Olympic champion Steven Gardiner and British Virgin Islands standout Djimon Gumbs were among the Caribbean athletes who secured impressive victories at the 2025 LSU Alumni Gold meet on Saturday in Baton Rouge.
Gardiner, the 2019 World 400m champion from The Bahamas, made a statement in the men’s 400m, winning comfortably in 45.18 seconds. He finished ahead of Florida State freshman Micahi Danzy (45.41) and Louisiana Tech’s Frank Bradley-Reed (45.98).
In the field events, Djimon GDumbs claimed top honours in the men’s shot put with a best throw of 19.71m. Gumbs' mark easily outdistanced Donroy Brown of Southeastern Louisiana (17.91m) and Piers Cameron of Southern Miss (17.69m).
There were several other strong performances from Caribbean athletes throughout the day.
In the men's discus, Trinidad and Tobago’s Jaden James finished second with a throw of 54.70m, while Jamaica’s Chad Hendricks placed third at 53.74m. The event was won by LSU’s Jevan Parara, who threw 54.94m.
In the men's 110m hurdles, Jamaican Jahiem Stern secured second place in 13.39 seconds, finishing behind LSU teammate Matthew Sophia (13.31). Oscar Smith of Louisiana Tech was third in 13.55.
Stern
In women’s sprint action, Jamaican Shenese Walker of Florida State placed fifth in the women's 100m, clocking 11.20 seconds in a race won by Nigeria's Favour Ofili (10.99). Audrey Leduc of Athletics Canada (11.07) and Thelma Davies of Tiger Olympians (11.11) completed the podium.
Cayman Islands sprinter Jaiden Reid finished fourth in the men’s 100m, posting 10.36 seconds. Nigerian Seye Ogunlewe (10.324) edged out Eliezer Adjibi of Athletics Canada (10.327) for the win, both recording 10.33 seconds, while Neo Mosebi of Florida State was third in 10.34.
Reid
In the men’s triple jump, Bahamian LaQuan Ellis placed third with a leap of 14.81m (-2.0m/s). Stafon Roach of ULM won with 15.83m, ahead of Jeremy Nelson of Louisiana (15.47m).
In the women’s triple jump, Jamaican Machaeda Linton of LSU finished second with a jump of 12.98m (+1.2m/s), just behind Zalsha Fraser, who won with 13.08m (+0.2m/s). Florida State's Kayla Pinkard was third with 12.64m.
Jamaican Shadane Smith also delivered a strong run in the men’s 400m hurdles, taking second place in 51.22 seconds. Javel Fullerton of Southern Miss won the event in 51.01, while Matthew Malcolm of ULM was third in 51.36.