Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer

Jamaica's gold medallist Sherone Simpson (right) and silver medallist Veronica Campbell celebrate their win in the women's 200m final at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne March 23, 2006. - reuters

Athens Olympic Games gold medallist, Veronica Campbell, and Commonwealth Games champion, Sherone Simpson, have dismissed talks of a rivalry between them on the track.

"I wouldn't say it's a rivalry," said Campbell, who recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Arkansas, on KLAS Sports Radio.

"Everybody wants to reach for the top, everybody wants to run well. " A rivalry sometimes can be good, but I know how to handle situations like those," she added.

Simpson agreed with Campbell that their track careers were not defined by the success or failure of the other.

"The same here, I don't think it's a rivalry," said Simpson, who ended the year as the top female 100m sprinter.

Rumoured reports

Since Simpson's breakthrough in 2004 when she threatened to upstage Campbell for the 100m crown at the National Champion-ships, the signs of a looming sprint battle were clear.

There were even reports that Campbell was forced to run the short sprint at the 2004 National Championships just to prove to Simpson that she was better.

Things got close in 2005 as both athletes were credited with 10.97 seconds in a photo finish at the National Championships, but Campbell went on to greater things, winning the World Championships silver in Helsinki.

The 2006 season, which just ended, proved to be Simpson's best by far and the one that saw her overtake Campbell as Jamaica's best female sprinter.

In what is considered her pet event, Campbell was badly beaten by Simpson in the 200m at the Commonwealth Games, but it was the repeat at the Jamaica Invitational in May, which sparked the rivalry debate.

NOT THE Jamaican spirit

Campbell added: "I am running my races, Sherone is running her races, she is doing well, we are just representing Jamaica. When it comes down to the final, everybody represents Jamaica, the land we all love," said Campbell.

"When you talk about a rivalry in a negative way it will affect us as Jamaicans. that's not the Jamaican spirit. we run together as a team, we just run to represent Jamaica and make Jamaica proud," Campbell added.

Simpson said their races shouldn't be looked at as a rivalry, but as something good for Jamaica's track and field. "We are both representing Jamaica," Simpson told Star Sports.

"It's good for Jamaica that both of us are running good and it shows that we have good talent in Jamaica," the University of Technology third-year student said.