Smikle pleased with CAC bronze

Barranquilla, Colombia:

Traves Smikle continued his impressive season by winning Jamaica's first medal in athletics at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Barranquilla, Colombia, yesterday.

The former Calabar High School athlete threw 64.68m to grab the bronze medal behind hometown hero Mauricio Ortega and Jorge Fernandez of Cuba.

Ortega threw down the gauntlet in his first attempt with 66.30m and no one was able to match it.

Fernandez registered 65.27 for the silver medal.

"As you know in the throws you have to get flying from early, and that didn't happen for me. The competitors that beat me today, they performed really well; 64.68m, I am not too happy, but I am not too sad," Smikle said. "I feel good about winning another medal for Jamaica."

Smikle, who has a personal best 67.72m, won a silver medal for Jamaica earlier this year at the Commonwealth Games.

His training partner Basil Bingham finished fifth with a season's best performance of 60.26m.

Rhonda Whyte and Rushell Clayton won their respective semi-finals easily in the women's 400m hurdles to qualify for tomorrow's final. Clayton won her heat in 55.45 seconds running from lane eight, while Whyte cruised to 55.77 out of lane one.

In the male equivalent, Annsert Whyte stormed to a season best of 48.87 seconds out of lane eight to qualify for today's final, after finishing second to pre-race favourite Kyron McMaster (British Virgin Islands), who registered 48.71.

"I feel really good, even though I feel rusty because it has been so long that I haven't been racing," Whyte said after the race. His final is also scheduled for tomorrow.

Simoya Campbell and Fellan Ferguson qualified easily for tomorrow's women's 800m final with times of 2:05.52 and 2:06.36, respectively.

The medal hunt will continue at 6:10 p.m. today when O'Dayne Richards and Ashinia Miller contest the men's shot put final. Tissana Hickling will take part in the second final of the day at 7:05 p.m. in the women's long jump.

The semi-final round for the men's and women's 110m and 100m hurdles will also be contested today at 6:40 p.m., and 6:50 p.m., respectively, with Lafranz Campbell and Nickiesha Wilson.

The finals of the 100m for men and women are also scheduled for today.