SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – Jamaican female sprinter Yanique Dayle was at a loss for words trying to describe her feelings after winning the country’s first gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games Wednesday night.

The 24-year-old Dayle, Jamaica’s only female representative selected in the track events, clocked 22.80 seconds to win the women’s 200m final.

Cuba’s Yunisleidy Garcia was second in 23.05, while third went to the Dominican Republic’s Fiordaliza Cofil in 23.07. It was Dayle’s second medal of the championships after she won the silver medal in the women’s 100m final on Monday.

“Words can’t explain how grateful and thankful I am to be representing Jamaica here,” said a very emotional Dayle after Wednesday night’s event.

“I am the only girl that got selected to run on the track due to the fact there are the junior and senior championships back home, and so I went out there and delivered the gold medal for the country,” she said.

“I am very grateful for the win because I have been working very hard throughout the season and I just continue to trust myself and my coaches, and so I just went out and executed like my coaches said and I came out on top,” Dayle said.

The former Hydel High School standout, who is now attending Ohio State University in the United States, pointed out that Wednesday’s gold medal is a massive boost for her career because this is the first senior championships title of her career.

“I really wanted to add a gold medal to my resume moving forward because I want to continue this as a career, and so, for me, coming out here and getting a gold for my country, I am very thankful,” Dayle said.

“Honestly, this is certainly added motivation for me moving forward in my career because I now have a senior title, and so I am going to work a lot harder to achieve even more,” she stated.

Dayle, who has a personal best times of 11.05 in the 100m and 22.64 in the 200m, explained that she has always believed in herself, which has led to her winning two medals at the championships.

“I would say never limit yourself because tomorrow is not promised to no one, so just continue to trust in your training and trust in God.

“Also trust in your coaches and most importantly trust in yourself because if you have been working all season, there is no way no boy can tell you that you can’t do it, and so that was my motivation coming into this championships,” Dayle said.