CARIFTA: Guadeloupe Greets GenNext

CARIFTA – Guadeloupe prepares to greet the next generation of stars

THIS INFORMATIVE REPORT APPEARS COURTESY OF THE IAAF WHERE IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED WITH SOME PITCHUZ

http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=34240.html

Tuesday 11 April 2006
Hundreds of young athletes from around the Caribbean will gather at the Rene Serg Nabajoth Olympique Stadium Abymes on the French overseas department of Guadeloupe this coming Easter weekend, for the XXXV CARIFTA Junior Track & Field Championships.

Guadeloupe, an archipelago of nine inhabited islands is situated in the northern Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico, and will welcome some of the region’s and the world’s finest under-20 aged athletes on display.

Antigua-Barbuda’s Daniel Bailey - sprint double at 2005 CARIFTA Games
(Dwayne Minors)

The 14-17 April meet is being held under the direct auspices of the Lige Regional Guadeloupe Athlétisme.

As happens every year, the meet has lost some of its stars. Trinidad & Tobago’s Kelly Ann Baptiste and Rhonda Watkins provided hometown highlights in 2005. Baptiste beat the likes of Jamaica’s Anneisha McLaughlin and Grenada’s Sherry Fletcher (both absent this year) for a sprint double. Watkins dominated the jumps. On the men’s side, the talent of Antigua-Barbuda’s sprint sensation, Daniel Bailey, will be missed. But, as usual, the Games will still showcase some great athletes.

Jamaica set to dominate

Joel Phillip of Grenada (16 years old) - CARIFTA Heptathlon winner
(Finisterre)

The region’s top three athletics nations will field full 64-member teams. Jamaica’s squad includes three World Junior Championships medallists. Remaldo Rose was a World Junior Championships 100m bronze medallist, and he headlines the Jamaican men’s challenge. Sherene Pinnock, also a bronze medallist (400m Hurdles) in Grosseto, will look to defend her CARIFTA crown. World Youth 100m Hurdles bronze medallist Natasha Ruddock will challenge for under-20 honours as well.

Sonita Sutherland is poised to pose a strong challenge for the women’s 400m title, after posting a time of 51.23 seconds - the third fastest time ever for a Jamaican junior - at CARIFTA trials. Yohan Blake was an under-17 double sprint champion in Tobago last year, and he will seek to make the transition to the under-20 division. Theon O’Connor will try to make a similar transition in the 800m and 1500m races. He, too, was a double gold medallist in the under-17 division last year.

T&T hope to back up great 2005

Austin Sealy - founder of the Carifta Games
(Terry Finistere)

Trinidad & Tobago had a record breaking year on home soil in 2005. The youngsters from the Land of the Hummingbird captured unprecedented totals of 13 gold medals and 36 medals in all. Team captain Jamaal James had a disappointing time at CARIFTA last year, but much is expected of him in the under-20 800m run. In the under-17 division, Gavin Nero returns with his eyes on medals in the 800, 1500 and 3000. World Youth Championship 100m bronze medallist Keston Bledman will compete in the under-20 division.

Sade St Louis leads the girls from the twin island republic. Her sprint cohorts include Reyare Thomas and Sade’s cousin, Britany St Louis, while 16-year-old Cadajah Spencer will challenge for precious metal in the under-17 bracket, with the half-lap appearing to be her strongest race. In her last year at CARIFTA, Annie Alexander will lead the T&T challenge in the field, seeking to defend her Shot Put title and add the Discus Throw crown that eluded her in Tobago last year.

Bahamas - intent on more gold

Usain Bolt with his World Junior record clock
(GrenadaSports)

Though the Bahamas had 30 medals last year, they only captured five titles, placing them behind Barbados in the medal standings. This time around, if Jamaal Wilson hopes to climb the top of the podium in under-20 High Jump again, he will have to consider the prowess of new teammate Kyle Grant. In the under-17 competition, Gerard Brown will seek to repeat as double champion in the horizontal jumps, and Raymond Higgs will look to defend his High Jump title.

The Bahamas women did not have a great deal of title success in 2005, and they lost a great deal of experience to the senior ranks. But one of the strongest medal contenders will come from the field, where Gabrielle Nixon will want to better her Discus Throw silver and Shot Put bronze from 12 months ago. Nivea Smith, who is likely to double up in the 100 and 200, looks to lead the track challenge after dominating the competition and running personal-best times at trials.

Barbados leads the rest

Barbados managed 15 medals in Tobago in 2005, but six of those were gold. This year, a 41-member squad that includes 19 CARIFTA rookies will be disappointed with a return of 15 medals, and expects to be considered a serious prospect in the relays, breaking up the traditional Big Three. In the under-17 division especially, the selection committee feels it has put together units that stand comparison with the best the rest of the Caribbean has to offer.

Jamilya Jordan was an under-17 women’s High Jump champion in Tobago, and she hopes to be so again in Abymes. Deandra Dottin took Javelin Throw silver last year, and she is again touted as a potential medallist. On the track, meanwhile, Latoya Griffith was an under-17 bronze medallist last year. She will be hunting the 800m crown in that division this time, along with Sadé Sealy. Hurdler Kierre Beckles is also expected to be in the medal hunt.

After what she describes as a very rewarding Commonwealth Games experience, Anguilla’s 2005 CARIFTA silver medallist, Shara Proctor will try to take over the Long Jump crown vacated by Trinidad & Tobago’s Watkins. Proctor will face stiff competition from Bermuda’s World Youth Champion, Arantxa King, who was also at Commonwealth Games. Anguilla will also enter Denvil Ruan and Cleve Whyte in men’s Long Jump and Joseph Pemberton in the short sprints.

King, meanwhile, will be joined in Guadeloupe by Commonwealth Games teammate LaTroya Darrell. The 18-year-old was second in High Jump and Triple Jump in Tobago. She must be considered a major medal threat in both events this year. So too will Kristin Heyliger be attempting to emulate or better Darrell’s double feats in the under-17 division. Of the 15 athletes chosen by Bermuda, 11 are competing in the lower age stratum.

Among those will be Eulannae Douglas, who will try for the women’s sprint double. The youngest athlete competing at World Youth Chmapionship last year, Eulannae impressed her coaches by running strong times in Morocco, and that experience should stand her in good stead next week. Taking on Trinidad & Tobago’s Nero in all three middle distance events is Matthew Spring. Highly spoken of in Bermuda, he will have the support of teammate and former under-17 1500m champion Taijuan Talbot.

Maxwell Hyman was fourth in last year’s Heptathlon for the Cayman Islands. This year, he should at least be in the medal mix, if not in the title chase. Lasy year’s under-17 Shot Put champion, Shane Evans, is back to attempt all three throws in a new division. Richard Ibeh can consider his meet a success if he can replicate his under-17 Discus Throw silver medal in the under-20 ranks. And the Caymans would surely want to build on last year’s fourth-place relay finish.

After skipping the XXXIV Games, the Commonwealth of Dominica will be represented by three athletes in nearby Guadeloupe. Davis Hypolite qualified in the under-17 men’s Javelin Throw. He was joined by Sabina Christmas in under-20 Javelin Throw, Sabina having won Javelin Throw and Shot Put medals in 2004 in the under-17 category. She recently threw 45.17m, a National Junior Record for Dominica. The third Dominican athlete at CARIFTA is under-20 high jumper Brendon Williams.

Terry Finisterre for the IAAF