Source: www.guardian.co.tt
Story by Clayton Clarke
Reigning world junior 400m hurdles champion Jehue Gordon recorded his first win of the year with a 50.11 clocking on the opening day of the tenth Tobago Falcons Games on Saturday at the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet. Gordon finished strongly to pass Puerto Rican Eric Javier Alejandro after the last hurdle, securing the victory. Alejandro took an early lead in the race from lane six with Gordon on his inside. He seemed set to upset the national champion but the local runner dug deep and edged ahead with less than 40 metres left. Alejandro was second in 50.28 seconds with Gordon’s Memphis clubmate Brandon Benjamin claiming the bronze in a personal best of 53.93. Gordon’s time was slower than his 49.65 victory in the same event last year.
Following the race, Gordon shared that he was happy with the win after he was still testing his feet after undergoing surgery late last year. In the women’s 400m hurdles, Kernesha Spann (Neon Trackers) sped to gold in 1:00.04 ahead of Gabriela Cumberbatch (Memphis) 1:00.34 and Barbadian Sade Greenidge (1:03:41). Spann’s time was 0.21 off her personal best of 59:83 which she established in winning at the Carifta trials last month. Cumberbatch was also second on that occasion. Benjamin, Spann and Cumberbatch are all members of T&T’s 66-member Carifta team for this weekend’s regional games in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Another Carifta selectee, Rueben Walters took the boys Under-17 event. Carifta athletes also won the boys’ and girls’ Under-17 800m races. In the boy’s event, Nicholas Landeau (Air Bon Sonics) raced to the gold in 2:00.64 ahead of Toco’s Akeem Marshall (2:01.81) and Runako Sherwood (Petrotrin Palo Seco) 2:04.76. Lateifa Sylvester (Quantum) claimed the girl’s U-17 two-lap event in 2:29:11 beating Kervelle Baird (Petrotrin Palo Seco) 2:30.81 and Athonise Barker (Memphis) 2:38.93. Carifta champion Quincy Wilson (Health Olympians) topped the field in the men’s discus with a throw of 54.39 m ahead of Carifta-bound Akeem Stewart (Jaguars) 47.03 m. Dawyne Herbert (Dovers) followed up his win at the last weekend’s Southern Games by claiming gold in 7.36 m; while QRC’s Charisse Bacchus took the women’s long jump (5.94 m).
Adel Colthrust (Southern Athletics) continued his fine form taking the boys U-13 200m in 25.95. The Southern Games double sprint champion beat Zenith’s Tyreke Gordon (26.87) and Jamaul Andrews of Petrotrin Palo Seco (27.58). T&T’s Carifta hopefuls, Zakiya Denoon (Zenith) 25.14 and Shirnel Etteinne (La Brea) 26:04 had to settle for second and third, respectively, behind Dominica’s Luan Gabriel, who sped to a new Dominican girl’s U-17 record in 24.67. T&T’s Carifta-bound squads were in action in the relays with the boys U-20 outfit of Jonathan Holder, Moriba Morain, Ayodelle Taffe and Jamol James, blazing to victory in the men’s event in an impressive 40.44. The girls U-20 quartet of Breanna Gomes, Michelle Lee Ahye, Gabriela Cumberbatch and Onika Murray clocked 46:65 seconds to also win. Also in winners’ row was the girls U-17 outfit (48:18). However, their boy’s counterparts had to settle for third after fumbling their baton exchanges in the U-20 race in 43.80 behind Zenith (43.05) and Concorde (43:19).