Jamaican Cyclist Alden Clunis Is Dead
Published: Thursday | April 17th, 2008

The Jamaican cycling fraternity is mourning the loss of local rider Alden Clunis, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a traffic accident on Thursday, April 10th along the Stony Hill to Temple Hall roadway. Clunis, who had been unconscious since the accident, was being treated at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), where he died.  Jamaica Cycling Federation boss Vaughn Phang said that he had received reports from the police that indicated Clunis, who recently returned from the Easter Grand Prix meeting in Trinidad & Tobago, was riding behind a truck along the Stony Hill road heading towards Temple Hall just after 5:00 Thursday morning when the accident occurred. According to Phang, eyewitnesses claim the truck slowed but Clunis, who was wearing a helmet, was unable to stop in time, veered out, and was hit by an oncoming bus.  The cyclist, he said, suffered head injuries and had not regained consciousness since the accident. He added earlier this week that doctors were "still doing tests", but things don't "look very good". Twenty-year-old Clunis, who graduated from Glengoffe High School and who qualified Jamaica for last year's Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was also the National time trial champion for 2007.  "With Jamaica having qualified for this year's Olympics, he (Clunis) was the one we were looking for down the road," Phang said.

(CMC) - West Indies batting legend Brian Lara says he was not pushed out of the West Indies team at the end of last year's Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean.  Speaking at a function held by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board in his honor, Lara said he opted to retire in order to make way for younger players.  "I was not pushed out the West Indies team but in fact I left on my own volition," said the 38-year old Lara.  "I enjoyed playing the game but I thought at that point to give the youngsters a chance and to also allow them to play under a younger captain."  Attending the function were President of Trinidad and Tobago, George Maxwell Richards, West Indies icons Clive Lloyd, Sir Garfield Sobers, Michael 'Joey' Carew, Deryck Murray, cricket historian and principal of the UWI Cave Hill Campus Professor Hillary Beckles and executive members of the TTCB.  In reflecting on his 17-year career, Lara revealed that his lowest moment was the 1998 tour of South Africa.  "The financial issue heading to South Africa with the WICB and the players not budging was the lowest moment," Lara said.  "We were in an English Hotel and could not move because we were hounded by the British media. I remember one English newspaper writing that we were washing our dirty laundry in public and I regret this moment the worst. Looking back on it I think the whole matter could have been handled differently."  He said, however, the highest moment in his career was the Australian tour of the West Indies in 1998, when he was appointed captain. 

(Jamaica Report) Seventeen high schools in Jamaica and the University of Technology (UTech) received $30,000 and cards to "phone home" in assistance from corporate communications giants Cable & Wireless to help offset expenses to field teams at next week's Pennsylvania Relay Carnival at the University of Pennsylvania's, Franklin Field, in Philadelphia.  Alpha Academy, Ardenne, Calabar, Camperdown, Campion, Clan Carthy, Edwin Allen, Kingston College, Jamaica College, Manchester, Mona, St Andrew, St George's College, St Jago, The Queen's school, University of Technology, Vere and Wolmer's Boys all received checks plus Jus Talk calling cards worth $1000 each, which Cable & Wireless' vice-president of Corporate Communications, Errol Miller, said was equal to approximately 200 minutes talk time from the USA to Jamaica at a small function at the company's corporate headquarters on Carlton Crescent.  Middle distance runner, Natoya Goule of Manchester, Vere sprinter Jura Levy, and Latoya McDermott of St Andrew, will be among the Jamaican athletes competing at this year's Penn Relays which will be held from April 24-26.  This is the 16th year Cable & Wireless has come to the assistance of local schools sending teams to the Penn Relays with its sponsorship topping the $3 million mark.  "We don't only say we are committed to Jamaica's young people, we demonstrate it at every turn, every chance, we get," Miller said.  Jamaican schools won four relays at last year's Penn Relays, while individual athletes won three field events. St Jago boys won the 4x100m relay in a record 39.96 seconds and Edwin Allen won the girls' equivalent. Herbert Morrison won the Small Schools boys' 4x100m in a record 41.32 seconds and Kingston College captured the 4x800m event. KC's Tarik Batchelor was a winner in the long jump while Robert Peddlar of Wolmer's and Vere Tech's Kimberley Williams won the triple jump events.

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