Ja add 3 gold in 6-medal haul at CAC Games
MONTEGO BAY, St James — The women’s sprint relay team, discus thrower Allison Randall and sprint hurdler Monique Morgan all won their events as Jamaica added another six medals, including three gold, on yesterday’s second day of the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Senior track and field championships in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico.
Added to the five medals won on Friday’s first day of the three-day meet, Jamaica finished yesterday with a total of 11 medals — six gold, three silver and two bronze and trail hosts Mexico, who lead with 25 medals — 11 gold, nine silver and six bronze.
The Bahamas won two gold medals yesterday to join Trinidad and Tobago, while Barbados, Honduras, St Lucia, Guyana and Costa Rica all have a gold medal.
The championships end today and Jamaicans will continue their medal hunt in a number of events, including both 400m hurdles, men’s high jump, both 200m, which will have both semi-finals and finals today, men’s triple jump, both 800m finals, men’s shot put and the finals of both 4x400m relays.
Yesterday, after winning the individual gold in the 100m on Friday, Sheri-Ann Brooks anchored the Jamaicans to the gold medal in the 4x100m relay in 43.58 seconds to retain the title won two years ago in Puerto Rico, beating Trinidad and Tobago (43.67 seconds) and The Bahamas (44.08 seconds).
The Trinidad team had Kai Selvon and Michelle Lee-Ahye, while the veteran Debbie Ferguson and Nevia Smith ran the third and fourth legs for the Bahamians.
Elaine Thompson led off for Jamaica and handed off to Nadine Palmer, who passed the baton to 100m bronze medallist Aleen Bailey.
The quartet of Oshane Bailey, men’s individual 100m champion Andrew Fisher, Jermaine Brown and Jason Livermore clocked 38.86 seconds for silver behind The Bahamas (38.77 seconds) and ahead of Trinidad and Tobago (39.26 seconds).
The Jamaican men had won two years ago.
Morgan, who last represented Jamaica as a junior almost a decade ago, won the 100m hurdles in 13.25 seconds running into a negative 1.5m/s wind, as her teammate Indira Spence finished in fifth place with 13.49 seconds.
In the men’s 110m hurdles final, defending champion Eric Keddo was a disappointing fifth in 13.92 seconds, running into a 3.4m/s wind.
Shane Brathwaite of Barbados won in 13.70 ahead of Trinidad’s Wayne Davis (13.75 seconds) and Cuba’s Yordan O’Farrill (13.82 seconds).
Repeat Jamaican women’s discus champion Randall won her first CAC Senior title after taking bronze two years ago but only managed 55.26m, short of her season’s best 58.97m and the ‘B’ qualifying mark for the World Championships, which is 59.50m.
Two Mexicans finished behind her — Paulina Flores with 50.16m and Irais Estrada with 49.84m.
Jamaica also won two silver medals in the men’s and women’s 400m finals. Omar Johnson clocked 45.50 seconds to win Jamaica’s first medal at the event since 2009 when Dane Hyatt was also second in Havana, Cuba.
The other Jamaican Akheem Gauntlet was sixth with 51.16 seconds, as Trinidad’s Jarrin Solomon won the gold in 45.54 seconds, and Gustavo Cuesta of the Dominican Republic took the bronze in 46.20 seconds.
Schoolgirl Chriss-Ann Gordon, the Pan-American junior champion in 2011, took the silver medal in 52.52 seconds behind pre championships favourite Kadecia Baird of Guyana who won in 51.32 seconds, with St Vincent’s Kineke Alexander third in 52.81 seconds.
Bobby-Gay Wilkins was fifth in 53.01 seconds.
Also yesterday, both Isa Phillips (50.64), one of the fastest losers, and Roxroy Cato, who was third in his semi-final heat in 50.67 seconds, qualified for today’s final of the men’s 400m hurdles.