Jamaican domination of the 39th
annual CARIFTA Games at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex was no surprise.
It was the 26th year running
that they topped the medals chart, with a total of 72, including 37 golds.
Trinidad and Tobago were second, with 40 (12
golds) and the Bahamas third with 29, including six golds.
Chantelle Morrison was Cayman’s
only medallist, a gold in the the 100 metres girls Under-17.
The Jamaicans dominated the final
day, winning all but one of the four relay medals.
Odean Skeen, who claimed the
Under-17 sprint double - a feat he also achieved at the Boys and Girls Championships
two weeks ago - said it was a hectic period but that he felt revived after a
brief rest.
"I was very tired but I was
able to rest and that's all I needed. I had a slight injury going into the
Games, but I did what I could do," Skeen said.
Even though Jamaica dominated the
medals chart, at least Trinidad & Tobago had the satisfaction of producing
the best athlete at the Games.
Jehue Gordon received the Austin
Sealy award for the top athlete at CARIFTA 2010.
Gordon won the boys’ U-20 110m
hurdles and 400m hurdles events, setting championship records in both, 13.41
seconds and 49.76 seconds respectively. Now he sets his sights on the World
Junior Championships.
Tiny Grenada saw their star
sprinter Kirani James bring home golds in the 200m and 400m. His 400m time of
45.02 not only beat his own record set last year by four-tenths of a second, it
was the third fastest in the world this year.
James was disappointed not to break
the 45 second barrier but impressed nevertheless.