By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY., Weds. Aug. 4, 2021: Caribbean athletes are making the region and their individual countries proud at Tokyo 2020, after a year long delay to get to the Summer Games. Athletes representing their countries from the region in Tokyo, Japan, as of press time, have won a combined total of 22 medals. Of the total, 9 are gold medals.
Cuba, despite its political controversies, leads the region with 12 medals, five of which are gold. They also have 3 silver medals and four bronze. Juan Miguel Echevarria claimed gold in the men’s long jump while Roniel Iglesias won gold in the men’s welter weight (63-69kg) competition.
Fernando Dayan Enriquez Jorge and Serguey Madrigal Torres also won gold in the Men’s Canoe Double 1000-m competition. Adrien Lopez added to the Cuban gold count winning in the Men’s light heavyweight boxing contest.
Idalys Ortiz claimed silver in the women’s +78 kg judo contest while Leuris Pupo also won silver in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men’s contest.
Maykel Masso won bronze in the Men’s Long Jump while Yaime Perez also won bronze in the Women’s Discus Throw. Lazaro Alvarez also claimed bronze in the Men’s Feather (52-57kg) boxing competition and Rafael Yunier Castillo Alba also won a bronze medal in the Men +80kg taekwondo.
Jamaica so far has won five medals. Both gold medals have been won by Elaine Thompson Herah who completed a “double, double,” by winning both the women’s 100 and 200-meters.
“Came on a mission just to exalt the glory of the Lord. Think it, believe it, work and pray for it you can achieve it. THANKS for all the love and support…. 1 more to go.!!,” she tweeted.
Jamaica also won 1 silver and two bronze. The silver was won by the former fastest woman alive, Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce while Shericka Jackson won bronze in the women’s 100-m and Megan Tapper won the other bronze in the women’s 100m hurdles.
The Dominican Republic has three medals – 2 silver and one bronze while Puerto Rico and Bermuda both have 1 medal apiece – historic gold medals.
Lidio Andres Feliz, Anabel Ventura Medina, Alexande Ogando, Marileidy Paulino and Santos Luguelin all brought home silver for the DR in the 4 x 400m mixed relay competition while Julio Ruben Pernia Mayora also won silver in the Men’s 73kg weightlifting contest and Crismery Dominga Peguero Santana claimed a bronze medal in the women’s 87kg weightlifting contest.
Puerto Rico’s gold was won by Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, 24, in the women’s 100m hurdle on Monday and it is Puerto Rico’s first-ever gold medal in track and field. Camacho-Quinn was born in South Carolina and raised in the US, but her mother is from the island and the runner wanted to represent her heritage.
Bermuda’s Flora Duffy made history on July 27th in Tokyo, Japan, when she won the Caribbean region’s first Olympic gold medal and the first for her country.
Duffy won the historic first Olympic gold medal for Bermuda, an associate member of the Caribbean Community, in the women’s triathlon, triggering ecstatic celebrations in the small island in the North Atlantic.
