HAMILTON, Bermuda - The first night of competition ended very well for Team Bahamas at these 41st CARIFTA Track and Field Championships here in Hamilton, Bermuda, but it didn't start that way.
The team struggled in the 1,500 meters (m) in all four divisions, failing to pick up a single medal.
Eleutheran Kristina Knowles was first up for The Bahamas in those long distance events. She finished eighth in the Under-17 Girls 1,500m, running a time of 5:35.49. Jamaica really distanced itself from The Bahamas and any other challenger overall, as it swept those long distance events. In the Under-17 Girls, it was their Chantai Smith who won the gold, in 4:51.36. Faheemah Scraders, from host Bermuda, was second, in 4:55.46, and Andrea Foster, from Guyana, won the bronze medal, in 4:57.28. Knowles appeared to be in the first after the first lap, but faded to eighth.
"My throat is very sore, but overall, I think that I'm okay. This is my first CARIFTA, but I'm sure I could have done better," said Knowles Saturday night.
The Bahamas had two competitors in the Under-17 Boys 1,500m. Darren Young finished sixth, in 4:33.76, and Cimeleo Darling ended up ninth, in 4:52.24. Jamaica turned in a 1-2 finish, with Webston Pennant winning the gold medal, in 4:18.92, and Orville Dixon coming in second, in 4:20.38. Barbados was third and fourth, with Pius Emilien holding off his teammate Raheem Skinner, for the bronze medal, in 4:23.73. Skinner finished in 4:23.80.
"I'm a little disappointed because I know I could have ran a faster time, but that's just the way it goes sometimes. I didn't know that I was going to get boxed in. I tried to fight my way out of it, but it was too late," said Young on Saturday night.
In the Under-20 Girls 1,500m, Bahamian Jennaya Hield finished eighth, in 5:22.97, and her teammate Hollie Rolle was right behind her, in ninth, in 5:35.14. Jamaican Simoya Campbell won the gold medal, in 4:49.56, Magalie Penelope, from Guadeloupe, finished second, in 4:53.13, and hometown favorite Taylor-Ashley Bean, from Bermuda, settled for the bronze medal, in 4:53.14.
"I felt good going into the race but it just didn't go well for me today. It was just one of those days," said Bahamian Hollie Rolle. "The wind was a major factor today. We're not used of that back home and that caused us," she added.
In the Under-20 Boys 1,500m, Bahamians James Audley Carey and Andre Colebrooke finished eighth and ninth respectively, in times of 4:14.29 and 4:17.55. Jamaican Orane Wint won the gold medal, in 4:06.05, Edgar Marbeq, from St. Lucia, was second, in 4:06.34, and Mark London, from Trinidad & Tobago, won the bronze medal, in 4:09.64.
"Fighting with the wind for the first three laps, that kind of took most of my energy," said Carey. "Also, I haven't been doing much speed work. I couldn't move like everyone else did on that last lap."
Carey was in the silver medal position up until the final lap. He simply didn't have the foot speed to maintain that pace, and as a result, got separated from the lead group. Colebrooke was right behind him, in ninth.
"The weather was unexpectedly very cold. I still had to go out there and run, and it just wasn't there today," said Colebrooke.
After struggling in the first two events of the Open Girls Pentathlon, Miquel Roach picked up some valuable points in the high jump event, as she tied for first, with a leap of 1.58m (5' 2-1/4"). Roach scored 712 points in the event, to finish the first day of competition with 1,519 points. In the under-17 girls triple jump on Saturday, Taryn Rolle finished sixth for The Bahamas, with a best leap of 11.01m (36' 1-1/2"). Guadeloupe finished first and second in the event, with defending
champion Yanis David taking the gold medal, with a best jump of 12.73m (41' 9-1/4"), and Marine Vidal securing the silver medal, with a best leap of 12.21m (40' 0-3/4"). Jamaican Tamara Moncrieffe won the bronze medal, with a best heave of 11.57m (37' 11-1/2").
After two days of competition, The Bahamas sat in second place with 13 total medals - six gold, three silver and four bronze. Jamaica led the way with 27 total medals - 13 gold, six silver and eight bronze, and Guadeloupe was a distant third behind The Bahamas with four total medals - one gold, two silver and one bronze. The British Virgin Islands was the only other country with a gold medal, with the impressive jump by David in the under-17 girls triple jump.
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