Jamaica hold-off chasing hosts - CARIFTA Games - Day Two

Trinidad and TobagoThe home team needs just nine medals on the final day of competition at the XXXIV CARIFTA Junior Track & Field Championships to equal its best Games ever. On Sunday (27 March), Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) added 11 medals to its first-day haul of 12 at the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago. But Jamaica stayed well ahead, winning nine gold medals on Sunday.

Relay domination

The 400m relays were virtual microcosms of the overall medal count. The home team picks up a gold medal here and there, and plenty of silver, but Jamaica just keeps surging ahead with more gold.

Trinidad & Tobago concluded the day on the track on a triumphant note, the quartet of Marcus Duncan, Keston Bledman, Ricky Carew and Jamil James passing to a 41.05 second victory in the under-20 men's 400m relay. But that was the only relay gold for T&T, as Jamaica had been disqualified in the preliminaries.

In the U20 women's division, Shelly-Ann Fraser got a measure of revenge for her defeat in the individual 100m, as she breasted the line first to bring Jamaica home in 44.53. Individual 100m champion Kelly Ann Baptiste led T&T (44.76) to second place, while individual silver medallist Sherry Fletcher crossed in 45.41 to cop bronze for Grenada.

Jamaica and T&T were first and second in the under-17 division as well. Jamaica won the women's race in 45.43, a new meet record by 100th of a second, with T&T (46.59) second. Jamaica's young men won as well, stopping the clock at 42.06 to hold off T&T (42.27) for another relay title.

Quick over the sticks

The green, gold and black of Jamaica has also been virtually unbeatable in the Hurdles. Christina Mitchell (43.85) picked up a seventh U-17 women's 300m title in eight years for Jamaica. Dwight Robinson (53.67) won that country's fifth U-17 men's 400m Hurdles title in the past six years.

The figures are even more daunting at U-20 level. Sherene Pinnock shaved 1.5 seconds off her winning time from last year in Bermuda, turning in a 57.18-second performance to hold off teammate Nickeisha Wilson (57.38) for the 13th Jamaica win in 14 years of the U-20 women's 400m Hurdles.
 
Among the U20 men, it was another Jamaica 1-2, as Romel Lewis won the one lap Hurdles in 52.79, with Twayne Buchanan (53.36) picking up silver. Lewis' win makes this the 18th time since 1984 that a Jamaican has crossed the line first in this event. Barbados' Terry Marshall (53.69) was third.
 
Crushing distance defeats
 
Gavyn Nero stepped up from taking second in the U-17 men's 1500m run on Saturday, coming back to win the 3000m yesterday in convincing fashion. For the final lap and a half, the Trinbagonian was unchallenged as he crossed in 9:15.92, more than 15 seconds ahead of Chad Isaac (9:33.55) who took second for Grenada.
 
Another Trinidadian, Pilar McShine, surrendered her women's open 3000m crown meekly, failing to rise to the stiff challenge of Jamaica's Stacy-Ann Bell. Bell's 9:59.37 brought her home over 100m ahead of McShine (10:18.19) whilst Alika Morgan (10:20.24) earned Guyana's first medal, a bronze.
 
Throws produce indifferent performances
 
Annie Alexander expected nothing less than victory in the U-20 women's Shot Put. Slightly damp conditions may have affected performance, however, as the 18-year-old Trinidadian produced a best mark of just 14.62m to beat off Barbados' Keisha Walkes (13.97m) and 2004 silver medallist Tressa Anne Charles (13.85m) of St Lucia.
 
Jamaica's Geneva Greaves showed she is one to look out for in the future, winning the U-17 women's Discus Throw. Geneva flew the platter 35.42m on her second trial, with Gabrielle Nixon (32.15m) of the Bahamas unable to improve on her second-round throw, and Guadeloupe's Sidgie Vin (31.95m) unable to better her first attempt.
 
Barbados' Ramon Burgess joined Keisha Walkes (U-20 Discus Throw) as throwing champions. Burgess was the only one to surpass 50m in the U-17 men's Javelin Throw. Out of medal contention until his sixth and final throw, he unleashed a 51.01m effort that eclipsed the final trial of Hypolite Davis (48.90m) who ended with silver for the Commonwealth of Dominica.
 
The U-20 event was won by Carlos Morgan (58.75m) of the Cayman Islands. Unable to surpass his initial effort, he was challenged by Discus Throw silver medallist Adonson Shallow (58.34m) of St Vincent & the Grenadines. Ramon Farrington (58.01m) was further back, taking bronze for the Bahamas.
 
Jumping honours shared
 
Inconsistent winds in the small stadium had affected the jumps since Saturday. In the U-20 men's Long Jump, Jamaica's Alphous Jackson had a trailing win of just .8  m/s as he cleared 7.50m, whilst Tarik Edwards picked up his second silver medal (HJ) of these Games with a best Long Jump mark of 7.19m with a wind of 3 m/s.
 
Tina Ferguson (11.98m) moved up from sixth place finish in 2004 to take bronze for Bahamas in the U-20 women's Triple Jump. But new star Natalie Marie-Nely made distance of 12.96m on one just two valid attempts to win fold for Martinique. Bermuda's Latroya Darrell (12.29m) had a consistent series for second.
 
Gerrade Brown hopped, stepped and jumped his way to a distance of 14.66m, albeit with a trailing wind of 2.7 m/s, to win the U-17 men's Triple Jump. Martinique's Jeremie Varsovie (13.92m) also had a blustery performance, with a wind of 2.2 m/s. T&T's Kyron Blaise did not take advantage of a 3.8 m/s wind, but he used a 2.6 m/s breeze to cover 13.71m.
 
The U-17 women's High Jump went to Barbados' Jamiyla Jordan (1.65m), whilst the silver medal went to Jamaica's Tamika Grant, by virtue of her clean clearances up to 1.60m. Grenada's Jillian Stephen knocked the bar down on her first attempt at the final height cleared, and ended up in third.
 
T&T pick up combined points
 
A strong 800m run from Sasha Joyce of the Bahamas failed to get her back into contention in the women's open Pentathlon. T&T's Natoya Baird won the High Jump (1.72m, 879 points) and Long Jump (5.17m, 606) to end with 3286 points. Joyce won the two track events, but her total of 3126 points could only earn her silver.
 
Grenada took first and second in the men's open Heptathlon. Joel Phillip (4803) won the 200m dash (22.73) and High Jump (2.01m), and tied for Long Jump, but he was challenged all the way by Akidd Noel (4758), who also cleared 6.79m for Long Jump, threw the Javelin 49.27m and the Discus 32.00m, and ran 4:30.47 for the 1500m. T&T's Peter Carter was third.
 
On Monday (28 March), the sprint hurdles should provide some excitement, but the U-20 women's 200m and the U-20 men's mile relay are likely to leave the home crowd very happy. In the field, the U-20 category will be hot, with the men's Triple Jump, women's High Jump and women's Javelin Throw finals being contested.
 
Terry Finisterre for the IAAF