her daughter from the stands at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, China, yesterday. - Photo by Paulton Gordon