Source: www.guardian.co.tt
By Nigel Simon
Cleopatra Borel-Brown added to T&T’s gold medal tally at the 23rd Central American and Caribbean (CAC) senior track and field championships when she won the women’s shot put in Puerto Rico yesterday. This was on the third and final day of competition at the Jose A Figueroa Freire Central American Stadium in Mayaguez. The 31-year-old Borel had a best heave of 19metres even, just shy of the games record of 19.13 metres, set by Cuba’s Misleydis Gonzalez two years ago and short of her 19.42 established in Paris earlier this month. Colombian Angela Rivas (17.12m) took silver while T&T’s other finalists, 23-year-old Annie Alexander, got bronze with a heave of 17.05m. Sprinter, Rondell Sorillo was also among the medals with a silver in the men’s 200m final in 20.64 seconds. Winner was Bahamian Michael Mathieu (20.60) while Jamaica’s Jason Young took bronze in 20.78. T&T’s other finalist Emmanuel Callender was fifth in 21.12.
The women’s 4 x 400m quartet of Alena Harriman, Magnolia Howell, Josanne Lucas and anchor, Afiya Walker combined for bronze in 3:34.84 minutes to trail winners’ Jamaica (3:29.86) and Dominican Republic (3:34.73). The local men’s 4x400m team of Jarrin Solomon, Deon Lendore, Jehue Gordon and Lalonde Gordon ended the games with a silver run in 3:01.65 behind gold medal winners’ Bahamas (3:01.33) while Jamaica got bronze in 3:02.00. Overall, T&T ended with 14 medals (six gold, three silver, five bronze).
Also yesterday, Kyron Blaise was seventh in the men’s triple jump with a best of 15.10m while Aleesha Barber (13.29) was fifth in the women’s 100m hurdles. In the women’s long jump, Ayanna Alexander, winner of the women’s triple jump was a disappointing seventh with a best of 6.06 metres, and Scarla Nero, eight in the women’s steeplechase in 11:33.66 mins. On Saturday night, the quartet of Magnolia Howell, Michelle Lee Ahye, Ayanna Hutchinson and 100m gold medalist Semoy Hackett won T&T’s fifth gold in the 4 x 100m women relay.
The local quartet clocked 43.47 seconds, a World Championships qualifying time which was just short of the team’s season’s best of 43.40 set at the Bahamas National Championships on June 25. World champions Jamaica got silver in 43.63 with former Olympic gold medalists Bahamas, third (43.74). In the men’s 4 x 100m final, T&T (38.89 secs) was edged into second by Jamaica (38.81) despite a strong anchor-leg by 100m gold medalist Keston Bledman while St Kitts/Nevis was third in 39.07.
Aaron Armstrong, Darryl Brown and Emmanuel Callender were the other team members. Jehue Gordon was third in the men’s 400m hurdles in 50.10 seconds behind Jamaican Leford Greene who clocked a season’s best of 49.03 and former World and Olympic victor Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic (49.41). Kershorn Walcott missed a medal in the men’s javelin with a best throw of 70.98m for fourth spot while Josanne Lucas was fifth in the women’s 400m hurdles finals.