The 2026 CARIFTA Games kicked off on April 4 at Grenada’s iconic Kirani James Athletic Stadium, delivering an immediate highlight as home-grown talent Jurel Clement etched his name into the competition’s record books with a new Under-20 Boys decathlon 100m personal and championship record.
Clement, a Carriacou native who now represents Grenada on the regional stage, has been on a steady upward trajectory in combined events. He entered the 2026 CARIFTA Games fresh off a dominant gold medal win in the decathlon at Jamaica’s ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships, and did not disappoint in the opening discipline of the multi-event competition. Competing under wind-legal conditions, the 20-year-old clocked a blistering 10.93 seconds in the 100m, shaving 0.06 seconds off his own previous record. That prior mark of 10.99 seconds was set into a 1.1 m/s headwind at the 2025 CARIFTA Games hosted at Trinidad and Tobago’s Hasley Crawford Stadium, marking clear progress for the young athlete over the past year.
Clement’s athletic journey has been shaped by a strategic move to advance his career: a former student at Hillsborough Secondary School in his home island of Carriacou, he relocated to Jamaica in 2023 to join the elite athletic program at Kingston College, where he has balanced academic work with elite combined events training.
After the conclusion of the first five decathlon disciplines on opening day, two Grenadian athletes trained at Kingston College sit well within medal contention, setting up an exciting final day of competition. Leading the pair is Shyiem Phillip, who sits third overall heading into day two with a first-day total of 3,801 points, while Clement currently holds fifth place with 3,625 accumulated points. Like Clement, Phillip made the move from a Grenadian secondary school – Westerhall Secondary – to Kingston College ahead of the 2024-2025 athletic season, following a strong performance at the 2024 InterCol season where he earned bronze in the high jump, placed fourth in the 110m hurdles, and fifth in the long jump.
Phillip already has prior CARIFTA Games experience under his belt: in 2025, he claimed a silver medal in the Under-17 octathlon with a total score of 4,766 points, and is slated to remain a key competitor for Kingston College through the 2027 athletic season. Analysts expect him to continue growing as a combined events athlete throughout his tenure at the Jamaican athletics powerhouse.
For context, the decathlon is a grueling 10-discipline combined event spread across two consecutive days, with five events held each day. Unlike traditional single-sport competitions, points are awarded based on performance benchmarks in each event, rather than just finishing order, meaning consistent strong results across all disciplines are required to claim the top spot on the podium.
The Under-20 decathlon will conclude its second and final day of competition on April 5, with the remaining five disciplines set to determine the final medal standings. With Phillip and Clement both well placed to challenge for podium spots after day one, the final day of competition is shaping up to be a tightly contested battle, as the young Grenadian duo look to deliver strong results across the remaining technical and endurance events to secure medals for their home country.