Trinidad and Tobago emerged the top English-speaking Caribbean nation at the 2023 Pan American Games that concluded in Santiago, Chile on Sunday. The twin-island republic won four medals at the games, securing a gold, one silver and two bronze medals to be tied in 19^th position overall.

Guyana’s Leslain Baird  fought valiantly to win a bronze medal in the men’s javelin on the final day of track and field action at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile on Saturday.

The 36-year-old thrower, who won a silver medal at the South American Games in Bolivia 2018, threw a commendable 78.23m to secure the final podium position in the event won by the USA’s Curtis Thompson. It was Guyana’s third medal of the games.

The American produced a winning throw of 79.65m, miles off Anderson Peters’ Pan American record of 87.31m set in 2019.

Brazil’s Pedro Henrique Nunes won the silver medal with his best effort of 78.45m.

Jaheel Hyde emerged victorious in the men’s final of the 400m hurdles and at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile on Friday.

 In winning Jamaica’s first gold medal of the games, Hyde clocked 49.19 for a comfortable victory over Brazil’s Matheus Lima, who won the silver medal in a time of 49.69. Cuba’s Yoao Illas was close behind in third in 49.74.

To date, Jamaica has so far won five medals at the games – one gold and four bronze medals – at the games.

A series of unstoppable performances on the International Cycling Union (UCI) circuits in Canada and Germany, followed by a classy display at the PanAm Elite Track Cycling Championships in Argentina, a performance which complemented a gold medal win at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Add to that another double medal-winning performance at the Pan American (PanAm) Games in Santiago, Chile.

For many, that would more than represent a successful cycling career. But for Trinidad and Tobago's Nicholas Paul, this is only the beginning. In fact, despite his many successes to date, Paul still views his career as a work in progress, possibly because he is still hunting that one prize or moment to really define things and that is the Olympic Games dream.

Much like he did at the PanAm Elite Track Cycling Championships in Argentina where he won the Sprints and Keirin, while clocking a new track record 9.349 seconds in the flying 200m, Paul once again demonstrated his qualities as one of the best track cyclists in the world when he won gold in the final of the Men’s Sprint at the 2023 Pan American Games.

The outstanding 25-year-old out-paced his rival Jair Tjon of Suriname to top the podium, while Kevin Santiago Qunitero Chavarro of Colombia bettered Canada’s Nicholas John Wammes in the race for the bronze medal.

For Paul, the win added to his Pan Am Games title won in Lima, Peru in 2019 and he rightly expressed delight at the accomplishments.

“Firstly I would like to thank God for a safe meet. I am very pleased with my performance at this stage of the season because my preparation coming into the Pan-American Games was really good, and so I knew it was all left to my execution as the key factor which would determine how things would turnout.

“Fortunately, I executed well both in the flying 200m and the Sprints achieving some excellent results. Creating a new games record is always a special moment for me and my country,” Paul told SportsMax.tv.

The modest twin island republic cyclist returned a day later to cop a silver medal in the Men’s Keirin final.

On that occasion, Paul used his electric sprint speed in the final lap to power himself to second place, after falling behind the pack with a couple of laps remaining in the six-lap event.

The event was won by Colombia's Kevin Quintero, the reigning world champion in the event, while Mexico's Juan Ruiz Teran was third.

Paul, who has been a model of consistency throughout the season, attributed his continuous improvement and, by extension, success to the time spent in training honing his craft.

“It’s means a lot to me just to know that my hard work is paying off and I’m able to show the world that Trinidad and Tobago has a lot of talent. Like I said before, my preparations for the PanAm Games have been great and so I am pleased that I was able to accomplish all my goals to an extent,” he shared.

That said, Paul hinted at the possibility of much more to come, as he intends to continue pushing the limits and discover what he is truly able to achieve –next year’s Olympic Games in Paris being his next immediate target.

“It’s all a work in progress, my plan is to build on this performance and to do so, I intend to keep putting in those hard hours to keep getting stronger and faster. My overall goal for this year and beyond is to firstly qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games and secondly, try to win a medal or medals at the Olympic Games for Trinidad and Tobago. But for now, the focus is some much-needed rest and recovery," Paul declared.

Things may not have gone how Yona Knight-Wisdom would have liked during his recent outing at the Pan American (PanAm) Games in Chile, but the flag-bearing diver has no intentions reeling in the disappointment for too long.

Instead, Knight-Wisdom views the sub-par performances as an indication that he has some amount of work to do, if he is to achieve the feat of competing at a third-consecutive Olympic Games.

The British-born diver, whose father is Jamaican and mother Barbadian, placed 11th in both the individual 1-metre and 3-metre springboard events with scores of 318.60 and 372.10 respectively.

He also placed fifth in the 3-metre springboard synchronized dive with Canada-born compatriot Yohan Eskrick-Parkinson. Together, they scored 345.51, behind their Mexican (425.46), Colombian (398.67) and United States (368.64) counterparts.

“There is definitely a hint of disappointment from PanAm Games because I struggled with inconsistency throughout the week. But at the same time, I am also a bit excited for the months ahead because I managed to reach a decent level at such an early point in the season and there’s much room for improvement, both individually and in synchro,” Knight-Wisdom told SportsMax.TV.

“The PanAm Games really exposed my natural strengths and weaknesses, so I know exactly what I need to work on between now and the World Championships in February, and hopefully my confidence will grow over the next few months. Synchro was probably the highlight for me because it was a really solid performance in a high quality field. We’re definitely in the mix for Olympic qualification,” he added.

While he reflected with a mixed bag of emotions, Knight-Wisdom, pointed out that the lessons from his recent performances and, by extension, the challenges he overcame along the way, are used as motivation to go even harder in his next training session or competition.

Simply put, Knight-Wisdom’s passion and desire to achieve greatness burns fiercely much like a hellish fire, as he is not merely satisfied with his 1-m springboard silver at the 2019 PanAm Games, nor his 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games appearance.

“So many lessons have come from PanAm. It was one of the most challenging periods of my career, having only six weeks to prepare, and still only 10 months or so since my knee surgery. It showed me that I’m absolutely still capable, but I really need to streamline my focus on competition preparation in the lead up to the last qualifier in February,” Knight-Wisdom shared.

Though the physical and mental challenges are not unique to Knight-Wisdom as many athletes often struggle to find their way back from injury, it is the grace and faith that towering diver exudes as he represents the country with much gusto that stands out.

“I was also getting lots of compliments from other divers and coaches, which gives me confidence even though I wasn’t feeling particularly good within myself on this occasion,” Knight-Wisdom said.

“I honestly believe I’m on the right track and don’t need to make any drastic changes, I just need to trust the process and I believe I will have a great chance of qualifying for the Olympics in two events. So though disappointing, the PanAm experience was definitely extremely valuable for me,” he noted.

For now, Knight-Wisdom said the focus is now rest and recovery to not only improve his mental toughness, but more importantly, to ensure he returns, better and stronger for his next assignment in December, followed by the big Olympic qualifiers in February.

“So it is a few days of rest, then back into training to prepare for the British nationals in December, which will be my last warm up event before the World Championships in Doha in February.

“My chances are definitely good, but anything can happen on the day, so I really need to leave no stone unturned over the next few months and put myself in the best position possible to compete close to my best level in February. I don’t need to be right at my best, but my best is what I’ll be aiming for,” he ended.

Jamaica and Domincan Republic added medals to their tally on day three of athletics action at the Pan American (Pan Am) Games in Santiago, Chile on Monday.

For Jamaica, discus throwers Samantha Hall and Fedrick Dacres, both claimed bronze in their respective events, while Dominican Republic proved too good for rivals in the 4x400m mixed relay.

Hall, who competed at the World Athletics Championships in Hungary, claimed her first medal at the senior level, with a throw of 59.14m. She placed behind the Brazilian pair of Izabela Rodrigues, who won gold with a throw of 59.63m, and Andressa Oliveira (59.29m).

Another Jamaican Adrienne Adams was eighth in the event with a best mark of 55.55m.

On the men’s side, Dacres secured Jamaica's third bronze when he launched the instrument to a mark of 61.25m. Chile’s Lucas Nervi (63.39m), and Colombia’s Mauricio Alexander Ortega (61.86m), were first and second. Kai Chang, the other Jamaican in the event, was sixth at 59.96m.

Domincan Republic added a sixth gold medal to go with their four silver and 10 bronze, with victory in the 4X400m Mixed relay final. Their quartet, which included World Champion Marileidy Paulino, won in 3:16.05, ahead of Brazil (3:18.55) and United States (3:19.41).

Elsewhere on the track, Liranyi Arislayne Alonso of Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago's Reyare Mary Thomas, clocked identical times of 11.69s for second and third in semi-final one of the women’s 100m. Both, along with winner Cecilia Tamayo (11.66s) of Mexico, secured a spot in the final.

Guyana’s Keliza Smith (11.78s) and Jamaica’s Mickaell Moodie (11.86s), who also contested that semi-final, were sixth and seventh respectively.

Jasmine Abrams of Guyana won semi-final two in 11.60s, with Brazil’s Ana De Jesus (11.64s) and Cuba’s Yarima Garcia (11.65s), in second and third respectively.

On the men's side, Guyana’s Emanuel Archibald (10.35s) and Odaine McPherson (10.37s), produced contrasting performances in semi-final one, but did enough to secure their respective spots in the final. Archibald was third and McPherson, who advanced to the final as a non-automatic qualifier, was fourth.

They joined Jose Alnardo Gonzales (10.30s) of Dominican Republic, who won ahead of Brazil's Felipe Bardi (10.33s). Hakeem Huggins of St Kitts and Nevis was seventh in 10.54s.

Jamaica's Jevaughn Whyte and Samson Colebrooke of the Bahamas were fourth and seventh in semi-final two, clocking 10.52s and 10.62s, respectively, as both failed to make the final cut.

Cuba’s Shainer Rengifo was the lone Caribbean athlete to progress from semi-final three, which he won in 10.36s.

Meanwhile, Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams secured her spot in the women’s 400m final after she place second in semi-final one in 51.82s. Chile’s Martina Weil won the event in 51.47s, with Ecuador’s Nicole Caicedo (52.32s) third.

Trinidad and Tobago secured their first medal of the Pan American (PanAm) Games courtesy of the Men’s 3X3 basketball team, which edged Venezuela 21-20 in the third-place playoff in Santiago, Chile on Monday.

The twin island republic, who had knocked off Brazil in Sunday’s quarterfinal, lost in their semi-final contest 21-9 to the United States. The Americans eventually won gold, 21-15 over hosts Chile in the final.

Trinidad and Tobago's National Basketball Federation vice president of organising and development Daron Lall was over the moon and said the fraternity appreciates every effort the team put out.

“We are extremely proud of our team. These guys have been working extremely hard over the last eight to ten weeks. We played some powerhouses. Thank you to the team and the coaching staff for all they did. We know the struggles they went through and the obstacles that happened, but we are grateful as a country for putting us on the map. It’s emotional," Lall said.

At the Centro Acuatico, TT swimmer Nikoli Blackman had another tough day in the pool as the settled for sixth place in the men’s 100m freestyle B final. He clocked 50.81s.

In the earlier heats, Blackman placed sixth in heat three of four, in 51.01s. His time was 17th fastest overall but good enough for the B final. Racing out of heat four was compatriot Zarek Wilson, who was eighth fastest to the wall in 58.37s.

Meanwhile, one of CARICOM’s best hopes for a PanAm Games boxing medal in Chile, Keevin Allicock was eliminated Monday.

The Guyanese lost his featherweight quarter-final bout to American Jahmal Harvey, the 2021 world champion in the 57kg division. Top Barbadian Charles Cox also lost his light heavyweight quarterfinal, going down 4-1 to Haiti’s Cedric Belony-Duliepre.

The Bermuda Olympic Association (BOA) announced Monday an 11-member squad representing five sports for the Pan American Games in Chile starting later this month.

Swimming has the biggest unit of four, siblings Emma Harvey and Jack Harvey, Madelyn Moore and Sam Williamson. This past summer’s Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games 1500-metre bronze medallist Dage Minors is the sole representative for the island in track and field.

The squad for the October 20 to November 6 event, is completed by cyclists Conor White and Kaden Hopkins, Campbell Patton and Adriana Penruddocke in sailing, and triathletes Erica Hawley and Tyler Smith.

Julia Hawley, Bermuda’s chef de mission for the Games is looking forward to the final push for the event.

“I’m thrilled to be leading our Bermuda Team,” she said.

“Our team is small, but our athletes have had to attain very difficult standards in order to qualify and compete at these Games. There are Olympic points, Olympic time standards and even Olympic spots at all the events our athletes have qualified for.

“They will do Bermuda proud on the world stage and I will do everything as Chef to ensure their journey to the Games, and at the Games, is as smooth as possible and they are able to focus only on their competitions,” Hawley added.