分类： sports

Rising young throwing star Zonique Charles has added another impressive medal to Antigua and Barbuda’s regional athletics tally, securing a silver medal in the fiercely contested Under-17 girls’ javelin competition. Competing against a deep field of elite youth talent from across the region, Charles delivered a display of steady power and technical precision that saw her claim the second-place spot on the podium, with her best throw landing at 46.27 meters. This silver medal continues the young athlete’s string of standout performances over recent competitions, cementing her status as one of the most promising young javelin prospects in the region. For Antigua and Barbuda, Charles’ breakthrough result marks yet another moment of national pride in the ongoing regional athletics tournament, shining a spotlight on the country’s growing youth athletic development pipeline.

After a standout opening day of competition at the CARIFTA Aquatics Championships, Antigua and Barbuda’s swimming delegation picked up right where they left off on the second day of finals, capturing three additional medals and smashing five national and age-group records to extend their strong early run at the tournament.

Building on a three-medal haul from day one, the Caribbean nation’s athletes added a full set of gold, silver, and bronze to their overall tally on day two, with two new national records and three new age-group benchmarks added to their growing list of career and national achievements.

Teen swimmer Madison MacMillan emerged as the day’s standout performer for the team, taking top honors in the women’s 400 metres individual medley with a final time of 5 minutes 15.85 seconds. Her winning mark not only earned her the gold medal but also reset the Antigua and Barbuda national record, established a new age-group record, and knocked time off her own previous personal best.

Fellow teammate Anya DeGannes followed closely behind MacMillan in the same 400m individual medley event, claiming the silver medal with a time of 5:27.71. Like MacMillan, DeGannes also walked away from the race with a new age-group record and a new personal best to add to her career highlights.

Jamie Tranter rounded out the day’s medal haul for Antigua and Barbuda, securing the bronze medal in the men’s 50 metres backstroke with a personal best time of 1:03.91.

While Alessandro Bazzoni just missed out on joining his teammates on the podium, finishing fourth in the men’s 400 metres individual medley with a time of 5:08.89, he still enjoyed a career-defining race. Bazzoni finished just 0.45 seconds off the bronze medal position, but his time set both a new national record and a new age-group record, marking a major milestone for the young swimmer.

In other day two races, Kaylee Warner notched sixth-place finishes in both the 200 metres freestyle and 50 metres butterfly, posting a new personal best of 2:22.75 in the 200m freestyle event. Alyssa Watkins also posted solid results, earning eighth place in the 50 metres butterfly and 13th place in the 400 metres individual medley.

The successful second day follows an equally impressive opening day of competition, when Antigua and Barbuda also captured three medals to kick off the championships. DeGannes opened her tournament with a gold medal in the 100 metres butterfly, breaking the age-group record and notching a personal best in the process. MacMillan added a silver in the women’s 800 metres freestyle, while Ellie Shaw claimed another silver in the women’s 200 metres breaststroke to round out day one’s medal haul.

Several other Antigua and Barbuda swimmers posted strong top-eight finishes on day one outside of the medal round. Tranter finished fourth in the 50 metres backstroke with a personal best, while Christopher Walter placed fifth in the 100 metres butterfly, also hitting a new personal best. Warner secured seventh in the 50 metres backstroke and sixth in the 100 metres butterfly, and Watkins took seventh place in the 100 metres butterfly.

In a post-competition statement, the Antigua and Barbuda Swimming Federation praised the team’s performance across the first two days of the event. Officials noted that the consistent medal haul and repeated record-breaking swims are clear evidence of sustained growth and progress for the country’s competitive swimming program, highlighting the depth of talent and preparation among the athlete roster.

The 50th CARIFTA Games, a premier regional track and field competition for young Caribbean athletes, has already delivered a mix of breakthrough moments and near-misses for Team Antigua and Barbuda. Leading the team’s successes so far is teenage middle-distance runner Jaeda Pigott, who locked in an automatic qualification spot for the Under-17 girls’ 800 metres final after a standout performance in her preliminary heat.

Pigott crossed the finish line in 2 minutes 18.03 seconds to claim second place in her heat, a result that met the automatic qualification standard and kept Antigua and Barbuda’s strong early streak on the track alive. The young runner’s consistent pacing and strong final sprint earned her a well-deserved spot in the upcoming final, where she will compete for a regional medal against top runners from across the Caribbean.

In other preliminary round action for Antigua and Barbuda, Under-17 boys’ 800 metres athlete Lion Samuel recorded a time of 2:07.48 in his opening heat. Meanwhile, the nation’s Under-20 boys’ 4×100 metres relay team posted a solid time of 41.85 seconds in their qualification heat, but fell just short of securing a place in the final. The team finished a hair behind the British Virgin Islands relay squad, which clocked 41.51 seconds to claim the final qualification spot, leaving the Antigua and Barbuda team out of the final round by a narrow margin.

Following the first day of preliminary competition, the Antigua Barbuda Athletic Association issued a statement acknowledging the team’s efforts, noting that all athletes delivered determined performances against deeply competitive fields. Despite the relay team’s disappointing near-miss, association representatives highlighted that young competitors from the nation have continued to hold their own against some of the best junior runners in the Caribbean, competing at a consistently high level throughout the opening rounds of the games.

The annual CARIFTA Games, one of the Caribbean’s most prestigious regional track and field competitions for young emerging athletes, delivered a series of standout results for Team Antigua and Barbuda this year, with five local competitors turning in career-topping performances across sprint and distance events.

The first wave of personal bests came during the competition’s morning session, where two young male sprinters dominated their respective age-group 200-meter races. Delbert Joseph, competing in the hotly contested Under-20 boys’ division, crossed the finish line with an official time of 21.73 seconds, shaving precious milliseconds off his previous best mark to set a new personal standard. Not to be outdone, 17-and-under sprinter Geron Henry recorded his own career best in the same event, stopping the clock at 21.92 seconds in his preliminary outing.

In the afternoon session, the island nation’s middle-distance competitor Jaeda Pigott matched her teammates’ momentum in the Under-17 girls’ 800 meters. The young runner crossed the line with a final time of 2 minutes and 18.03 seconds, securing a new personal best that capped a successful day of competition for Antigua and Barbuda’s track contingent.

Two more local distance runners turned in impressive career performances in the Under-17 boys’ long-distance events. Shawn-Ze Joseph finished with a time of 10:25.48, while teammate Elite Thomas crossed the line shortly after at 10:31.62, both hitting new personal milestones in the race.

In a post-competition statement, the Antigua Barbuda Athletic Association highlighted that the string of personal bests marks encouraging steady progress for the country’s track and field development program. The association noted that the results reflect a consistent upward trajectory for young Antigua and Barbuda athletes, who continue to push their limits and raise their competitive profiles against top regional talent at the tournament.

At the recently concluded CARIFTA Games, the Caribbean’s premier annual youth athletics championship, Antigua and Barbuda picked up a new podium finish thanks to rising throwing star Maliek Francis. Competing in the fiercely contested Under-20 boys’ javelin event, Francis delivered a personal best-caliber throw of 60.14 meters, which earned him a well-deserved bronze medal to add to his nation’s overall medal count at the regional tournament.

The Antigua Barbuda Athletic Association was quick to publicly celebrate Francis’ achievement, lauding the young athlete’s disciplined preparation and competitive composure during the event. In an official statement, the governing body for the sport in the country framed his performance as a masterclass demonstration of raw strength, unwavering focus, and flawless technical execution, emphasizing that the bronze medal was the direct product of months of consistent hard work off the track.

Beyond the individual accolade, Francis’ standout result at the 202x CARIFTA Games underscores a clear upward trajectory for Antigua and Barbuda’s development in Olympic field events. As one of the Caribbean nation’s highest-performing competitors at this year’s championships, the young javelin thrower has cemented his status as one of the country’s most promising young athletic prospects, pointing toward future success for both Francis and Antigua and Barbuda’s athletics program on regional and global stages.