Team Guyana finished with eight medals, three gold, two silver and three bronze when the curtains came down on this year’s CARIFTA Games last night at the Thomas Robinson Stadium in the Bahamas.
The medalists for Guyana’s 19-member athlete outfit were: Anisha Gibbons,Tianna Springer, Javon Roberts, Attoya Harvey, Seon Booker, Ezekiel Saul and Trevon Hamer.
Springer started Guyana’s gold medal hunt with a gutsy win in the female 400m U-17 final mere hours after arriving on a late charter on Saturday. The 16-year-old clocked a personal best of 54.32s to climb the top podium step ahead of Jamaica’s Jody Ann Daley (54.32s) and St Kitts’ DeCheynelle Thomas (55.46s).
Gibbons recorded her best throw of 47.96m on Sunday in her very first attempt to earn her third successive gold medal in the javelin at the annual showpiece event.
In front of a raucous crowd, the 19-year-old, who is on a scholarship in the US, bested silver medalist from French Guiana, Korann Colet (45.32m) and The Bahamas’ Vanessa Sawyer (43.37m) who finished with the bronze.
The gold was a fitting end to cap Gibbons’ dominance at the Regional Games.
Roberts then capped Team Guyana’s gold medal performances with a spectacular run in the male 800m U-17 final yesterday. He finished the two-lap event in 1:56.64s, leading Jamaica’s Delano Todd (1:57.44s) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Brandon Leacock (1:58.17s) onto the podium.
Hamer, won Guyana’s last medal of the games yesterday, a bronze in the male Triple Jump U-20 event. He hopped, skipped and jumped 14.89m, just behind Bahamas’ Laquan Ellis (14.91m). Jamaica’s Jaydon Hibbert leaped to gold in 16.11m.
Meanwhile the Guyana 4x400m mixed relay was disqualified after placing third in the final.
According to reports out of The Bahamas the team was disqualified because of a lane infringement.
Guyana’s mixed relay team, comprised Narissa McPherson, Omar James, Tianna Springer, and Wesley Noble Jr.
Last year in Jamaica, Guyana also ended their participation with seven medals– two gold, three silver and two bronze – while finishing fifth in the medal standings behind Trinidad and Tobago (23), British Virgin Islands (7), The Bahamas (17) and Jamaica (92).
Up to press time, it was still uncertain how Guyana finished on this year’s medal table.
As the curtain closed on the 50th edition of the annual event, it was disclosed that Grenada will play host next year while Trinidad will stage the event in 2025.
Below is the breakdown of the medals and the medalists
Gold
Anisha Gibbons -Women’s Javelin U-20
Tianna Springer – Women’s 200m U-17
Javon Roberts – Men’s 800m U-17
Silver
Javon Roberts -Men’s 1500m U-17
Attoya Harvey -Women’s Open 3000m
Bronze
Seon Booker -Men’s 1500m U-20
Ezekiel Saul – Men’s Triple Jump U-17
Trevon Hamer – Men’s Triple Jump U-20
