Jul.27.2010

Source: www.guardian.co.tt
Shot Putter Cleopatra Borel-Brown added to T&T’s gold medal tally at the 21st Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, last night. Long distance runner, Pilar Mc Shine (silver) and shot putter Annie Alexander (bronze), were also among the medals to push T&T’s haul to 17 (six gold, six silver, and five bronze). Four years ago in Cartagena, Colombia, T&T won 21 medals (one gold, nine silver, 11 bronze) to finish 14th overall. The 31-year-old Borel-Brown won the women’s shot put final with her first throw of the iron ball which landed a distance of 18.76 metres, .04 short of her season best of 18.80.

The performance of the 2006 bronze medal winner, Borel-Brown was so dominant that one of her four other legal attempts, 18.64, 18.63, 18.37 and 18.35 would have been good enough for the gold medal as well. Second was Jamaican, Zara Northover with a best heave of 17.04 metres, while T&T’s 23-year-old US-based Alexander got bronze with 16.76 metres. Another US-based Collegiate athlete, Mc Shine, 23, earned silver in the women’s 1,500m final in four minutes, 21.66 seconds to trail Colombian winner, Rosibel Garcia (4:21.17). Puerto Rican, Beverly Ramos took third in 4:22.02. Richard Jones was fifth in the final of the men’s 10,000m in 31 minutes, 42.06 seconds and long jumper, Kyron Blaise, seventh in his final with a best leap of 7.47 metres.

There was disappointment though for T&T in the final track event of the night, when World Track and Field Championship, bronze medal winner, Renny Quow failed to complete the men’s 400m final. He had qualified as the sixth fastest overall with a second place finish in the second of three semifinal heats on Sunday in 46.09 seconds. Today, Janeil Belleile will run for a medal in the women’s 400m hurdles final after she qualified in second spot in semifinal two with a time of 58.11 behind top qualifier, Jamaican, Nickiesha Wilson (56.98). T&T’s Emmanuel Mayers was seventh in the second men’s 400m hurdles heat in 55.38 and failed to reach the final.