BRIDGEPORT High School’s Jazeel Murphy, reigning Carifta Games Under-17 100- and 200-metre gold medallist, is among two athletes who have ruled out of this weekend’s 39th Carifta Games in the Cayman Islands because of injury.

The Carifta Games is scheduled to be staged between April 2 and 5.

Murphy aggravated his right hamstring injury while placing third in 21.48 seconds in the Class Two 200m at last weekend’s Boys’ and Girls’ Championships.

Natasha Morrison of Glengoffe, who won the Under-20 100m final at the Jamaica trials, is the other athlete who has been dropped from the team due to injury. Morrison also suffered hamstring injury during last weekend’s 100th staging of the ISSA GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Championships at the National Stadium.

David Riley, head coach of Jamaica’s team, which is scheduled to leave the island for the Cayman Islands on Thursday, yesterday shared the unfortunate information with the Observer.

“The decision has been taken to replace Natasha Morrison of Glengoffe with Diandra Gilbert (of The Quuen’s) in the 100m. We’ve also replaced Murphy in the 100m, and Odail Todd (Green Island High) will be doing the 100m,” Riley said. Gilbert was initially scheduled to compete in the 200m and 4x100m events.

Ortohpaedian Dr Warren Blake, who also serves as second vice-president of the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA), had earlier told the Observer that he was doubtful that the injured athletes would recover in time for the Carifta Games.

“If the injuries are severe it is really unlikely that they will recover in time to be able perform at their optimum in just a week,” Dr Blake said.

Riley argued that it is better for Murphy is take time and heal properly.

“I would think that he (Murphy) want to defend his titles and even go faster than the records he established last year, but we have to look beyond these particular Games for him. Later this year, there is the World Junior Championships and that is a bigger stage than Carifta,” he reasoned.

Coach Riley, who played an integral part in helping Wolmer’s to their 12th hold on the Mortimer Geddes Boys’ Trophy at Champs, indicated that only one additional athlete would be drafted into the team.

“We’ll be bringing into the team Omar Graham of Manchester High. He was second in the sprint hurdles Under-17 at Carifta Trials and we’ll be bringing him in for the hurdles, along with Dennis and he will be part of the pool for the sprint relay Under-17,” Riley added.

Graham had clocked 13.63 to place second in the 100m hurdles at the Carifta Trials on March 7. He was also second in the Class Two 110m hurdles at Champs.

Meanwhile, Riley disclosed that his coaching staff is still assessing the fitness Old Harbour High School’s Kemmar Bailey-Cole, who is the defending Under-20 100m bronze medallist from St Lucia last year.

“We are still accessing whether his fitness is there or not and then a decision will be taken, whether to have him compete or not,” the coach said.

Jamaica amassed 67 medals last year (39 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze) to top the Carifta Games medal standings for the 25th straight year. Trinidad and Tobago placed second with 29 followed by Barbados with 21.

Riley told the Observer that while this year’s team is not as strong as in former years, he still expects top-class performances.

“The team is fairly strong… not as strong as the teams we’ve had in the past, but having looked at the performances out of the other countries in their trials, I think we should be able to continue the kind of performances that we are accustomed to in the past years in terms of our dominance at the Carifta Games,” he reasoned.