Riley hails officials at Carifta Games
Published:Friday | April 5, 2024 | 12:08 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
David Riley, technical director of Jamaica’s team at the recent Carifta Games, has hailed the officiating crew at the 2024 edition of the meet which was hosted in Grenada at the Kirani James Athletics Stadium.
“Surprisingly, this Carifta went well as I didn’t have to file one protest, appeal or anything. The officiating was good and I think the officials listened and seem to have been well prepared. Grenada did a very good job in hosting the Carifta Games,” Riley told RJR Sports.
Jamaica tallied a total of 83 medals inclusive of 44 gold, 23 silver and 15 bronze during the three-day event, five more than the 78 achieved in Bahamas last year. While there was some uncertainty with regard to whether it was 83 or 84 overall medals the team amassed, Riley stated that he’s pleased with the overall performance of the team as they topped the medal standings for the 38th time in a row.
“What we’ve gotten as the final result is 83 so we’re moving with 83. We haven’t sat down and gone through event by event to see what the actual count is but we’ll take it. In the eighties is still a decent effort by us and we give thanks for the hard work of the coaches behind these athletes and also the fact that the athletes went out there and did their best,” Riley explained.
One of country’s standout athletes was Nickecoy Bramwell, who erased Usain Bolt’s under-17 400m record which stood for 22 years. Bramwell lowered the record from 47.33 seconds to 47.27. The Calabar High student shared that he’s grateful for his record-breaking performance, having had a hamstring injury leading up to the Carifta Games.
“I’m very grateful and happy about that. I’m grateful because I’m coming off of a hamstring strain so it’s a pleasing feeling to know that I could go out there and get a record,” he stated.
Another standout performer was Muschett High’s Shanoya Douglas, who collected gold medals in the under-20 girls’ 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m relays. She was also proud of the accomplishments achieved in Grenada.
“I’m extremely proud of myself as I couldn’t believe it. If you told me last year that I would be doing this right now, I would say you’re lying as I got three gold for my country,” Douglas said.