A star is born
Hodge appreciative of Jamaican reception at Carifta
Published:Wednesday | April 20, 2022 | 12:08 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Jamaica’s dominance at the Carifta Games was maintained this Easter weekend with 92 medals, the most that the country has accumulated.
But it was hard for the home support not to be endeared by the performance of British Virgin Island’s Adaejah Hodge, who left the National Stadium with the highest individual award at the Games and the appreciation of local fans in attendance.
Hodge won three gold medals en route to winning the Austin Sealy Award, presented to the athlete adjudged to be the most outstanding at the games, capturing the under-17 100m, 200m and long jump titles. Her exploits completed a weekend that she says was made special by how well she was received by the Jamaican crowd at the National Stadium.
“It makes me feel amazing, knowing that I won over the crowd, knowing that they had their own sprinters in there and they still cheered for me was amazing. And I just love the energy that they gave me,” Hodge said.
It was an energy that was infectious and while she has no plans to be a part of the growing Caribbean contingent competing for Jamaican high schools, she says that she is looking forward to a return to competing in Jamaica sooner rather than later.
“It feels amazing. I love the energy of the crowd. They were giving me good reactions. I really loved it and I can’t wait to come back here and run again,” Hodge said.
MOST SATISFYING
Hodge says that Monday’s 200m success was the most satisfying of her three medals, seeing her hard work come full circle despite her own challenges.
“After all the previous events, I felt like I did what I had to do at the end of my race to make sure that I stayed with my stride and continued to push through to the finish,” said Hodge.
“It makes me feel amazing because I have been working for this forever now and now that it actually came true, I would like to thank God and all my fans for supporting me through the ride, through the days where I didn’t want to run anymore.”
For Hodge, the main factors behind her stellar weekend were her self-confidence the belief that she can always improve.
“I just keep pushing. I always encourage myself that I can go a step further. Do not let anybody doubt me or anybody try to bring me down, make sure my confidence is high, and make sure I stay close to God and my family,” Hodge said.