The just-concluded 50th Carifta Games, held in Nassau, Bahamas, from April 8 to 10, saw Jamaica dominating once again, taking home the most medals with 78, including 40 gold, 22 silver, and 16 bronze.
Individual winners included Jaydon Hibbert in the triple jump, Alexis James in the 100-metre hurdles, Alana Reid in the 100-metre, and Roshawn Clarke in the 400-metre.
Together with Mike Sands, President of the North American, Central American, and Caribbean Athletics Association, and Sir Austin Sealy, the creator of the Carifta Games, Sebastian Coe, President of the World Athletics Federation, was in attendance.
Reid, co-captain for Jamaica and the U20 global leader, successfully claimed her maiden Carifta crown in the girls’ U20 100m. She triumphed admirably in 11.17 (-1.0 m/s) ahead of her teammate James in the final after overcoming poor weather and a difficult schedule that included the heats, semifinals, and final on the first day of competition.
To win the Carifta championship is something Reid has long awaited. “This is my first title, and I worked really hard to get it,” she said in a post-interview.
There were a few tremors in the boys’ U20 100-metre sprints, and among the biggest casualties were Jamaican favourites Bouwahjgie Nkrumie and DeAndre Daley, the defending champion, who suffered injuries and a false start, respectively.
With victories in all but one of the age-group sprint finals, Jamaica demonstrated its dominance in the hurdling events. James, who won the U20 100-metre hurdles silver medal at the global championships, set a new Games record by sprinting to a time of 13.06 (0.9 m/s). Asharria Ulett, a teammate, finished second in a 1-2 finish with a personal best time of 13.24.
The Austin Sealy Award, given to the most outstanding athlete, was given to Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke.
Jamaica won three of the four 400m age group finals. After Jasauna Dennis (46.43) defeated his countryman and race favourite Delano Kennedy in the final of the boys’ U20 400m, the Jamaicans celebrated a 1-2 result (46.50). Nickecoy Bramwell won the boys’ U17 400-metre final in 47.86 seconds, more than six-tenths of a second faster than his previous record. Rickiann Russell won the U20 girls’ 400-metre final in 51.84 to add to her stellar performance this year.