KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – As expected, Keyshawn Strachan got the 49th CARIFTA Games off to a brilliant start with a massive performance in the Boys’ Under-20 javelin inside the National Stadium here yesterday.
The tall Bahamian improved both his personal best and the CARIFTA record with a mighty heave of 79.89 metres to clinch gold and headline the morning session of the region’s premier track and field meet.
Strachan cranked out the record with his first round throw, a huge effort that sailed past the orange-taped line set to indicate the old mark of 78.28 metres set by Grenada’s Anderson Peters, six years ago.
In the process, Strachan added more than a full metre to his personal best of 78.63.
He arrived at the Games as the number one Under-20 javelinist in the world and will now leave almost four metres clear of 17-year-old Gyorgy Herczeg of Hungary.
Anthony Diaz took silver for Trinidad and Tobago with a throw of 63.69, ahead of Jamaica’s Christopher Young with a mark of 57.52 metres.
The javelin was the first event to be completed and soon after, Jamaica’s Danielle Noble outlasted the field to snatch gold in the Girls’ Under-17 high jump, holding her nerve to sail over a bar set at 1.73 metres.
Tenique Vincent of Trinidad and Tobago finished second at 1.65m and Jah’kyla Morton of the British Virgin Islands claimed bronze at 1.60 metres.
The third final of the morning session saw the British Virgin Islands gain their first gold medal of the meet, thanks to Savianna Joseph in the Girls’ Under-17 shot put.
Her second throw taped 13.54 metres, far enough to deny Jamaica’s Natassia Burrell (13.10m) and Bahamian Terrell McCoy who threw 13 metres flat.
A growing crowd also saw qualifying in the 100 and 400 metres, adverse wind conditions buffeting sprinters in the 100 metres.
Adejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands sparkled in the Under-17 100m heats with the fastest time of 11.54 seconds while Jamaica’s Deandre Daley topped all qualifiers in the Boys’ Under-20 100m with a clocking of 10.55 seconds.
The Under-17 Boys and Girls’ Under-20 100 metres fielded no heats and will start at the semi-final stage in the afternoon session.
Meanwhile, Jamaicans led all qualifiers in the 400 metres, Abigail Campbell cruising to a winning time of 56.15 seconds in the Under-17 Girls’ heats, and Marcinho Rose (49.22), Onieka McAnuff (53.91) and Delano Kennedy (47.86) doing likewise in the Under-17 Boys, the Under-20 Girls and the Under-20 Boys.
The afternoon session begins at 16:00hrs (17:00hrs Eastern Caribbean time) when track action resumes with the semi-finals of the 100 metres.
The finals of the 400m and the 100m will conclude the first day of competition.
In the field, the region’s finest athletes will go head-to-head in the Boys’ and Girls’ Under-20 discus, Girls’ Under-20 triple jump, Boys’ Under-20 high jump, Boys’ Under-17 long jump, Boys’ octathlon and Girls’ heptathlon.