44th CARIFTA Games 2015: 3rd to 6th April, Kim Collins Stadium, St Kitts & Nevis

[Deeks]

In the medals table, U20 boys. From the 100 to pole vault. Not one RWB. Out of 18 events, one gold and 2 bronze. Totally unacceptable.

[Deeks]

Now that they have completed the facilities in central, maybe the TF and swimming can devise a plan to have everyone meet in central and train for these games over a longer period. Maybe they should all stay in that area and spend the weekends  training. I think they need a new track at ATO.

[gawd on pitch]

In the medals table, U20 boys. From the 100 to pole vault. Not one RWB. Out of 18 events, one gold and 2 bronze. Totally unacceptable.

Indeed.

The under 18 boys outperformed all the others. They won 9 medals. 3 being gold and two CRs. If that performance was duplicated by the others, we would have 36 medals. 12 being gold. I know it sounds hypothetical, but that is a performance I would accept.

[Socapro]

Now lets hear what the President of the NAAA TT has to say.

Serrette sees promise as TT earn 22 medals
By STEPHON NICHOLAS Wednesday, April 8 2015 (T&T Newsday)

Carifta Games gold medallist Isaiah Taylor, left, shares a photo-call with fellow athletes Jacob St Clair, silver; Portious Warren, gold and Xavier Mulugata, bronze at Piarco International Airport as the national track and field team returned from the 44th Carifta Games in St Kitts and Nevis last weekend

DESPITE A less than expected performance from the national contingent at the 2015 CARIFTA Games in St Kitts, Ephraim Serrette, president of the National Association of Athletics Administration (NAAA) believes several athletes distinguished themselves and can go on to do greater things. TT returned home with a haul of 22 medals (six gold, eight silver, eight bronze), registering a slight dip from last year’s tally of 25.

Among the athletes Serrette believes showed immense promise, though, is javelin thrower Tyriq Horsford who won gold in the Boys Under-18 javelin. Not only was the 15-year-old golden in his event, but Horsford shattered the CARIFTA U-18 record with a massive 70.73 metres throw.

“Tyriq Horsford he is one of our athletes that came out of our Age Group Championships,” said Serrette. “This Championship caters for athletes (aged) 11, 12, 13, 14 and they do multiple events — there is where you get to see their strengths. He would have two years ago competed in the CAC Age Group Championships and they could not have measured his ball throw. He was identified very early and last year that was an investment we made as a 14-year-old at the CARIFTA and he came fourth. He continues to progress very nicely and this year he went on to win the gold and break the record and that was commendable.”

Also coming in for praise were Andwuelle Wright, who leaped 7.44m to take gold in the Boys Under-20 long jump as well as 200m sprinter Akanni Hislop.

“He (Hislop) is someone we need to pay very particular attention to. He has another year Under-18 and ran 20.91 and I think it augurs well for the future,” he added. Serrette, although acknowledging that the overall performance of the 68-member national team was not up to his expectation, stressed that CARIFTA is not just about results.

“I think it was, I would say below our expectations. We gave a lot of our athletes opportunity to prove themselves; we always view CARIFTA as development. There are no standards to qualify for CARIFTA Games although we look at performances over the previous years and make some adjusted standards we would like to see people do,” he said.

He noted though that the NAAA encountered a few challenges with the unavailability of the Hasely Crawford Stadium which has become an Achilles heel for athletes around Carnival time.

“This year was a tough year for us where we would only have had four developmental meets. We’re still challenged with the use of the stadium and yes we may be able to go to Manny Ramjohn (Marabella) or the Larry Gomes (Arima) but that could only facilitate the track people so our field athletes would suffer.

“A decision we have already taken is that for the 2016 season our developmental meets would start as early as November to give the athletes more opportunities for competition so we can make better assessments.

“The lack of the use of the stadium through the Carnival, that is how they make their money, but we need a facility so we can revert to that when (that situation arises).”

Serrette noted that he was pleased though that field athletes are doing as well as their track counterparts as his body implemented a jumps and throws programme several years ago and they are seeing the benefits being derived now.

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T&T earn 22 medals
By Kwame Laurence kwame.laurence@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Apr 15, 2015 at 8:16 PM ECT (TV6TNT.com )

Trinidad and Tobago captured 22 medals at the 44th Carifta Games, in Basseterre, St Kitts. The haul included six gold medals, eight silver and eight bronze.

At the end of the Games, National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) president, Ephraim Serrette spoke to CCN TV6 about the team’s performance.

Click link for interview: http://www.tv6tnt.com/news/TT-earn-22-medals-299997541.html

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T&T finishes the Games with 22 Medals

SPORT: CARIFTA GAMES WRAP UP:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/HAuGZihZ3JM" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/HAuGZihZ3JM</a>

[Socapro]

Here is copy of Full Medal Table from this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_CARIFTA_Games



They seem to have T&T winning an extra bronze medal which I am going to try and work out from the official results at that same link.

[gawd on pitch]

I think the bronze is for the girls under 20 4x100

[Deeks]

He noted though that the NAAA encountered a few challenges with the unavailability of the Hasely Crawford Stadium which has become an Achilles heel for athletes around Carnival time.

“This year was a tough year for us where we would only have had four developmental meets. We’re still challenged with the use of the stadium and yes we may be able to go to Manny Ramjohn (Marabella) or the Larry Gomes (Arima) but that could only facilitate the track people so our field athletes would suffer.


So MoS. what is your plan for this situation?

[Socapro]

Horsford, 15, wants javelin records
Wednesday, April 8 2015 (T&T Newsday)

CARIFTA RECORD: Tyriq Horsford poses next to official displayed result after setting new CARIFTA Record of 70.73m in Boys U-18 Javelin at 2015 CARIFTA Games. --Photo: PAUL VOISIN

FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD Tyriq Horsford says breaking records is all he is interested in after doing just that at the CARIFTA Games held in St Kitts over the weekend.

Horsford won gold in the Boys Under-18 javelin event, throwing the metal spear 70.73 metres in a performance that caught the eyes of the Caribbean.

The talented athlete was a hot topic on the Sportsmax Zone yesterday in their roundup of the annual track and field meet.

Standing over six feet tall, Horsford is hoping to walk in the footsteps of Olympic gold medallists Keshorn Walcott who became the first man from the Western Hemisphere to win Olympic gold in the javelin event at the 2012 Games in London.

Speaking on his return to Trinidad yesterday, Horsford said having a fellow Trinidadian to look up to was amazing and described Walcott as an inspiration to him.

Despite his age, Horsford has big targets that he hopes to achieve before 2016.

“My goal is to break the Under-16 record and achieve over 75m.

My goal is just to break records upon records,” he declared confidently.

[Socapro]

I think the bronze is for the girls under 20 4x100

Based on the details given for all our 2015 CARIFTA Games bronze medalists at this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_CARIFTA_Games) these were our bronze medallists:-

Boys U-20

4 x 100 metres relay (Gervais Ford,  Xavier Mulugata,  Francis Louis,  Jonathon Farinha) 40.55

4 x 400 metres relay (T&T team) 3:15.77

Girls U-20

100 metres hurdles (+4.8m/s) Jeminise Parris 13.85 w

Shot put Chelsea James 14.73m

4 x 100 metres relay (Jeunice Maxime,  Kadesha Prescott,  Thyla-Maree Scott,  Kayelle Clarke) 47.64 DQed

4 x 400 metres relay (Thyla-Maree Scott,  Kayelle Clarke,  Jeunice Maxime,  Jeminise Parris) 3:47.55

Boys U-18

Long jump Clement Campbell 6.86m (+0.9m/s)

Javelin throw (700g) Vandel Joseph 61.67m

Girls U-18

400 metres hurdles Cheziah Phillip 1:07.98

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So if all these 9 T&T bronze medal winners are official and valid then T&T in fact won 23 medals and not 22 as has been stated by our very own NAAA's. Can anyone confirm which of above T&T bronze medallists is not valid so we can confirm that we indeed won 22 medals and not 23 as advertised by the wikipedia source? As it is I am not sure if I should go with a total of 22 or 23 medals for T&T at the 2015 CARIFTA Games.

PS:
Also can anyone identify who were the actual athletes who ran on our T&T Boys U-20 4 x 400 metres relay team that clocked 3:15.77 in the final event of the CARIFTA Games and won bronze?

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Ok, I just remembered that our Girls U-20 4x100 team were DQed for an exchange violation outside the zone. I guess that is what gawd on pitch meant but didn't mention the DQ to be specific.

Also I was just informed by our NAAA's that the members of our Boys U-20 4x400 team were Jamol Pierre, Jessie Fredrick, Ashton Gill and Kyle Stanley. So all my questions have now been answered.

[Socapro]

T&T manager satisfied with Carifta effort
By Kwame Laurence kwame.laurence@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Apr 9, 2015 at 9:19 PM ECT (T&T Express)

EN ROUTE TO BRONZE: Jeminise Parris goes over a barrier during the Carifta Games girls’ under-20 100 metres hurdles final, at the Kim Collins Athletic Stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts, on Monday. The Trinidad and Tobago athlete clocked a wind-assisted 13.85 seconds to secure the bronze medal. --Photo: PAUL VOISIN

Trinidad and Tobago manager, Lucretia Warner-Burns is pleased with her team’s 22-medal performance at the 44th Carifta Games, in Basseterre, St Kitts, on the weekend.

“Yes, I’m quite satisfied with the effort,” Warner-Burns told the Express. “My prediction to my technical team...I told them that I predicted 22 medals. Some of my technical team members said to me we should target 30 medals, but I wasn’t too comfortable with that because of our young team. We had two children under the age of 14. With the composition of the team and the strength of the team, I did not foresee us getting more than 22 medals.”

The manager said it was very gratifying to see T&T athletes produce PBs (personal bests) at Carifta 2015.

“There were athletes coming out of the trials that did not make the standard for their events, and the (NAAA) executive took it upon themselves to give them that sort of opportunity. I felt that giving athletes at a tender age the opportunity to come forward on this big stage, they rise to the occasion with competition...I was very pleased with the PBs that we accomplished.”

Warner-Burns was particularly buoyed by the record-breaking performance from 15-year-old throwing phenom Tyriq Horsford. The Tobago teen produced a massive 70.73 metres effort to strike gold in the boys’ under-18 javelin. The monster throw is a Carifta Games record, as well as a T&T under-18 record.

Warner-Burns said that when she saw the spear land beyond the arc that marked the previous Carifta record, 67.67m, she felt compelled to call for the steel tape—used to verify record-breaking distances.

“I had to shout, ‘I need the steel tape’ because at some competitions they forget to bring the steel tape. I shouted out to the officials ‘I need the steel tape, I will not move until I see it.’ They brought the steel tape, and I was pleased to know that he did in fact break the record in the javelin throw.”

There were six T&T gold medallists at Carifta 2015—Horsford, Isaiah Taylor (boys’ under-18 shot put), Portious Warren (girls’ under-20 shot put), Andwuelle Wright (boys’ under-20 long jump), Kayelle Clarke (girls’ under-20 200m) and Akanni Hislop (boys’ under-18 200m).

T&T also earned eight silver medals, as well as eight bronze, and finished fourth on the medal table, behind Jamaica, Bahamas and Barbados.

“Team T&T, you made us proud,” said Warner-Burns. “Despite the challenges we faced on our arrival in St Kitts, we rose to the occasion.”

Last week Thursday, some of the T&T athletes had to wait close to six hours in the Marriott Hotel lobby before being assigned to rooms.

“They always say to every bad beginning there will always be a good ending. I congratulate the team, and also the management team. The medical team did a fantastic job, and the support of the technical team...I want to say at this juncture, thank you, thank you, thank you. And thanks to the media.”

Carifta 2015 Medal Table

Gold Silver Bronze Total
Jamaica 41 25 19 85
Bahamas 8 13 10 31
Barbados 7 4 5 16
T&T 6 8 8 22
Grenada 1 3 4 8
St Kitts & Nevis 1 2 6 9
Suriname 1 1 0 2
Guadeloupe 0 2 3 5
BVI 0 2 1 3
Bermuda 0 1 2 3
Martinique 0 1 2 3
Antigua & Barbuda 0 1 0 1
St Maarten 0 1 0 1
St Vincent 0 1 0 1
St Lucia 0 0 2 2
Anguilla 0 0 1 1
Turks & Caicos 0 0 1 1
Dominica 0 0 1 1
Cayman Islands 0 0 1 1

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T&T manager: I predicted 22 medals
By Kwame Laurence kwame.laurence@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Apr 15, 2015 at 8:31 PM ECT (TV6TNT.com )

Trinidad and Tobago manager Lucretia Warner-Burns told CCN TV6 that her team’s 22-medal haul at the 44th Carifta Games, in Basseterre, St Kitts was exactly what she expected.

Click link for interview: http://www.tv6tnt.com/news/TT-manager-I-predicted-22-medals-299999841.html

[Deeks]

Lawd Miss Lucretia!!!!

[Socapro]

Lawd Miss Lucretia!!!!

She is probably related to Sando Prince! 

[STMB]

Here's a different take on the downward spiral of our Carifta Games stature.

Even though Jamaica wins 7 or 8 times as many gold medals as T&T year over year, on the global level, in the events that Caribbean nations are competitive, we still show up in the finals, maybe not in the same numbers as Jamaica, but we are still there.

OK so we did not win the pole vault, 3000m or 5000m or the high jump, etc at the Carifta Games but when it comes to the World Championships or Olympics, we show up in the men's and women's 100m, sparingly in the 200m, definitely in the men's 400m, the men's 110 hurdles, the men's 400m hurdles, hopefully the women's 400m hurdles again, both the men's and women's 4x100m relays, the men's 4x400m relay, the women's TJ, the women's SP, the men's javelin, etc. Jamaica does not really show up in many more events past these, maybe the men's decathlon, LJ and HJ.

Jamaica may have 2-3 athletes per final, but we are sure to have 1-2 right next door, and in some events we show up where they don't (men's javelin, men's 4x400m relay of late, women's SP, etc).

Here's the ticker - those T&T athletes who show up are the ones who benefit from the lion share of private and public sector funding. So the idiot politicians, technocrats, and the stingy private sector corporations ought to learn something - FUNDING WORKS, is effective and results in finalists and medals.

But it needs to descend further down the chain to the coaching and developmental levels where it is most sorely needed. Those providing funds just need to place the monitoring controls in place to ensure their contributions are being spent as intended, and like Ephraim Serrette mentioned, put some expectations in place for the funding to continue.

I believe that the T&F CULTURE in Jamaica is definitely stronger than in T&T, based on the support and spectator participation levels. Maybe with our oil dollars our kids have too many options for sport and other activities and are not hungry as their Jamaican counterparts, except for a very talented few. But the talent is definitely there, just not in the same numbers.

To draw a parallel, when Jamaica started their version of Carnival they were boasting that very soon their festival would be better than the T&T version, but because it was not connected culturally, all the private sector money in Jamaica could not produce the same level of grandeur and passion as in T&T. We did have our heydays in T&F interest in the 60s and 70s when fans came out, but that was before cable TV and access to "down-the-islands" and St. Andrews golf course for even the average T&T citizen. Now it seems you have to pay fans to come to a major T&F event in T&T. And who knows, even if we get everything we need - sports promotion, funding, facilities, coaching, etc would the youths show up? I tend to think so, but I am not sure in the numbers like they do in Jamaica.

We have some very talented PR firms, lots of money in the private sector, ample real estate for supplemental sports venues, but little from those in the private sector in terms of buy-in and win-win. So maybe when we plan to build facilities and market T&F, we also need to do so in the upper-middle class neighborhoods so that those parents (the controllers of our economy) will have more vested interest in the sport as they do in those that their kids are currently involved in - swimming, sailing, field hockey, cycling, etc.

[gawd on pitch]

Here's a different take on the downward spiral of our Carifta Games stature.

Even though Jamaica wins 7 or 8 times as many gold medals as T&T year over year, on the global level, in the events that Caribbean nations are competitive, we still show up in the finals, maybe not in the same numbers as Jamaica, but we are still there.

OK so we did not win the pole vault, 3000m or 5000m or the high jump, etc at the Carifta Games but when it comes to the World Championships or Olympics, we show up in the men's and women's 100m, sparingly in the 200m, definitely in the men's 400m, the men's 110 hurdles, the men's 400m hurdles, hopefully the women's 400m hurdles again, both the men's and women's 4x100m relays, the men's 4x400m relay, the women's TJ, the women's SP, the men's javelin, etc. Jamaica does not really show up in many more events past these, maybe the men's decathlon, LJ and HJ.

Jamaica may have 2-3 athletes per final, but we are sure to have 1-2 right next door, and in some events we show up where they don't (men's javelin, men's 4x400m relay of late, women's SP, etc).

Here's the ticker - those T&T athletes who show up are the ones who benefit from the lion share of private and public sector funding. So the idiot politicians, technocrats, and the stingy private sector corporations ought to learn something - FUNDING WORKS, is effective and results in finalists and medals.

But it needs to descend further down the chain to the coaching and developmental levels where it is most sorely needed. Those providing funds just need to place the monitoring controls in place to ensure their contributions are being spent as intended, and like Ephraim Serrette mentioned, put some expectations in place for the funding to continue.

I believe that the T&F CULTURE in Jamaica is definitely stronger than in T&T, based on the support and spectator participation levels. Maybe with our oil dollars our kids have too many options for sport and other activities and are not hungry as their Jamaican counterparts, except for a very talented few. But the talent is definitely there, just not in the same numbers.

To draw a parallel, when Jamaica started their version of Carnival they were boasting that very soon their festival would be better than the T&T version, but because it was not connected culturally, all the private sector money in Jamaica could not produce the same level of grandeur and passion as in T&T. We did have our heydays in T&F interest in the 60s and 70s when fans came out, but that was before cable TV and access to "down-the-islands" and St. Andrews golf course for even the average T&T citizen. Now it seems you have to pay fans to come to a major T&F event in T&T. And who knows, even if we get everything we need - sports promotion, funding, facilities, coaching, etc would the youths show up? I tend to think so, but I am not sure in the numbers like they do in Jamaica.

We have some very talented PR firms, lots of money in the private sector, ample real estate for supplemental sports venues, but little from those in the private sector in terms of buy-in and win-win. So maybe when we plan to build facilities and market T&F, we also need to do so in the upper-middle class neighborhoods so that those parents (the controllers of our economy) will have more vested interest in the sport as they do in those that their kids are currently involved in - swimming, sailing, field hockey, cycling, etc.

Interesting observation STMB. For the 100m the ratio is probably the lowest:

Current sub 10 runners for TT  (Thompson, Burns, Brown, Bledman),

Current sub 10 runners for JA (Powell, Bolt, Blake, Frater, Bailey Cole, Ashmeade, Carter, Brown, Clarke, Forsythe).

We only have 3 World Class athletes in both long and short hurdles (400mh Gordon, Mayers, 110mh Davis and Thomas). Jamaica has (400mh Cato, Whyte, Green, Robertson, Hyde,  Phillips.. 110mh Hyde, Riley, Parchment, Thomas, Carter, Mcleod).

The ratio is even more gloomier in the womens events. TT does not even have a women in the 110mh. Josanne is probably the only one I can think of. Whatever happened to Aleesha  Barber??

[gawd on pitch]

I just read that the Secondary School championship is this week. Anyone think this should be held before Carifta? It might be a good idea to switch it and have it before Carifta like Champs. But then again having it earlier may "bun out" the athletes.

[Socapro]

ON THE SPORTING EDGE
Time to rescue CARIFTA Games
BY PAUL REID (Jamaica Observer)
Thursday, April 09, 2015

T&T 2015 Carifta Team, outside the Kim Collins Stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis


Members of Jamaica’s Carifta Games squad at the end of the 44th edition inside the Kim Collins Stadium in Basseterre.  (PHOTO: COLLIN REID COURTESY OF SUPREME VENTURES AND COURTS)

Lovers of track and field all over the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Associations (NACAC) region and even parts of England were subjected to one of the worst display of sports broadcasting during the 44th CARIFTA Games held at the Kim Collins Stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts last weekend.

What should have been another celebration of the wonderful talents of the top regional junior track and field athletes turned into a farce with four days of the worst 'sports journalism' seen anywhere.

Even worse was the absence of basic equipment that is standard anywhere at a track and field meet, not to mention an international championship of that magnitude.

The broadcast was unpalatable and at times down right comical and farcical, and well below what has become the norm and what is expected, especially when broadcast rights are being sold.

Mr Victor Lopez, president of NACAC who was in attendance, must make it a priority to see that what has become one of the top junior track and field carnivals in the world is not allowed to get watered down or transformed into some bacchanal of sorts where partying and making noise in the stands overshadow the talent on the track and on the field.

This championship, the brainchild of track and field visionary Austin Sealy, has helped to produce and nurture generations of track and field athletes who have gone on to achieve greatness.

Double World Record holder Usain Bolt got his first taste of international competition at the CARIFTA Games and broke his first World Record in Bermuda in 2004.

The likes of Ato Boldon, Kirani James, Veronica Campbell Brown, Pauline Davis, Christine Aaron of Guadeloupe who went on to compete for France, Obadele Thompson and Debbie Ferguson all cut their teeth at the CARIFTA Games.

Two years ago we saw trainee officials interfering with athletes in the Bahamas, and last year in Martinique we were fed a diet of French whether we liked it or not.

We have come a far way, however, with the live broadcast of the championships on television and the internet. Not so long ago, we had to wait until the teams returned home to get information.

But that cannot be enough. We must demand more and demand quality.

Every championship organised by the IAAF has the same basic standard, whether in Morocco, Athens, Berlin, Moncton, Canada or Kingston, Jamaica.

A finish line clock should not be a luxury, nor should be announcers with a little idea of what they are watching.

Last weekend we got the impression the emphasis was more on getting the crowd excited with buffoonery, rather than informing fans inside the stadium and those watching on TV about what was happening on the tract and on the field.

Not only were the announcers completely unaware of the athletes they were reporting on, they appeared at times to be unaware of where they were. On Saturday, the lad announcer was wishing everyone 'a happy Good Friday', at one time he thought he was at the Olympic Games and another time he announced that the record in the Under-20 boys' 100m was set by Yohan Blake in 2015.

If that was not bad enough there was a character who called himself 'Ivan Showtime' doing track-side 'interviews' who should never have been allowed near a microphone at any sporting event.

In one of his not so lucid moments he asked an athlete what it felt like to be competing in a triathlon.

NACAC must ensure that wherever the meet is held, the best officials from around the region, quality announcers are hired well in advance and basic equipment are in place.

We know the quality of the track and field will be at world-class standards, we expect the organisation and everything else to be the same.

[Socapro]

06 APR 2015 Report, Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis
Taylor in record-breaking form at CARIFTA Games

Jamaica's Christopher Taylor wins U-18 400m

Prodigious Jamaican sprinter Christopher Taylor was one of several athletes who shone at the CARIFTA Games in Basseterre, which concluded on Monday (6).

The four-day championships in the capital of St Kitts and Nevis brought together some of the best young athletes in the Caribbean, many of whom will be vying for medals at this year’s IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015.

Taylor is one such athlete. Having already set a world age-15 best of 45.69 over 400m earlier this year, the Jamaican sprinter carried the burden of being favourite for the under-18 one-lap sprint. He was pushed all the way by Trinidad and Tobago’s Jacob St Clair, but Taylor held on for the win in 46.64, just 0.09 ahead of his older rival.

On the final day of the championships, Taylor anchored Jamaica to victory in the 4x400m, again breaking the championship record with their time of 3:12.07.

Taylor’s winning performances were two of many championship records that were set over the past four days.

Last year, the younger age group at the CARIFTA Games changed from under-17 to under-18. Winning marks in the new age group were only considered to be championship records if they were superior to the under-17 records.

Usain Bolt set the under-17 championship record of 47.33 in 2002, but that was bettered by Henri Delauze last year with 47.26 in the heats of the under-18 400m. Taylor’s winning mark in Basseterre rewrote the record books again.

Triple golds for Hyde and Bromfield

Jamaican hurdler Jaheel Hyde


Akeem Bloomfield wins U-20 400m

Having suffered a rare defeat at the recent Boys and Girls Champs in Kingston, world junior 400m hurdles champion Jaheel Hyde returned to winning ways in Basseterre. But once again, he didn’t have it all his own way.

On Sunday he was up against world youth champion Marvin Williams in the under-20 400m hurdles. Hyde, winner of the 2013 world youth 110m hurdles title, trailed his fellow Jamaican by a stride for the first 300 metres. He finally drew level at the last barrier and then opened up a margin of 0.15 by the finish line, winning in 50.96.

One day later, Hyde won the 110m hurdles title by exactly the same margin. Aided by a 3.3m/s tailwind, Hyde stopped the clock at 13.36, beating Xavier Coakley of The Bahamas.

Hyde’s third gold medal came in the 4x400m. Led off by Williams, Hyde overtook Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago on the second leg to give Jamaica a lead they never relinquished.

Akeem Bloomfield, who won the individual 400m title in 45.85, wasn’t on the team, but Jamaica still managed to win by more than three seconds in 3:09.13.

Junelle Bromfield was another triple winner with ambitions of competing in Cali later this year.

She dominated the under-18 400m flat, winning in 53.48 to fall just 0.12 short of Shaunae Miller’s championship record. On Sunday she then won the 400m hurdles by almost three seconds, clocking a championship record of 59.55, and then returned 24 hours later to run the first leg for Jamaica in the 4x400m, winning in 3:39.13.

Clark, English and Brown show Cali medal potential

As is often the case at the CARIFTA Games, Jamaican athletes dominated the sprints and hurdles events. The trend continued in the under-18 girls’ events, with Shellece Clark, Shaneil English and Janeek Brown winning the 100m, 200m and 100m hurdles respectively with personal bests.

In a close 100m final, Clark held off Tristan Evelyn of Barbados to win in a PB of 11.50 (1.3m/s), faster than the winning time in the under-20 competition.

English, meanwhile, finished 0.09 ahead of Brianne Bethel of The Bahamas to take the 200m title in 23.38 (1.5m/s) on Monday. Earlier in the evening, Brown had smashed her own championship record to win the 100m hurdles in 13.29 (1.2m/s), moving to 20th on the world youth all-time list.

Brown, English and Clark then teamed up to win the 4x100m by almost two seconds, crossing the line in 45.33.

Burke, Hislop and Clarke stop Jamaican domination

HALF-LAP HONOURS: Akanni Hislop, right, wins the Carifta Games boys' Under-18 200 metres final, at the Kim Collins Athletic Stadium, in Basseterre, St Kitts, on Monday. The Trinidad and Tobago sprinter clocked 20.91 seconds. --Photo: PAUL VOISIN

Jamaica swept all of the gold medals on offer in the relay events across both age groups, but in the individual sprints, a small handful of athletes from other nations prevented further Jamaican success.

Mario Burke of Barbados won the under-17 100m title in 2013, but was disqualified from the under-18 final last year for a false start. In 2015, competing in the under-20 age group, he returned to the top of the podium, twice.

On Saturday he defeated Jamaica’s triple ‘Champs’ gold medallist Michael O’Hara in the 100m, winning in a personal best of 10.21 (1.5m/s). On the final day of the championships, Burke added the 200m gold medal to his collection, winning in 21.51 (-0.6), while O’Hara gained redemption by running the anchor leg for Jamaica to win the 4x400m.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Akanni Hislop went significantly quicker in the younger age group to win the 200m title in 20.91 (1.8m/s), while compatriot Kayelle Clarke felt the benefit of a 4.8m/s tailwind when winning the under-20 women’s 200m in 23.12.

Inspired by Walcott, Hosford wins javelin

T&T's Tyriq Horsford gold medalist (centre) on medal podium with JA's Kevin Nedrick silver (left) and T&T's Vandel Joseph bronze (right) in Boys U-18 Javelin at 2015 CARIFTA Games

Before Keshorn Walcott won surprise gold at the 2012 Olympics, Trinidad and Tobago had never really made an impact internationally in the javelin.

But now Tyriq Hosford looks to be following – and even surpassing – the path that Walcott laid out. Just 15 years old, Hosford won the under-18 javelin with a championship record of 70.73m.

Elsewhere, Ayesha Champagnie smashed the championship record in the under-20 heptathlon, winning with a score of 5231 after posting the leading marks in the shot, javelin and long jump.

She went on to win silver in the individual javelin in a competition where Isheeka Binns set a championship record of 49.72m.

Suriname has only won four gold medals in the 44-year history of the CARIFTA Games. Triple jumper Miguel van Assen is responsible for three of those, his latest coming in the under-20 triple jump with a winning leap of 16.24m.

Mary Fraser of Barbados was given the Austin Sealey award, an honour presented to the athlete who is adjudged to be the most outstanding. Fraser won the under-18 800m (2:11.63), the 1500m (4:41.44) and the 3000m (10:27.91).

Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

[Socapro]

Parade of Nations - CARIFTA GAMES 2015
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Opening Ceremony Dance - CARIFTA GAMES 2015
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Day 1 - CARIFTA Games 2015
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Day 2 - CARIFTA Games 2015
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Junkanoo at CARIFTA Games 2015
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Day 3 - CARIFTA Games 2015
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Day 4 - CARIFTA Games 2015
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Day 4 Medal Awards - CARIFTA Games 2015
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Closing Ceremony - CARIFTA GAMES 2015
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[Socapro]

I've bumped this previous CARIFTA Games 2015 thread for comparison with the new CARIFTA Games 2016 thread I've just created. This way it will be easy for us to compare results from how our young athletes perform this year to these results from last year in this thread to see how they are progressing, etc!