Recapping The Action From An Exciting Weekend Of Track And Field Action As The National Junior Championships Are Held Here In Saint Lucia

Recapping The Action From An Exciting Weekend Of Track And Field Action As The National Junior Championships Are Held Here In Saint Lucia

The 2022 National Junior Track and Field Championships and CARIFTA Trials were held on Saturday and Sunday at the George Odlum Stadium in Vieux Fort.

Scores of young athletes competed for national titles and a chance to represent Saint Lucia at the CARIFTA Games next month in Kingston, Jamaica.

Among the notable results was a big personal-best mark for Jeremiah Felix in the Boys Pole Vault, where he cleared 4.25m, which is the best mark in the Caribbean so far for the year. 

His teammate Rashid James also went over CARIFTA standard, clearing 3.50m.

On the track, Naomi London did the double – she won the 100m dash girls U17 in a personal best 11.76 seconds, albeit with a massive tailwind, then won the 200m as well.

Levern Jn.Baptiste won the 100m boys U17, Mya Hippolyte won the 100m and 200m girls U20, and Naya Jules had a big day with gold medals in all three throwing events. 

One of the highlights of the meet was the long-anticipated return of the Soufriere Athletics Club to national competition. 

Hailing from Sulphur City, JoaQwan Alexander won the boys U17 400m and placed third in the 800m.

Nehemiah St Jean told MBC Sports that after less than a year back in training, this meet was mainly about getting experience for the athletes from the west coast. 

St Jean, who is himself a former national champion and a national athlete, say that he has been very pleased with the outpouring of support from the local community in Soufriere. 

He notes that in addition to some of his erstwhile teammates, the club has been receiving assistance from the district representative, as well as the corporate community.