Kia Alert (left) and Noland Barrett show off their high point trophies.
(Photos: Loop Jamaica & Lynval Lowe)
The 37th Carifta Swimming Championships has come and gone, but the experience of representing one's country on one of the biggest stages in the region has left an indelible mark on the younger participants, in particular, to the point where they continue to revel in their accomplishments.
Jamaica's Kia Alert and Noland Barrett are two such swimmers, who though not new to national representation, basked in the fact that they rose to the occasion and displayed their immense potential with standout performances that assisted the country to its 45-medal tally, including 18 gold, 12 silver and 15 bronze.
The 27-member Jamaican team also placed fourth on the points standing with combined total of 559 points, behind host The Bahamas (1,096.50 points), who secured an unprecedented sixth-straight Carifta Swimming Championship victory. Cayman Islands (660 points), Trinidad and Tobago (639 points), and Barbados (486.50 points) were the other top five teams.
Alert, who competed in the girls’ 11-12 division, relished her second outing at the championship, as she earned most points for Jamaica. She copped gold in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, the 50m and 100m freestyle, as well as in the 50m butterfly, and those were complemented by silver in the 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley (IM).
“I really felt like I was prepared enough to do really well, and I was excited just to put the hours of hard work on display, so I was really happy and proud hearing the National anthem after I won, knowing that all the hard work paid off,” Alert said.
“I also felt good about my other performances because I know I tried my hardest even on the third day when I had the 200m IM, 100m breast and 50m free, I tried my hardest and succeeded so I am really grateful that I came out healthy,” she added.
While delighted with her personal haul, Alert praised her teammates, Christanya Shirley and others, who in a consistent show of spirit and talent, also contributed significantly to Jamaica’s medal haul. That togetherness and pride she said is what swimmers count on to keep going, especially when things don’t go as expected in the pool.
“Team Jamaica’s performances deserve tremendous commendation. After a slow start, each member of the team gave their best and everyone contributed to our total points tally. For each day of the competitions there were several personal best performances seen, so even if swimmers did not medal, they did well enough to achieve PBs and that’s enough to be proud of,” Alert reasoned.
Meanwhile, the overseas-based Barrett, who had a credible outing at CCCAN last year, was making his debut at the Carifta Swimming Championships and contested finals in most of his events in the boys’ 13-14 category. He won gold in the 100m, 200m and the 400m freestyle events.
“Going into the Carifta Games I was excited to not only see my teammates I haven't seen in a while, but more importantly, to perform very well. I had a lot of fun being there and also dropping a lot of times and securing personal best, and while hearing the national anthem, I was proud that I was representing my country,” Barrett shared.
“So, I was really satisfied with my performances, I am more excited about the 400m free where I ended up dropping 11 seconds and I was really proud of how much I was able to accomplish on my first year and knowing that I have next year to do even better,” he noted.
Barrett contested the 13-14 age group alongside, Matthew Kennedy, Kai Radcliffe and others, who also produced credible performances.
Kennedy mined bronze in the 100m and 200m freestyle to go with his other top eight finishes, while Radcliffe, known for his breaststroke prowess, secured gold in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, and silver in the 200m breaststroke.
Radcliffe also flirted with the 50m breaststroke national age group record of 30.94s held by Kito Campbell, with his 30.98s-clocking.
Like Alert, Barrett, 14, pointed out that the team spirit was based on pride, passion and performance.
“I am proud of the team's performance, and I believe every athlete should be celebrated for their effort. All the coaches who prepared the swimmers for qualification and the championship should be proud of how they performed. We all stood strong, performed strong and gave out best to achieve what we did for Jamaica,” Barrett ended.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
BVI's Adaejah Hodge, Ja's Shanoya Douglas cop gold, bronze in women's 200m at World U-20 Champs
Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) delivered a stunning performance to cop gold in the women’s 200m final at the World Under-20 Championships, while Jamaica’s Shanoya Douglas claimed bronze in Lima, Peru, on Friday.
Hodge, 18, who claimed silver in the same event at the 2022 Championships, upgraded her medal to gold as she topped the field in 22.74s, marking a significant milestone in her budding career.
The Olympian’s victory was the highlight of a successful night for the Caribbean, as 16-year-old Douglas also secured a spot on the podium, finishing third in 23.10s in a thrilling race that once again showcased the region's sprinting prowess. The Caribbean duo was separated by Australia’s Torrie Lewis, who clocked a personal best of 22.88s for second.
From the gun, Hodge, who was determined to improve on her previous silver medal finish, established herself as a solid contender for the top spot. With powerful strides and impeccable form, she maintained her composure around the curve and later exploded in the straight to leave rivals in her wake.
Hodge’s win and Douglas’ bronze brought the curtains down on what was the most successful for the Caribbean since the start of the five-day Championships, as Kerrica Hill earlier copped Jamaica’s second gold medal when she clocked 12.99s to top the women’s 100m hurdles. She won ahead of Croatia’s Mia Wild (13.15s) and Delta Amidzovski (13.24s) of Australia.
Jamaica now has two gold medals and one bronze, while Hodge claimed her country's first medal.
Carlos Brown Jr (21.51s) of the Bahamas finished eighth in the men's 200m final.
Prior to that, Jamaica’s Richard Hall and Cuba’s Yander Herrera missed out on the podium in the men’s final, as both clocked in at 13.46s for fifth and sixth. The event was won by American Ja’Kobe Tharp in a new World Under-20 leading time of 13.05s.
His compatriot Andre Korbmacher (13.14s) was second, with China’s Yuanjiang Chen third in 13.21s, a national Under-20 record.
Meanwhile, Michelle Smith of US Virgin Islands once again established herself as the gold medal favourite, as she was the fastest through to Saturday’s final. Smith clocked a brisk 56.39s to win semi-final two, while Haiti’s Gloria Guerrier (1:00.20) finished eighth and failed to progress.
Jamaica’s Kelly Ann Carr suffered a similar fate in semi-final three as she placed eighth in 1:00.33.
Only one Caribbean athlete will be present in the men’s final and that is Jamaica’s Daniel Wright, who topped semi-final three in 51.11s, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Cheyne West (53.09s) placed seventh in the same race and missed out.
Another Jamaican Trevoy Smith (54.24s), also finished down the track in a brisk semi-final one, which saw the top two qualifiers crossing the line together in a World Under-20 leading time of 49.36s.
The 400m hurdles finals are scheduled for 4:35pm Jamaica time on Saturday.
Jamaica fastest through to men’s and women’s 4x100m finals at World Under-20 Championships
Jamaica’s female and male quartets both looked mightily impressive in the heats of the 4x100m relays on day four of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru on Friday.
The female team comprising Sabrina Dockery, Alliah Baker, Briana Campbell and Alana Reid first combined to easily win their heat in 43.81, the fastest time in qualifying.
Puerto Rico, who ran a national Under-20 record 45.28 in second in that heat, also made it through to Saturday’s final.
On the men’s side, the team of Jace Witter, Gary Card, Nyrone Wade and Deandre Daley won their heat in 39.54, also the fastest time in the heats.
Trinidad & Tobago’s team of Che Jean-Marc Wickham, Kadeem Chinapoo, Hakeem Chinapoo and Dylan Woodruff will also be in the final after combining to run 39.77 to finish second behind the Jamaicans in heat four.
Jamaica’s women also advanced to the final of the Women’s 4x400m. Abrina Wright, Shanque Williams, Anecia Campbell and Nastassia Fletcher combined to run 3:38.04 to finish second in their heat behind Colombia who won in 3:38.01.
In the field, Jamaica’s Shaiquan Dunn threw 57.82m to advance to the final of the men’s discus.
Ja's Penn, Cuban duo fall short in triple jump final on medalless day for Caribbean; Hill, Douglas, Hodge among six through to respective finals
Jamaica’s Chavez Penn and Cuban duo Gian Baxter and Anthony Martinez failed to make the podium in the men’s triple jump final at the World Under-20 Championships on what was another topsy-turvy day for Caribbean athletes in Lima, Peru.
With only the three women’s 100m medals credited to the Caribbean so far at the five-day championships, there were slight hopes that the tally might have been increased on Thursday’s third day of action, but it was not to be.
Martinez (15.00m) and Penn (14.71m) struggled for rhythm in the hop, skip, and jump event and, as such, placed 10th and 11th, respectively, while Baxter, who got into the final eight, placed sixth with a best leap of 16.58m.
Prior to that, only Jamaica’s Kerrica Hill and Cuba’s Jocelyn Echazabal progressed in the women’s 100m hurdles final, and it will also be a Jamaica-Cuba combination for the men’s 110m hurdles final, as only Richard Hall and Yander Herrera safely navigated the semi-final round.
Echazabal (13.31s) booked her spot in the final with a second-place finish in semi-final one, while Jamaica’s Habiba Harris (13.64s) placed
Hill continued her charge towards the gold medal, as she won semi-final two in a flat 13.00s, while Maya Rollins (13.96s) of Barbados finished down the track.
On the men’s side, Jamaica’s Daniel Beckford (13.80s) missed out, as he placed sixth in his semi-final.
Cuba’s Herrera placed fourth in his semi-final, but his 13.62s was good enough for one of the two non-automatic qualifying spots, while Jamaican Hall (13.44s) placed second in semi-final three, behind American Ja’Kobe Tharp, who clocked a World Under-20 leading mark of 13.11s.
The sprint hurdles finals are scheduled for 5:05pm and 5:25pm Jamaica time on Friday.
Meanwhile, Adaejah Hodge of British Virgin Islands and Jamaica’s Shanoya Douglas will be present in the women’s 200m final, while Carlos Brown of the Bahamas will be the sole Caribbean representative in the men’s event.
Hodge, the 100m silver medallist, topped semi-final two in an easy 23.18s, while Jamaica’s Sabrina Dockery (23.75s) placed fourth and missed out.
Douglas (23.34s) placed second in the third semi-final to secure her spot in the medal event.
Guyana’s Jackson Clarke (21.88s), Jamaica’s Romario Hines (21.68s) and Barbadian Aragorn Straker (21.30s), finished seventh, fourth and fifth in their respective semi-finals and missed out, as Brown Jr (21.19s) placed third and booked one of the fastest non-automatic qualifying spots.
The 200m finals are scheduled for 6:35pm Jamaica time also on Friday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
