There was jubilation for the two Jonathans – Jones and Miller – as they ended the 47th Flow CARIFTA Games by grabbing gold medals for Barbados at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium last night.
Jones said farewell to the Games in grand style by winning the Under-20 Boys’ 800 metres for the second consecutive year, while Miller captured gold in the Under-20 Boys’ triple jump.
The 19-year-old Harrison College and former Coleridge & Parry schoolboy, dictated the pace for most of the race, before stepping on the accelerator over the last 300 metres to win the two-lap race 1:49.58 minutes.
With all the attention on the track as the exciting 4×400-metre relay started, Miller, wearing his trademark head band, put on his own show while competing on the far side of the Stadium.
A product of The Lodge School, Miller, who is now enrolled at The St Michael School, started his gold medal quest with a hop, skip and jump of 15.46.
But the 17-year-old Crane, St Philip resident soon produced a personal best distance of 15.62 to strike gold in his first year in this age group after taking silver among the Under-18s last year.
Barbados’ Under-20 Boys’ 4×400-metre relay quartet of Antoni Hoyte-Small, Rasheeme Griffith, Tafari Bishop and anchor Jones gave a sterling display.
They led the race in the early legs, but had to settle for the silver medal in 3:08.31 minutes behind Jamaica, who won in 3:06.62 minutes to complete another triumphant CARIFTA performance.
It was the only 4×400 relay team Barbados entered and the performance brought the final medal tally for the 26-member contingent to a worthy 13, consisting of three gold, five silver and five bronze.
Barbados, who gained 12 medals last year in Curacao, could’ve had a fourth gold but Kyle Gale was disqualified for a lane infringement after winning the Under-17 Boys’ 400 metres on Saturday’s opening day.
“I am very disappointed that I didn’t get the record, but to bring home a medal for Barbados once again is a good feeling as I am always happy to represent my country well,” Jones told NATIONSPORT in an interview trackside after the race.
Jones, who was hoping to erase Kenroy Levy’s mark of 1:48.95 minutes, said he changed his strategy after the race began.
“Going into the race, I said I would take down the pace slow on purpose and if they went out fast, I would pace myself and then take over, but when the gun went off, both of those plans went out of my head and I just ran,” said Jones, who hails from Checker Hall, St Lucy.
The evening had started fairly brightly for Barbados as Sarah Belle, who surprisingly wasn’t entered for the 400 metres hurdles, captured a bronze medal in the Under-17 Girls’ 100 metres hurdles.
In an impressive display of hurdling, Belle sped to a personal best 13.55 seconds, but was unable to catch the Jamaican pair of Crystal Morrison and Ackera Nugent.
Morrison set a new record of 13.11 seconds, erasing compatriot Melanie Walker’s 1999 time of 13.51, while silver medallist Nugent clocked 13.35.
The other Barbadian in the race, Anika Blackman, was fifth in 14.46 seconds.
Big southpaw Triston Gibbons took his second bronze in his last Games with a distance of 17.01 metres in the Under-20 Boys’ shot put, but he was off his season’s best of 18.87.
Jamaica’s Zico Campbell (17.90) and Konnel Jacob (17.27) took gold and silver, respectively. Seth Edwards was a disappointing eighth in 14.89 metres.
Nathan Ferguson failed to make an impact in the Under-20 Boys’ 110-metre hurdles as he finished sixth in 14.00 seconds. The event was won by Jamaica’s Orlando Bennett in 13.35 seconds from Guadeloupe’s Jeanice Laviolette (13.52).
St Kitts and Nevis’ Trishanni Warner triumphed in the Under-17 Girls’ 800 in 2:15.73 minutes, while St Vincent’s Handal Roban took the Under-17 Boys’ race in 1:56.83.
Jamaica swept the top two positions in the Under-20 Girls’ 800 through Shaqueena Foote (2:07.56 minutes) and Chrissanni May (2:09). Trinidadian Talena Murray triumphed in the Under-20 Girls’ javelin with a throw of 45.54 metres.
Jamaica missed out in the Under-20 Boys relay, but brought the curtain down on the Games by sweeping the other three 4×400-metre relays.
They won the Under-17 Girls’ and Boys’ race in 3:38.39 minutes and 3:14.99, respectively, and the Under-20 Girls’ in 3:37.21 despite their anchor runner dropping the baton just as she was about to begin the last leg. (EZS)
