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 News from Around the Americas | July 2006 
Cuba Leads in Medals at the Central American and Caribbean Games
 granma.cu
| | Mexican Alix Moncada smiles after wins the gold medal in women's shooting match women at the XX Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, Tuesday, July 18, 2006. (AP/Inaldo Perez) |
Cartagena, Colombia — Cuba’s athletes gave outstanding performances in canoeing and other sports, enough to displace Mexico from the top of the 20th Central American and Caribbean Games, Cartagena 2006, which are going into their third day today.
Cuba’s canoeists and kayakers won five of the six titles disputed yesterday, the first day of competitions in that discipline, while the sixth went to Mexico.
Luruaco Lake in Barranquilla was the location of the first multiple medal-winner in this regional competition, after Cuban Maikel Zulueta won three in the specialties of kayaking, which are actually the first he has won on the international level to date.
That took the Cuban delegation into the lead, with two more gold medals in weightlifting on Saturday.
José Antonio Guerra began that trend with his excellent performance in the three-meter springboard diving, in which Yoslaydis Herrera captured the silver in the one-meter event.
In shooting, Laina Pérez won the free rifle event, but her performance was not matched in the team event, after she and her teammates finished in second place.
In fencing, Zuleidys Ortiz beat her performance in Maracaibo ’98, where she won a bronze medal; this time, she took first place in the individual category, the only title at the start of fencing competitions.
Yordanis Borrero won two gold medals in the 69-kilo weightlifting division in snatch, but gave way in clean and jerk to Venezuelan Eduardo Hernan and had to resign himself to taking the silver.
In team sports, Cuba’s celebrated baseball team debuted successfully, beating Guatemala 7-1, while the women’s basketball team easily triumphed over Puerto Rico, 90-44.
For their part, the softball players were also victorious against the Puerto Ricans, 7-0.
With these performances, Cuba was leading the pack with a total of 15 gold medals, but Mexico was close behind with 12 and Colombia third with six, just one more than Venezuela.
Jamaicans Celebrate Junior CAC Triumph
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| | Sonita Sutherland cruises to victory in the girls under-20 400 metres final, at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Track and Field Championships, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, on Saturday. The Jamaican quarter-miler got home in a very impressive 51.57 seconds, a new Championship record. |
Not even a heavy downpour of rain midway through the final session could dampen the authority of perennial champions Jamaica as they surged to the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior track and field championship title on Sunday.
Led by their sprinters, the Jamaicans kept their stranglehold on regional athletics with another outstanding performance, garnering 59 medals, including 32 gold, to top second-placed Mexico (42) and host team Trinidad and Tobago (39).
Sunday's action began with the 800-metre finals that saw Trinidad and Tobago's Gavyn Nero reproduce the performance that won him the Austin Sealy Award at the Carifta Games in Guadeloupe in March. The lanky teenager won three gold medals-stretching middle to long distance events-the 800, 1,500 and the 3,000 metres.
After his win in the 1,500 metres on Friday and the 3,000 metres in Sunday's morning session, Nero, who came in the 800 metres with the slowest time, showed his class to win in one minute 56.57.
He shrugged off the challenge of second-placed Jamaican Donohue Williams (1:57.22) and Bahamian bronze medal winner Kenn Whitfield-Wallace, who was timed at one minute 57.37 seconds.
In the Under-20 boys race, T&T star Jamaal James triumphed in a fast 1:51.73, beating Jamaican Andre Thomas (1:52.28) and Mexican Osbaldo Chavez Soto (1:52.93).
Multiple Carifta champion Natoya Goule advertised her superiority again as she dominated the Under-17 girls' 800 metres for Jamaica.
The tiny distance-running dynamo slammed her rivals to win in 2:09.15, second fastest time ever at the meet.
Only Jamaican Claudine Williams in 1990 has gone faster with her 2:09.01 performance. Goule's effort was so outstanding, her time was quicker than the senior girls 800 metres that Jamaican Jodiann Richards won in 2:12.23.
Richards' teammate Vanessa Boyd (2:14.09) finished strongly in second, while Mexican Magali Garcia got third. The awesome Jamaicans predictably swept the 200-metre events. Probably the most impressive was Under-17 boys' winner Romone McKenzie, whose superb 21.17 seconds was a championship record. He defeated his Jamaican teammate Nickel Ashmeade (21.30) and Trinidad and Tobago's Kendall Bacchus (21.74). Jamaican Carrie Russell won the girls' race in 23.75 seconds, edging Trinidad and Tobago's Cadajah Spencer (23.86) and Bahamian Nivea Smith (24.23).
In the senior girls' 200, Jamaican star sprinter Schillonie Calvert was robbed of a faster time than her 23.20 seconds because of a hamstring injury. However, the pain did not stop her from claiming the gold-and the sprint double-ahead of teammate Anastasia Leroy (23.25) and T&T's Semoy Hackett (23.62). Jamaica team medic Dr Patrick Robinson confirmed the injury that could threaten her glowing prospects for next month's World Junior Championships in Beijing, China.
"Preliminary assessment has shown a strain in her left hamstring, she will see her doctor on Monday," he said.
In the senior boys' event Yohann Blake completed the sprint double with a time of 21.02 seconds, fighting off the challenge from Barbadian Ramon Gittens (21.12) and Trinidad and Tobago's Kervin Morgan (21.22).
First-timer, Barbadian Shane Brathwaite, copped the boys' Under-17 octathlon title with 4,460 points, ahead of his teammate Fabian Norgrove (4,107) and Puerto Rico's Fernando Torres (3977).
The meet concluded with Jamaica sweeping all the 1,600-metre relay events, each time chased by Trinidad and Tobago. |
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