KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica finished fourth on the medal table with a total of 17 as the track and field competition came to an end at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games at the Roberto Melendez stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, yesterday with both the men’s and women’s marathons.

This result was a massive improvement over 2014 when the team returned with one medal, a bronze, from the event that was hosted by Mexico.

Jamaican athletes won eight gold medals, three silver and six bronze to finish behind hosts Colombia who won 25 medals including 11 gold, five silver and nine bronze; powerhouse Cuba who won the most medals with a total of 27, 10 gold, eight silver and nine bronze, and Mexico who had the same amount of medals as Jamaica, also with eight gold, four silver, one more than Jamaica, and five bronze, one less than Jamaica.

Other English speaking Caribbean territories that earned medals were Trinidad and Tobago with two gold, five silver and two bronze; Barbados with two gold and a bronze; British Virgin Islands with a gold, a silver and a bronze; the Bahamas and St Lucia with one gold each, both coming in the men’s and women’s high jump respectively; St Kitts and Nevis, Bermuda and Grenada with one silver each and Antigua Barbuda won a bronze.

The absence of super-stars, for the most part, created opportunities for several Jamaicans to win their first major individual gold medal in national colours.

Paul Reid