Jul.28.2010

Track and field athletes, Ayanna Alexander, Rondel Sorillo and Janeil Belleile and Aaron Prince  and Tariq Haqq of boxing all earned bronze medals for T&T when the 21st Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games continued in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico last night. The five  medals carried T&T’s haul to 22 (six gold, six silver and ten bronze), going one better than  its tally four years ago in Colombia with four days of competition left. The 28-year-old Alexander secured bronze with a distance of 13.64 metres, on her second of six attempts in the women’s triple jump final. It was short of her national record of 13.96. The winner was Jamaican Kimberly Williams with a distance of 14.23 on her penultimate effort while Colombia’s Caterine Ibarguez snatched the silver with a distance of 14.10.

Sorillo, who qualified as the fastest runner for the half-lap (200m) final in 20.76 in the third of four heats, crossed the line in 20.59 for his bronze medal. First home was Netherlands Antilles’ Churandy Martina in a record time of 20.25 to complete the sprint double while Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer picked up silver in a personal best of 20.49. T&T’s Emmanuel Callender, who had the sixth-fastest time going into the final (20.85) finished the final in 20.81 for sixth again. And in the penultimate event of the evening, Belleile completed the women’s 400-metre hurdles final in a personal best time of 56.81 seconds for third behind Mexico’s Zudikey Rodriguez (55.54 PB) and gold medalist, Jamaican Nickiesha Wilson (55.40). On Monday, Belleile qualified in second spot in semifinal two with a time of 58.11 behind top qualifier, Wilson (56.98).

Tomorrow, Gavyn Nero will face the starter in the men’s 800-metre final after he was third in semifinal two in one minute, 49.53 seconds to be fifth overall. His countryman Jamal James clocked 1:51.70 minutes in heat one for tenth spot and failed to advance. Aaron Prince added to T&T’s bronze medal haul after he suffered a heavy 11-2 points loss home town fighter Christian Peguero in their welterweight (-69kg) semifinal. Fellow T&T fighters’ Andrew Fermin, a silver medallist four years ago beat Panama’s Israel Duffus in a men’s lightheavyweight (-81kg) semifinal and will fight for the gold medal on Friday. While Tariq  Haqq's semi final  loss 4-0 to  Netherlands Antilles’ Gilton Zimmerman in a superheavyweight contest took T&T's bronze medal tally to ten.