HAMILTON – Two gold, two silver and an unbelievable 13 bronze medals highlighted a tremendous recovery by the Barbadians as the curtain came down on the 2012 LIME CARIFTA Games at the National Sports Centre last night.
Barbados collected one gold, one silver and eight bronze medals in the final session to finish with 17, surpassing the low of 11 in 2004, but a significant drop from the 27, including nine gold, last year.
After falling over the line and having to settle for silver last year in the Under-20 Girls’ 100-metre hurdles, Sade-Mariah Greenidge stayed on her feet to take gold in 13.61, just edging Jamaica’s Chrisdale McCarthy (13.62) in the closest of finishes.
It was so close everyone immediately turned to look at the replay screen for confirmation.
Shakera Hall, who is in this division for the first year, took the bronze medal with a personal best 13.89 seconds, a great recovery after a very slow start.
All of the other hurdlers were shut out of the medals as Barbados yielded further ground in an area they have traditionally dominated.
With the gold medal already decided by Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott in a new record of 74.81 metres and following that up with 77.59, Barbadians Nikoliai Bovelle and Janeille Craigg were among the other six vying for the remaining medals.
Bovelle went into second place with a throw just over 62 metres and secured it with 66.44 metres, just seven centimetres off the qualifying for World Juniors, and Craigg took bronze with 65.80.
The old javelin record was 65.52 metres set by Jean Rene Ceykan back in 1987.
Then a slew of bronze medals came in the Under-17 Boys’ 200 metres through Mario Burke; Klode Thompson in the heptathlon; Leah Bannister in the Under-20 Girls’ discus; the Under-17 Girls’ (3:56.87) and Boys’ (3:22.86) 4×400 metres relay teams and the Under-20 Girls’ team in 3:50.54.
Disappointment later turned to joy as Burke picked up a bronze medal with a personal best time of 22.23 after the disqualification of Bahamian Theotis Johnson, behind Trinidadian Jonathan Farinha and Cliff Resias of The Bahamas in 21.28 and 22.06, respectively.
After finishing fourth in the Under-20 Boys’ high jump at 2:00 metres, Thompson finished fifth overall in the 1 500 metres in 5:13.41, and 4 425 points. Rhys Phillips was seventh with 4 225, while Grenada’s Lindon Toussaint won the gold with 4 572 and silver went to Jamaica’s Darron Hunter with 4 508.
Bannister’s best throw was 41.99 metres as Tara-Sue Barnett of Jamaica won gold with 49.62 metres.
Earlier, Danielle Scantlebury lowered her personal best time to 14.78 seconds but was fourth overall in the Under-17 Girls’ 100 metres hurdles, behind Jamaica’s Yanique Thompson (13.67), Trinidad and Tobago’s Jeminise Parris (14.30) and Elsa Plante (14.43) of Guadeloupe.
Michael Nicholls was at the back of the four-man field in the Boys’ 110 metres hurdles in 14.86. Jaheel Hyde of Jamaica instantly became the new record holder in a time of 13.96 seconds in the event which was added this year. Teammate Michael O’Hara was second in 13.97 and bronze went to Xavier Coakley in 14.14.
Tramaine Maloney was fifth in 14.25 and Raphael Jordan eighth in 16.06 in the Under-20 Boys’ 110 metres hurdles.
In a major upset, Guadeloupe’s Wilhem Belocian stunned Jamaicans Stephan Fennell (13.66) and Yanick Hart (13.88) to take gold in 13.63.
The Bahamian contingent had the stands rocking when Anthonique Strachan and Shaunae Miller crossed the line first and second, respectively in the Under-20 Girls’ 200 metres race, but when they heard that Veronica Campbell’s record of 22.93 set in Barbados back in 2001 had been broken, there was no containing them.
Strachan, who has already qualified for the London Olympic Games, was timed in 22.85, Miller second in 23.18 and Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson third in 24.03.
