By NAN Sports Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. April 13, 2018: There are now two more days to go before the 2018 Commonwealth Games wrap up and so far the Caribbean region’s combined medal haul has moved up to a whopping 25.
That includes 10 gold medals from the region’s stalwart athletes. Jamaica is holding a dominant lead for the region, with 15 medals in total as of last evening, April 12th. That haul includes 4 gold medals.
One of the more impressive and historic performances of an athlete representing the island and the region came from the little-known Aisha Praught, who on Wednesday won the women 3000-m steeplechase event in a personal best time of 9:21.00 secs.
Praught, who was born in the US to a White mother and Jamaican father, is representing her biological father’s homeland. She upset the favorite Celliphine Chespol of Kenya who was second in a time of 9:22.61. This was the first time a Caribbean athlete won the steeplechase in a major international athletic event.
Also mining gold medals for Jamaica were triple-jump veteran, Kimberly Williams, who won the event with a leap of 14.64 meters, in her final leap; Ronald Levy, who captured the men’s 110-meters hurdles title and Janieve Russell who won the Women’s 400-m hurdles.
While Jamaica is leading the medals count with five silver medals and four bronze as well, Trinidad and Tobago has also claimed two medals to date, including one gold.
Trinidad and Tobago has two gold medals on the board and one silver. female sprinter, Michelle-Lee Ahye mined the first gold for Trinidad and Tobago when she won the 100-meters for women in the time of 11.14, relegating Jamaicans Christania Williams (11.21), and Gayon Evans (11.22), to silver and bronze, respectively. Jereem Richards struck gold yesterday in the men’s 200-m
Bermuda, the British Virgin Island, The Bahamas and Grenada have one medal each.
Grenada’s Lindon Victor claimed his first and just the country’s fourth gold medal at the Commonwealth Games after a surprise victory in the men’s decathlon on Tuesday while Flora Duffy won the gold for Bermuda in the women’s Triathlon.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo grabbed gold for the Bahamas Thursday in the women’s 200-m while Jamal Wilson claimed a silver for his country earlier in the week in the Men’s High Jump.
Kyron McMaster claimed the first medal for the British Virgin Islands, winning gold in the men’s 400-m hurdles while Dominica rounds out the Caribbean medal count so far with one medal, a bronze, which Thea LaFond won in the Women’s Triple Jump.
