The 38th CARIFTA Games was held in the George Odlum National Stadium in

Vieux Fort Vieux Fort is one of 10 districts of the Caribbean island country of Saint Lucia. Vieux Fort is also the name of the main town in the district. It is the home of the second-largest town in Saint Lucia and is the home of Saint Lucia's internati ...

, Saint Lucia, on April 10–13, 2009. Detailed reports on the results were given.

Participation (unofficial)

Detailed result lists can be found on the CFPI Timing website, and on the "World Junior Athletics History" website. An unofficial count yields the number of about 545 athletes (junior (under-20) and youth (under-17)) from about 25 countries: Anguilla (5), Antigua and Barbuda (7), Aruba (14), Bahamas (58), Barbados (45), Bermuda (23), British Virgin Islands (6), Cayman Islands (12), Dominica (7), French Guiana (7), Grenada (21), Guadeloupe (19), Guyana (10), Haiti (9), Jamaica (68), Martinique (37), Montserrat (4), Netherlands Antilles (22), Saint Kitts and Nevis (30), Saint Lucia (42), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (6), Suriname (2), Turks and Caicos (14), Trinidad and Tobago (64), US Virgin Islands (13).

Records

A total of 15 new games records were set. In the boys' U-20 category, there were 6 new records set, the most significant by

Kirani James Kirani James (born 1 September 1992) is a Grenadian professional sprinter who specializes in the 200 and 400 metres. He won the 400 m at the World Championships in 2011 and the 2012 London Olympics. In the 400 metres James also won the sil ...

of Grenada finishing the 400 metres in 45.45 seconds, thereby gathering this years' Austin Sealy Award. The new mark for 1500 metres was set by Gavyn Nero from Trinidad and Tobago in 3:47.56, and for 5000 metres by Jamaican Kemoy Campbell in 14:40.67.

Jehue Gordon Jehue Gordon (born 15 December 1991) is a Trinidadian track and field athlete who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles. He turned professional on 24 June 2010, and signed a deal with Adidas in August 2010. Formerly a pupil of Belmont Boys' Secon ...

from Trinidad and Tobago won the 400 m hurdles in the new record time of 50.01 seconds. On the field,

Raymond Higgs Raymond “R.J” Higgs (born 24 January 1991 in Freeport) is a Bahamian long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff poi ...

from the Bahamas cleared 2.21m in high jump, whereas Quincy Wilson from Trinidad and Tobago threw the discus 55.67 metres. The new games record in the girls' U-20 category was set by

Natoya Goule Natoya Goule-Toppin (born 30 March 1991) is a Jamaican middle-distance runner. In the 800 metres she is the 2019 Pan American Games champion, 2018 NACAC Championship silver medallist, and 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist. Goule is the ...

of Jamaica running the 1500 metres in 4:27.48. In the boys' U-17 category, Jahazeel Murphy of Jamaica set two new games records, one in the 200 metres in 20.97s (1.4 m/s), and the other by leading the Jamaican 4 × 100 m relay team to 40.76s. The U-17 girls set also 6 new records: Jamaica's

Shericka Jackson Shericka Jackson, OD (born 16 July 1994) is a Jamaican sprinter competing in the 100 m, 200 m, and 400 metres. She is the fastest woman alive and second fastest woman of all time in the 200 metres since 2022. Jackson started her c ...

set the new record mark for 400 metres to 53.48s, and helped both relay teams to establish new records, 45.05s for 4 × 100 m, and 3:38:09 for 4 × 400 m. Her compatriot Janieve Russell was also member of both record relay teams, and moreover set the record for 300 metres hurdles to 41.30s. In high jump, both Peta-Gaye Reid of Jamaica and

Akela Jones Akela Jones (born 22 April 1995) is a Barbadian track and field athlete who holds Barbadian records in the women's heptathlon, pentathlon, long jump and high jump. She won gold in the long jump at the 2014 World Junior Championships. In 2015, s ...

of Barbados cleared 1.80m equaling the games record set in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

. Finally, the new triple jump record was set to 12.61m by Jamaica's Rochelle Farquharson.

Austin Sealy Award

The Austin Sealy Trophy for the most outstanding athlete of the games was awarded to

of Grenada. He won the gold medal in the 400 metres competition in the junior (U-20) category setting the new games record to 45.45s, improving

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay. An eight-ti ...

's record from the year 2003, and a bronze medal with the 4 × 400 m relay team from Grenada.

Medal summary

Complete results can be found on the CFPI Timing website and on the World Junior Athletics History website.

Boys under 20 (Junior)

: Open event for both junior and youth athletes.

Girls under 20 (Junior)

: Open event for both junior and youth athletes.

Boys under 17 (Youth)

Girls under 17 (Youth)

Medal table

References

External links

World Junior Athletics History
{{CARIFTA Games CARIFTA Games Car

CARIFTA The Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) was organised on 1 May 1968, to provide a continued economic linkage between the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean. The agreements establishing it came following the dissolution of the ...

2009 in Caribbean sport International sports competitions hosted by Saint Lucia Athletics competitions in Saint Lucia