Jamaicans sweep boys' and girls' 1500m races at 51st Carifta Games
Rickeisha Simms led a Jamaica one-two finish in the girls' Under-20 event.
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Jamaica’s athletes registered a clean sweep of the boys’ and girls’ Under-17 and Under-20 1,500m titles, as they continued their impressive start to the 51st edition of the Carifta Games at the Kirani James Athletics Stadium in Grenada on Saturday.
The Jamaicans enjoyed one-two finishes in the girls’ Under-17 and Under-20 races, with another one-two finish coming in the boys’ Under-20 race, while boys’ Under-17 event produced a one-three finish.
Dallia Fairweather and Alikay Reynolds got things going in the girls’ Under-17 event where they utilised strategy to outclass their Trinidad and Tobago counterparts, who tried to stick with them.
At the end, Fairweather won in 4:45.86, ahead of Reynolds (4:46.14), with Trinidad and Tobago’s Shian Lewis (4:48.58) taking bronze.
Patience was also proved rewarding for Jamaica’s Shemar Green in the boys’ Under-17 event, as he timed his race to perfection to cut down longtime leader Wyndel Beyde of Aruba in the stretch run. Green won in 4:11.91, with Beyde (4:12.80) staying on for second ahead of another Jamaican Sekani Brown (4:15.21).
In the girls’ Under-20 event, Rickeisha Simms, also produced a later burst to win gold in 4:31.94 and add to her title won in 2022. Her compatriot Kaydeen Johnson, who led for most of the way was second in 4:32.49, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Kaleigh Forde (4:41.71) was third.
The Jamaican sweep was completed by Kemario Bygrave, who ensured that he completes his final year of the competition with a gold. He stopped the clock in 3:58.10, ahead of compatriot Jaquan Coke (3:58.38), with Bermuda’s Jake Brislane (3:58.83) taking bronze.
The Carifta Games can be seen live on SportsMax and the SportsMax App.
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McClaren basks in first win as Reggae Boyz edge Honduras to keep quarterfinal hopes alive
Steve McClaren is savouring his first victory since taking the reins as Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz head coach after they secured a 2-1 win over Honduras in hostile territory, a scoreline that kept their Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal hopes alive.
The hard-fought League A battle in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday saw McClaren's men step up under immense pressure, especially following their opening draw against Cuba, which meant they had to rebound to improve their chances of finishing in the top two.
A 49th-minute own goal by Denil Maldonado and Michail Antonio’s 76th-minute penalty got the job done for the Boyz, who moved to the top of the Group B standings on four points, the same as Nicaragua, who were held to a 1-1 stalemate by Cuba. Honduras, who had their goal from David Ruiz in the 50th minute, were relegated to third on three points, with Cuba (two points), French Guiana (one point), and Trinidad and Tobago (one point) rounding out the group.
McClaren, who took charge of the team ahead of the tournament, credited the victory to the team’s blend of youth and experience.
“We had Premier League players out there, Ethan Pinnock, Antonio, and others, but we also had some new players coming on. We gave an opportunity to Norman Campbell, and yeah, he persisted and got us the first goal, then introduced Kaheim Dixon. So we had on the field a really nice blend of personalities of the older guys, looking after the younger guys,” McClaren said in a post-match press conference.