Athletes from the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) region enjoyed a great season, winning six gold medals in the Athens Olympic Games. The CAC recently named Bahamian 400m Olympic Champion Tonique Williams-Darling and Dominican Republic 400m Hurdler Felix Sanchez as 2004 Athletes of the Year.

Sanchez, who was born in New York City and now lives in California, had another enviable year. Saving his best for the Athens Olympic Final Sanchez won in a seasonal best of 47.63. He had a total of five sub 48secs races last year.

Williams-Darling ended Mexican Ana Guevara’s winning streak in the 400m. She shared the Million Dollar Jackpot after an undefeated season in the TDK Golden League, and took the Olympic title in Athens.

Running under fifty seconds for the first time this year, the Bahamian Athlete of the Year had seven sub 50secs performances and broke the previous Bahamian record of 49.28 set by Pauline Davis-Thompson in the Atlanta Olympic final with a 49.25 performance in Rome, 49.15 performance in Paris, and a personal best of 49.07 in Berlin.

Alpheus Finlayson for the IAAF