Dwight Thomas - AP

OVER the years, Jamaica female sprint hurdlers led by the likes of Michelle Freeman, Delloreen Ennis-London, Vonette Dixon and last World Championship's gold medallist Brigitte Foster-Hylton have all put the country's name on the map.

But while the women have been holding their own on the world stage, the same cannot be said of their male counterparts. Except for Maurice Wignall who has been doing so for years and recently Dwight Thomas, there has been little success.

However, based on the trend for the past two years, we could see a change as with the 35-year-old Wignall not to be at his best anymore, the stage is now set for several youngsters, who are ready to take on the mantle in the event.

As early as this weekend, the future of the country's male 100 metres hurdlers will be on show, led by Thomas, a former Calabar athlete, presently ranked number five in the world, following his recent national record of 13.15 seconds done at the Bislett meet in Norway.

a strong field

The past two years have been great for another Calabar athlete in Andrew Riley, who shocked everyone at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the event last year, defeating a strong field to win the event for the University of Illinois. He moved from strength to strength despite a second-place finish at the NCAAA Championships this year and he is the country's second-ranked athlete in the event with a personal best of 13.32 seconds, which meets the 'A' qualifying standard for this year's World Championships.

Not far behind Riley is former Kingston College standout Keiron Stewart, who was a bronze medallist at the 2009 World Junior Championships in the event. Like Riley, he was a finalist at this year's NCAA Outdoor Championships for the University of Texas and his season and personal best of 13.42 seconds also meet the 'A' standard for Daegu.