Caribbean closing the gap – Riley

THOUGH HIS sights are set on ensuring Jamaica has a strong showing at the Carifta Games, head coach David Riley said it is possible the gap on the medal table between the country and the other Caribbean nations could close in the next few years.

Last year, Jamaica won the Carifta Games title for the 37th year in a row and dominated the medal tally with 78 medals in total – 40 gold, 22 silver, and 16 bronze.

The closest competitor was host Bahamas, who ended with 46 medals – 10 gold, 13 silver and 23 bronze.

Riley says with more junior athletes from other Caribbean countries training in Jamaica and competing at track meets like the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships, it is possible there will be improvements at Carifta Games.

“In some cases, entire national teams carry their training to Jamaica, for example the Turks and Caicos, St Vincent, St Lucia. I mean, there are 19 Caribbean nationals on the flight from Kingston to Grenada,” he said.

“So it’s not far-fetched to get to the point where a lot of the strong performances at Carifta are coming from Caribbean nationals who ply their trade and are training in Jamaica.”

According to Riley, the driving force behind Jamaica’s dominant performances in track and field is the system of identifying and developing young athletes in the nation.

Student-athletes are given access to high-level training from an early age, regardless of their family’s financial background. This allows track and field in Jamaica to reach as large a talent pool as possible.

He says as more Caribbean nationals are exposed to this development system by training in Jamaica, there will be improved performances at the Carifta Games.

“I mean, the reality is that what produces the athletics performance is the system that is in Jamaica, and not necessarily the talent. It is our system of identifying athletes and developing their talent and the systems within the schools where the funding and the training are independent of the athlete’s resources.

“That is what is driving the track and field development in Jamaica and when you have an individual, regardless of what nationality they have, immerse themselves in that system, then you’re going to get those results.”