Although the total number of medals is down from last year, The Bahamas managed to increase its gold medal haul at this year’s Flow CARIFTA Track and Field Championships.

The Bahamas finished with a grand total of 26 medals- nine gold, seven silver and 10 bronze- after three days of competition at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex in the Cayman Islands. Last year’s team finished with just six gold medals.

Once again, regional powerhouse Jamaica topped the medal standings with 85 in total, including 36 gold, 33 silver and 10 bronze.

Trinidad and Tobago finished third with 24 medals (four gold, eight silver, 10 bronze), followed by Guyana with 10 (four gold, two silver, four bronze). Barbdos rounded out the top five with 11 medals (three gold, four silver, four bronze). At CARIFTA, gold medals determine teams’ final positions.

“Our athletes really put on a show and really just enhanced the standard we expect now when we come to the CARIFTA Games,” said Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) president Drumeco Archer. “We went up against powerhouses that are almost two times the size of our country in terms population. The face that we are able to go toe-to-toe with them speaks tremendously about the level of talent we have, particularly in the u-17 division.

“We look forward to developing these athletes and building on this performance in the Cayman Islands.”

The Bahamas’ time in the Cayman Islands was highlighted by several standout performances.

On the field, Keyshawn Strachan won gold in the u-17 boys javelin throw, setting a new CARIFTA record with a mark of 64.31 meters (m). The old record was 64.01m, set by Anderson Peters in 2013.

Shaun Miller Miller won the u-17 boys high jump with a leap of 2.16m, Rhema Ortabor won gold in the u-20 girls javelin with 43.07m and Anthaya Charlton captured gold in the u-17 girls’ long jump with 5.81m.

On the track, Jasmine Knowles surged out of the gate and led the entire race to win gold in the u-20 girls 800 meters, finishing in a personal best of 2:09.49. Charlton won her first gold medal in the u-17 girls 100 in 11.51 seconds, Wendell Miller took the u-17 boys 400 in 48.45 seconds, Terrence Jones won gold in the u-20 boys 200 in 46.29 seconds an d Mitchell Curtis came from behind to take the u-17 boys 1500 in 4:09.34.