Jamaica's Waquar DaCosta winning the CARIFTA Under-17 boys' 1500m in St. Kitts (© Anthony Foster)
Basseterre, St. KittsJamaica's World Junior Championships bronze medallists Yohan Blake and Carrie Russell won the male and female senior 100m titles on a wet afternoon when Dominica's Dillion Simon re-wrote the record books at Saturday's opening day of the 37th CARIFTA Games at the Bird Rock Athletics Stadium.
Many of the stars of these Games will go on to compete and medal st this summer's 12th IAAF World Junior Championships, Bydgoszcz, Poland, 8 - 13 July 2008.
Watching the first day's action at the CARIFTA Games were St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas, IAAF President Lamine Diack and IAAF Council Member Neville 'Teddy' McCook, who is the Area Representative.
Windy 10.20 in semis
Blake, 18, with a national junior and Games’ record in 2007 of 10.11 seconds, secured the senior boys’ 100m title in 10.32. He had earlier run 10.20 with a massive supporting wind (4.7m/s) in the semi-finals. Blake's teammate and World Youth champion Dexter Lee was second in 10.48 ahead of Trinidad & Tobago's Joel Dillion (10.57).
Russell, supported by a 2.5m/s wind, took the girls' title in 11.39 seconds. Hometown girl Meritzer Williams took second in 11.41 and Bahamian Sheniqua Ferguson was third in 11.50.
Simon's record came in the boys' Under-17 Shot Put. He propelled the shot 16.63m to break the previous mark of 16.27m set by Quincy Wilson last year.
In the Under-17 100m, Trinidad & Tobago's Michelle-Lee Ahye and Geno Jones took top honours. Ahye took the girls' title in 11.66 seconds ahead Alison Peter of United States Virgin Islands (11.91) and V'Alonnee Robinson of Bahamas (11.91).
Jones won the boys' race in 10.76 seconds ahead of Trinidad & Tobago's Moriba Morain (10.84) and Netherland Antilles' Christopher Garia (11.00).
Grenada won both sections of the boys' 400m. Kirani James, a silver medallist at last year's World Youth Championships, took the Under-17 title in 47.87 ahead of Jamaica pair of Javere Bell (49.08) and Nolan Williams (49.34) while Rondell Bartholomew won the Under-20 section in 46.86.
In the girls' 400m, Jamaica with Shericka Jackson (54.52) and Sandrae Farquharson (54.56) were first and second respectively in the Under-17 section, while Trinidad & Tobago's Janeil Bellille (53.57) beat Jamaica's pair of Kayon Robinson (53.77) and Alecia Cutenar (54.05).
The region's teenage middle distance king, Gavyn Nero of Trinidad & Tobago, captured the boys' Under-20 1500m in 3:56.14 ahead of Jamaica's pair of Kemoy Campbell (3:56.80) and Conroy Crossman (3:59.36), while Jamaica's Waquar DaCosta (4:09.78) won the boys' Under-17 title, beating Barbados duo of Matthew Wright (4:10.44) and Ibrahim Hinds (4:47.48).
Natoya Goule of Jamaica (4:33.69) and Mackola Joseph (4:45.22) gave Jamaica a one-two finish in the girls' Under-20 1500m while Antigua and Barbuda's Kenryca Francis (4:48.82) beat Jamaica's Carla Thompson (4:52.34) for the Under-17 title.
In the field, Raymond Higgs of Bahamas (2.10m) beat Jamaica's Machel Baker (2.05m) in the boys' Under-20 High Jump; Martinique's Daniella Sacama-Isidore (6.03m) beat Guadeloupe's Gaelle Gendrey (6.02m) for the girls' Long Jump title; Bahamas' V'Alonne Robinson (5.82m) beat Jamaica's Janieve Russell (5.72m) in the girls' Under-17 Long Jump.
Anthony Foster for the IAAF
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