News18 Jul 2011


Jamaica tops medal table in Mayaguez - CAC Champs, final day

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Korene Hinds en route to victory in Belem (© Bruno Miani/CBAt)

Mayaguez, Puerto Rico – Steeplechaser Korene Hinds, the women's 4x400m Relay quartet and sprint hurdlers Vonette Dixon and Eric Keddo propelled Jamaica to the top of the overall medal standings of the 23rd Central American and Caribbean Championships, which concluded on Sunday (17) in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.


Trailing behind Mexico on Saturday, the Island’s four wins on Sunday took her overall crop to 10 gold, six silver and 10 bronze for 26 medals in total, enough to lead over Mexico (7-6-7), Trinidad and Tobago (6-3-5), Bahamas (5-2-3) and Cuba (5-2-0).


A three-time World Championships medallist, 35-year-old Dixon produced the highlight of the day with her impressive 12.77 win in the 100m Hurdles, a season’s best that that now ranks her a tied 11th on the 2011 world lists.


Dixon brought the CAC 100m Hurdles title back to Jamaica for the first time since 2003, when she was third at only 17 years of age.


Colombia’s Brigitte Merlano and Lina Flores were pushed to join the sub 13-second club as the former improved her national record to 12.89 and Flores clocked 12.94 for bronze.


Second at the 2011 CAC Games on the same track, Keddo savoured the gold this time in the 110m Hurdles with a personal best of 13.49. Local Hector Cotto equalled his national record of 13.54 in second, ahead of Colombia’s Paulo Villar (13.60).


Facing local favourite and CAC Games champion Beverly Ramos, Hinds’ experience prevailed as she ran 9:54.67 to grab the 3000m Steeplechase gold, better than her second place in the 1500m on Friday. She was also close to the Championships record of 9:54.01 set by countrywoman Mardrea Hyman in Nassau 2005, when she was second.


Ramos had to be content with the silver medal in 9:58.11.


Jamaica sealed her overall victory in the 4x400m Relay, as 400m Hurdles winner Andrea Sutherland, 400m winner Shereefa Lloyd, 800m bronze medallist Natoya Goule and Patricia Hall joined efforts to stop the clock in 3:29.86, well ahead of the Dominican Republic (3:34.73) and Trinidad & Tobago (3:34.84). Hall also anchored the 4x100m Relay squad to silver on Saturday.


Bahamas had a brilliant day with all its five gold medals won on Sunday. Bianca Stuart took the Long Jump in a national record (6.81m) and Trevor Barry (2.28m) improved from second to gold in the High Jump, ahead of Antigua and Barbuda’s defending champion James Grayman and Saint Lucia’s Darwin Edwards, both with 2.25m.


Nivea Smith (22.80) and Michael Mathieu (20.60) dominated the 200m, the latter beating defending champion Rondell Sorillo of Trinidad and Tobago by just four hundredths of a second.


In the final race of the Championships, Bahamas narrowly beat Trinidad and Tobago for the 4x400m gold (3:01.33 for 3:01.75).


Three of the man who featured in the silver medal winning team in Cali 2008, finally celebrated gold, the first one for Bahamas since Nassau 2005. Ramon Miller, Michael Mathieu and 2001 400m World Champion Avard Moncur were now joined by starter Latoya Williams. Jamaica held on for third in 3:02.00.


Other notable winners on the final day were Trinidad and Tobago’s Cleopatra Borel in the Shot Put (19.00m) and Haiti’s Samir Layne in the Triple Jump with a season’s best of 17.09m, better than his bronze medal performance at the CAC Games on the same track last year.


Mexico’s Gabriela Medina, in her second season after maternity, took the 800m in a personal best of 2:01.50, confirming her goal to break Ana Gabriela Guevara’s 13-year-old national record of 2:01.12. Cuba’s 2006 CAC Games champion Andy Gonzalez improved from silver in Havana 2009 to gold here in 1:48.15.


Puerto Rico added two more gold in the Half Marathon, thanks to Michelle Coira (1:21:07) and Luis Collazo (1:07:08).


Venezuela’s Milangela Rosales produced the second championship record of the 2011 edition as she walked the 10,000m in 47:19.91, half a minute faster than her previous national record and 10 seconds better that the 18-year old mark of 47:29.6 set by Mexican Eloisa Perez in Cali '93.


The 23rd CAC Championships, being held in Puerto Rico for the fourth time and back here since 1997, drew a participation record of 503 athletes (287 men and 216 women) from 32 countries. Nineteen nations achieved at least one medal.


In its 44 year history, the CAC Champs has witnessed the emergence of the region’s best talents, who have gone on to enjoy success on world stage. Just to name a few: Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, Grace Jackson and Veronica Campbell-Brown, Bahamas’ Pauline Davis-Thompson, Cuba’s Ana F. Quirot, Javier Sotomayor and Dayron Robles, among many others.


Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF


The 2011 CAC champions are as follows:


MEN -

100m       Keston Bledman       TRI     10.05 (-0.5)      

200m       Michael Mathieu       BAH     20.60 (1.1)

400m       Renny Quow                         TRI       45.44      

800m       Andy Gonzalez         CUB   1:48.15.

1500m       Nico Herrera             VEN     3:44.92

5,000m     Jose Uribe                 MEX   14:08.10      

10,000m     Juan Carlos Romero MEX  28:54.06 CR

Half Mar   Luis Collazo               PUR   1:07:08

3,000m SC  Luis Ibarra               MEX     8:55.86  

110m H     Eric Keddo                 JAM     13.49 (0.7)

400m H     Leford Green           JAM     49.03      

HJ         Trevor Barry               BAH     2.28

PV         Cristian Sanchez     MEX   5.00m

LJ         Tyrone Smith                         BER     8.06m  (0.8)

TJ         Samir Layne             HAI     17.09m  (-0.5)

SP         O'Dayne Richards               JAM   19.16m

DT         Jason Morgan           JAM     60.20m

HT         Roberto Janet           CUB   71.65m

JT         Guillermo Martinez CUB   81.55m

Decathlon  Marcos Sanchez       PUR   7397

20,000m W  Allan Segura                 CRC           1:28:56.08

4x100m     Jamaica                               38.81      

(Lerone Clarke, Dexter Lee, Jason Young, Oshane Bailey)

4x400m     Bahamas                               3:01.33

(Latoya Williams, Avard Moncur, Michael Mathieu, Ramon Miller)


WOMEN -

100m         Semoy Hackett         TRI       11.27 (0.5)      

200m         Nivea Smith               BAH     22.80 (1.4)

400m         Shereefa Lloyd         JAM     51.69      

800m         Gabriela Medina       MEX   2:01.50

1500m         Sandra Lopez           MEX   4:22.65      

5000m         Marisol Romero         MEX   16:05.68      

Half Mar     Michelle Coira           PUR   1:21:07

3,000m ST     Korine Hinds                         JAM     9:54.67

100m H       Vonette Dixon           JAM     12.77  (0.9)

400m H       Andrea Sutherland   JAM   56.75

HJ           Lavern Spencer       LCA     1.82m

PV           Keisa Monterola       VEN   4.00m

LJ           Bianca Stuart             BAH     6.81m (0.7)

TJ           Ayanna Alexander  TRI       13.50m  (-1.3)

SP           Cleopatra Borel         TRI       19.00m

DT           Denia Caballero       CUB   62.06m    

HT           Eli Johana Moreno   COL   67.97m

JT           Freisa Nunez             DOM 54.29m NR

Hep           Gretchen Quintana   CUB 5704  

10,000m W     Milangela Rosales     VEN 47:19.91 CR      

4x100m       Trinidad & Tobago               43.47

(Magnolia Howell, Michelle-Lee Ayhe, Ayanna Hutchinson, Semoy Hackett)

4x400m       Jamaica                                 3:29.86

(Andrea Sutherland, Shereefa Lloyd, Natoya Goule and Patricia Hal)


CR - Championships Record, NR - National Record


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