Us Virgin Islands

It was an overall tough session for Caribbean representatives to start day two of the five-day championships, as only three men and three women progressed to the 400m hurdles semis, while only Jamaica’s Jade-Ann Dawkins progressed to the triple jump final.

Williams was the only athlete to progress to the semi-finals. She placed third in the sixth and final heat in 54.22s.

Prior to that, Cuba’s Camila Rodriguez (55.24s) and T’anna Liburd (55.91s) of St Kitts and Nevis were fifth and seventh in heat one, as both missed out.

Guyana’s Narissa McPherson also found the going tough in heat two, where she placed fifth in 54.67s. The same is true for Jamaica’s Abrina Wright (54.63s), who was sixth in heat three.

Another Guyanese, Tianna Springer (54.49s) and Tyhra Charles (55.87s) of St Vincent and the Grenadines, placed fourth and eighth, respectively, in heat five, as they also missed out.

On the men’s side of action, Puerto Rico’s Jarell Cruz (47.68s) progressed from heat two, where he placed third, while Jaylen Bennett (47.88s) of St Kitts and Nevis and Jamaica’s Jabari Matheson (49.34s) were fourth and fifth and missed out.

Another Jamaican, Kemario Bygrave, booked a spot in the semi-finals as he placed third in heat three in 47.39s.

Grenada’s Joshem Sylvester (48.49s) was sixth in heat four and missed out, along with Trinidad and Tobago’s Kyrell Thomas (48.02s), who placed sixth in heat six.

However, Guyana’s Austin (46.92s) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Jaden Clement (47.63s) both progressed from heat five, where they placed second and third, respectively.

The semi-finals are scheduled for 5:45pm Jamaica time on Wednesday.

Earlier, only three Caribbean athletes progressed to the women’s 400m hurdles semi-finals following contrasting performances in their respective heats.

Michelle Smith of the US Virgin Islands led all qualifiers as she topped heat two in a brisk 57.85s to book her spot in the next round, while Kei-Mahri Hanna (1:04.84) of the Bahamas finished down the track.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Jenna-Marie Thomas (1:01.91) also missed out after she placed seventh in heat three, so too did Jamaica’s Deschanique Douglas (1:05.43), who placed ninth in heat five.

Jamaica’s Kelly-Ann Carr (1:00.61) and Haiti’s Gloria Guerrier (1:00.65) both progressed from heat four after they placed second and third, respectively, behind Australia’s Alesha Bennetts (59.04s).

Interestingly, the Caribbean will also have only three representatives in the men’s semi-finals, led by Jamaica’s Daniel Wright, who topped heat two in 51.42s to advance. Trinidad and Tobago’s Dorian Charles (53.65s) placed fifth in the same heat and missed out.

Cheyne West, another Trinidad and Tobago representative, placed fourth in heat five in a new personal best 52.18s, which was good to advance as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers.

The next non-automatic qualifying spot was secured by Jamaican Trevoy Smith, who clocked 52.15s for fourth in heat six.

Meanwhile, Taysha Stubbs, the Caribbean’s lone representative in the women’s javelin failed to progress. She placed 11^th in qualifying Group A with a best mark of 44.28m.

In the women’s triple jump, Jamaica’s Jade-Ann Dawkins will be the lone Caribbean representative in the final, as she placed fourth in qualifying Group B with a mark of 12.82m.

Her compatriot, Jaeda Robinson (12.53m) and Cuba’s Ariday Giron (12.21m), both missed out on the final after finishing 13^th and 15^th in qualifying Group A.

In heat two, Suriname's Irvin Hoost finished fourth in 52.99s, while St Lucia's Jayhan Odlum-Smith (50.39s) finished second in heat four, but their times were not good enough to advance.

Heat five saw Bahamian Olympic debutant Lamar Taylor clock a new National Record of 48.84s, and he was also the first swimmer to go sub-50 on the night. Barbados' Jack Kirby finished third in 50.42s.

Aruban swimmer Mikel Schreuders followed Taylor’s suit in heat six, as he too stopped the clock in 48.84s, before Dylan Carter (49.35s) of Trinidad and Tobago finished eighth in heat seven.

However, the night belonged to Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands, who performed admirably to finish third in a blistering 48.01s in heat eight.

Crooks advanced to the semi-finals with the fifth fastest time overall, a mere 0.44 seconds behind the fastest qualifier, American Jack Alexy. The other Caribbean competitors ranked: Hoost (68th), Odlum-Smith (44th), Taylor and Schreuders tied for 26th, Kirby (46th), and Carter (34th).

Collymore, Persaud and Crooks failed to progress in women’s 100m freestyle

Grenada's Tilly Collymore, Guyana's Aleka Persaud and Cayman Islands’ Jillian Crooks all performed exceptionally well in the women's 100m freestyle at the Paris La Defense Arena, but like most of their male counterparts, failed to make the final cut to the semi-finals.

In heat one, Collymore finished second in 58.84s, just 0.65 seconds behind the winner. Persaud (1:01.29) placed fourth in the same heat, while Crooks (56.15s) finished seventh in heat two.

By virtue of their times, Crooks was 23rd overall, Collymore (26th), and Persaud (28th). Sweden's experienced campaigner, Sarah Sjöström, was the fastest qualifier in 52.99s.

Still, the Caribbean ladies had much to celebrate as Collymore, 16, is an Olympic debutant, while Persaud, 18, the youngest member of the Guyana team, was gracing the global multi-sport showpiece for a second time. She finished 55th in the 50m freestyle in Tokyo 2020 with a time of 27.76 seconds.

Crooks, 18, was also enjoying her second Olympic Games outing, having made her Olympic Games debut in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. She won three medals at last year’s Commonwealth Youth Games.

US Virgin Islands’ D'Amour eliminated in men’s Archery

Nicholas D'Amour of the US Virgin Islands lost 6-4 to Japanese archer Fumiya Saito in the men's individual round of 32 eliminations at the Invalides on Tuesday.

Despite a valiant attempt, D'Amour was defeated by a single point in the last set.

D'Amour demonstrated tremendous skill, leading set 2 with a score of 27-24. The Japanese and D'Amour tied sets 1 and 4, with Saito winning sets 3 and 5, defeating the USVI representative by one point in the last set, which determined the outcome. 

D'Amour, 22, made his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020, becoming the first archer to represent the US Virgin Islands. He was eliminated in the first round in a shootout. In 2021, he finished in the top 10 on several occasions, moving him 196 places into the top five in the world rankings. He is also accredited as the 2022 Vegas Shoot silver medallist.