The CARIFTA Games were a great time for young athletes and the countries they represented. All did well on Cayman soil and seemed pleased with Cayman’s efforts as host.

However some of the visiting media also went away with a positive impression of Cayman during the games.

Among them were three Trinidadian journalists in Rachael Thompson-King, Clayton Clarke and Wellington Wilson.

Thompson-King represents the Trinidadian Guardian newspaper, Clarke was freelancing for I95.5FM and Wilson freelanced for the National Association of Athletic Administration of Trinidad and Tobago.

All were in Cayman for the first time and, as Thompson-King explains, all were captivated by the island’s sports culture and Truman Bodden Sports Complex.

“It’s really nice here and the beaches are beautiful,” Thompson-King said. “The stadium is nice and it’s good seeing the people come to support the Games. With Cayman hosting the Games the athletes will get better.”

Like the other reporters Thompson-King paid particular attention covering the Trinidadian athletes. By Monday evening she would see her country place second overall.

Trinidad walked away with 12 gold medals, 16 silvers and 12 bronze for a total of 40 medals. Jamaica (37 gold, 22 silvers and 13 bronze) came first with 72 medals and the Bahamas (six gold, 10 silvers and 13 bronze) were a distant third with 29 medals.

On the surface that might seem like a surprisingly good showing but Thompson-King is quick to point out it is not.

“”I’m not really surprised with the performance of the Trini athletes,” she said. “The government that is in power is investing heavily in them and the Trinis that are here are no strangers to success.”

Among those star athletes were Jehue Gordon (who won the U20 Boys 110m and 400m hurdles) and Darvin Sandy claimed silver in the U17 Boys 400m.

Wilson, 43, gave some additional names of top-performing Trinidadians.

“Most of our athletes did well and I’m really not surprised. Then again there were some notably good showings. Kernesha Span won the U17 Girls 300m hurdles in 42.16s after training for only two months before the Games.

“Jehue Gordon has done well the last two or three years now. In addition to winning here he came fourth in the last world championships.

“I loved Michelle-Lee Ahye, who won the Girls U20 100m, because she was really quick. For a long time she struggled with injuries and CARIFTA got a good taste of her.

“Finally Carisa Leacock won silver in the Girls U20 Long Jump and that was really good. She didn’t jump to her full potential though as I feel she could have went 6.4 metres or more.”

Clarke, in addition to his media work, is a track and field coach back in Trinidad and has covered the CARIFTA Games since 2007. In his mind Cayman should be proud of its work hosting these games.

“I really liked this version of the Games and the stadium you all have here,” Clarke said. “I love the interest taken in these Games and it seemed well organized. I give props to the local organizing body. They have been very accommodating to the needs of the media.”