Jamaica lead Carifta after day two with 49 medals
Jamaica are well on their way to topping the medals tables at the 51st Carifta Games in St George’s, Grenada after ending Sunday’s second day with 49 medals.
The Jamaicans tallied 24 gold, 15 silver and 10 bronze over two days of competition, well ahead of the rest of the competition, almost doubling the number won by the Bahamas who are second with 25 medals – seven gold, nine silver and nine bronze.
Guyana with five medals, including four gold, one more than the three they won last year, are third in the tables followed by Guadeloupe who have won three medals, including two gold medals, while six countries have won one gold medal so far – Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Cayman Islands, Antigua, Belize and USA Virgin Islands.
Shot putter Javontae Smith and 400m hurdlers Robert Miller set new championships records on Sunday’s second day.
Smith, who was fourth last year after going into the competition with the longest throw, broke the previous championships record 17.42m set in 2011 by Jamaican Christopher Brown when he threw a personal best 18.80m.
He broke the record in the first round and improved on it two more times. Four of his five legal throws were over 18.00m and even his shortest mark of 16.82m would have won the gold as Jayden Walcott of Barbados took the silver medal with a throw of 15.37m and Jaylen Stuart of the Bahamas took bronze with 15.28m. Jamaica’s Kamari Kennedy was fourth with 15.07m.
Miller, whose previous best time was 52.63 seconds, ran 52.19 seconds to win the Under-17 boys 400m hurdles, smashing the 52.75 seconds championships record set by Stephen Newbold of the Bahamas in 2010. Akanye Samuel-Francis of St Kitts/Nevis was second with 52.88 seconds and Jamaica’s Francisco Williams took the bronze with 53.19 seconds.
Meanwhile, Jamaica won gold in three out of the four 4x100m relays, the boys’ under-20 team having to settle for silver behind Trinidad and Tobago in an upset.
The three-day competition will conclude on Monday.
-Paul A Reid