Unsporting behavour marred Carifta Games Trials
Howard Walker / Our Today
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The three-day Jamaican Carifta Games Trials saw some outstanding world-class displays punctuated with a disgraceful unsporting act that ended at the GC Foster College on Sunday.
Normally the good news comes first, but the bad news was so despicable that it overshadowed the brilliant performances.
In the Boys Under-20 800m final, Maggotty High’s Yoshane Bowen was disqualified as per rule 17.2.2 citing obstruction to Calabar’s Dujhauntai Lewis.
Obstruction is mildly put in the World Athletics rules book as there should be another category for someone who kicked the other athlete so hard that he had to be assisted off the track.
The winner Shaven Jarrett of Titchfield High School was well on his way to victory in winning in an impressive 1:50.32. With the top two runners selected to represent Jamaica at the 2025 Carifta Games, a serious battle was on for second spot with Lewis holding the advantage, Bowen appeared to have deliberately tripped Lewis but was pipped on the line by the fast-finishing Joel Morgan.
Morgan, the 1500m champion, finished second in 1:53.50 with Bowen who was third, later disqualified.
Our Today understands that meetings are taking place as to the way forward by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association hierarchy.
The incident carried live on TrackAlerts kicked up a frenzy on Social Media with most comments condemning Bowen’s action and advocating a life ban from the sport.
Some said it was an accident while some fans were referring to an incident two years ago where a Calabar runner impeded a Kingston College runner and was disqualified as Karma.
“He just ended any aspirations he might have in track and field because everyone will remember him for kicking another athlete from the back….will he even go back to school because it’s embarrassing what he did,” said one onlooker.
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