The 53rd edition of the Carifta Games, one of the Caribbean’s most prestigious annual junior athletics competitions, wrapped up on Monday at Grenada’s Kirani James Athletics Stadium, and it ended with a historic milestone for Jamaican track and field. For the 40th year running, Jamaica claimed the top spot on the overall medals table, capping off a dominant five-day performance with an impressive total haul of 71 medals.
Heading into the final day of competition, Jamaican junior athletes had already secured 43 medals across a range of events, but the team pushed for even more success to cement their leading position. By the close of the final event, the nation added 28 additional medals to its count, finishing with an uneven split of 28 gold, 27 silver, and 16 bronze medals – a total more than double that of the second-place finisher.
Trinidad and Tobago took second place in the overall rankings, finishing with a total of 35 medals: nine gold, 11 silver, and 15 bronze. The Bahamas followed closely behind in third with 30 total medals, comprising eight gold, 12 silver, and 10 bronze. Host nations and smaller Caribbean territories rounded out the top five: Barbados landed in fourth with 17 medals (six gold, three silver, eight bronze), while Guyana claimed fifth place with a six-medal haul that included four gold, one silver, and one bronze.
The final day of competition delivered several standout moments for the Jamaican squad, particularly in the closing 4x400m relay events. Jamaica claimed victory in three of the four scheduled relay races: the girls’ Under-17, girls’ Under-20, and boys’ Under-17 divisions. The only relay title that eluded the Jamaican team was the boys’ Under-20 race, where the squad finished second to a record-breaking Barbados team that delivered a stunning performance to take gold.
In individual event action, Jamaican athlete Michael-Andre Edwards rebounded from an earlier disappointment to claim top honors in the boys’ Under-20 triple jump. Edwards, who had previously lost his long jump title earlier in the championships, soared 15.84m with a -0.9m/s headwind to take gold. His win marked a one-two finish for Jamaica, as compatriot Rekelme Hunter took silver with a jump of 15.28m against a -0.1m/s wind.
Adding another medal to the nation’s final-day haul, Xavier Tracey secured a bronze finish in the boys’ Under-17 discus throw with a best throw of 51.30m, rounding out a dominant overall performance for the Jamaican delegation that extended their decades-long unbroken run atop the Carifta Games medals standings.