ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC—Trinidad and Tobago stunned Jamaica to prevent them from making a clean sweep of the sprint relays when they captured the boys’ Under-20 finale in an electrifying finish on day two of the 51st CARIFTA Games at the Kirani James Athletic Stadium here Sunday.
Dylan Woodruff produced an exhilarating final leg for the Trinidadians, holding off a fierce challenge from Jamaican rival Johan-Ramaldo Smythe to cross the line first in 40.45 seconds.
Jamaica, which had swept the prior three relays, finished second in 40.55, while Samuel Green hauled hosts Grenada over the line for bronze in 40.71.
“I knew my team had put in the effort and had put in the work – they’ve been training this whole year,” said Woodruff, whose grandfather Wendell Mottley secured 400m silver and 4x400m bronze at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
“So I just knew once I got the stick, all I had to do was keep us in front and keep us for the win, and that’s what I did.
Our chemistry [has been great]. We’ve been passing that stick [and] practicing, practicing, practicing, and that’s what we did, and it worked.
“That was our main objective: to get that stick fully around with no problems, and it happened. So you see what happened? We came first.”
Jamaica, in lane four, appeared strong bets to complete the clean sweep, especially after Javorne Dunkley gave them a strong start before handing over to Raheem Pinnock.
However, things fell apart quickly for the Caribbean powerhouses with a couple of dicey hand-overs, which allowed Woodruffe, running out of lane seven, to collect the baton from Hakeem Chinapoo slightly ahead of Smythe on the final leg.
The two engaged in a heated battle in the stretch, with Woodruff storming to victory, much to the delight of a loud Trinidad contingent.
“This team is a dream. Last year, I missed out, but this year I made sure I came back … and made our team proud and made Trinidad and Tobago proud,” Woodruff continued.
Jamaica had earlier captured gold in the boys Under-17 event in 41.30 seconds, with T&T second in 41.53 and the Bahamas clinching bronze in 42.30.
On the final change-over, Kaeden Herbert had the advantage for T&T, but Malike Nugent quickly reeled him in to win comfortably.
“We knew we were going to win today. We were very confident,” Nugent said.
Jamaica’s girls took gold in the equivalent, clocking 45.36 to finish ahead of the Bahamas (46.28) and Trinidad & Tobago (47.49). The Under-20 girls followed suit, with Shanoya Douglas taking them over the line in 43.63.
“The coach’s instruction was just to go out there and execute it. We’ve been training, we’ve been practicing, and we just came out here and gave it our best,” said Habiba Harris, who ran the first leg for the Under-20s.
“It feels wonderful [to win gold] because coming out here and representing our country as juniors is a huge opportunity, and we’re very thankful for it.”
Like in the relays, Jamaica’s attempts at a clean sweep of the 400-meter400-meter hurdles were thwarted. Michelle Smith of the US Virgin Islands proved the stumbling block when she captured the girls’ Under-20 race in 56.28 seconds.
Jamaican Kelly Ann Carr was relegated to silver in 57.02, and teammate Aaliyah Mullings took bronze in 59.80.
Jamaica dominated in the other three races, however. Nastassia Fletcher won the girl’s Under-17s in one minute, 0.10 seconds, while Robert Miller smashed a 14-year-old record to win the boy’s Under-17s in 52.19, and Shamer Blake took the boy’s Under-20s in 51.21.
Another long-standing record fell in the boy’s Under-17 shot put when Javontae Smith of Jamaica captured gold with a throw of 18.80 meters, eclipsing the 13-year-old mark of 17.42.
In the boys’ Under-20 javelin, Bahamian Kaden Cartwright repeated as champion, measuring 67.34 to beat Grenada’s Rayvohn Telesford (65.57) and Dominica’s Addison Alickson James (65.50).
“I am thrilled. I wanted a little bit more, but God allowed me to do that, so I’m content with that,” said Cartwright.
“This is my second gold medal from last year, so I’m pretty proud of myself, and I thank God.”
Ahead of Monday’s final day, Jamaica tops the standings with 49 medals, comprising 24 gold, 15 silver, and 10 bronze, while the Bahamas lies second on 25, with seven gold, nine silver, and nine bronze.
The 200 meters finals and the 4×400 meters relays will headline the final day of the championship.
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