By NAN Sports Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. April 12, 2018: There are still three more days to go for the 2018 Commonwealth Games but so far, the Caribbean region’s combined medal haul has pushed up to 18.
That includes 6 gold medals from the region’s stalwart athletes. As is usual at athletics events on the world’s stage, Jamaica is holding a dominant lead for the region, with 12 medals in total as of Wednesday evening, including three gold medals.
And it’s not the usual names from the island of Usain Bolt, reggae and jerk cuisine. 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 Jamaican triple-jump veteran, Kimberly Williams, who won the event with a leap of 14.64 meters, in her final leap and Jamaican Ronald Levy, who captured the men’s 110-meters hurdles title.
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 female sprinter, Michelle-Lee Ahye mined the 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.
Bermuda and Grenada have one medal each, a gold while The Bahamas and Dominica also medaled with one apiece but theirs was a silver and a bronze, respectively.
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.
Jamal Wilson claimed silver for The Bahamas in the Men’s High Jump while Thea LaFond took the bronze for Dominica in the Women’s Triple Jump.
