Mike Fennell, chairman of the Carifta Games local organising committee (LOC), is today (April 19) declaring that the competition’s just-concluded 2022 staging in Kingston is the surest confirmation of the bright future of Caribbean athletics. 

Fennell, in an interview with Our Today, said the incredible performances of the young starlets have done their predecessors proud by further continuing the Caribbean’s rich sporting legacy as a powerhouse in track and field.

“All I can say is the [Caribbean’s] future is assured. It is clear that we have depth in our coaching, and this coaching is going to improve as time goes by. And, when you look at the talent that was displayed with the junior athletes at Carifta 2022, the future of athletics in the region is assured,” Fennell argued.

Jamaica, hosting the Carifta Games for the first time since 2011 (and eighth time overall), dominated as the top team for the 36th year in a row, finishing with a record medal haul of 92—49 gold, 29 silver and 18 bronze—ahead of The Bahamas (17) and British Virgin Islands (seven).

The regional games, which marked its first staging since the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, also brought into focus a need for Caribbean countries to greater sustain the athletic growth trajectory.  

“However, we’re going to have to accept that, even at a higher level, the importance of investing in the athletes at this stage,” he noted.

Fennell told Our Today that world-conquering Olympians get the lion’s share of acclaim and fondness when the young athletic talents are the ones more in demand for support. 

The senior sports administrator was, however, heartened to see the high focus exhibited by the regional stars; showering praises on their coaches for keeping them motivated two years into the pandemic.

“As you know, there is no shortage of recognition when you win at the Olympic Games, but what we need to do is to transfer some of that appreciation to the athletes when they are at the developmental stage—when they need it more than when they have ‘arrived’. So we really need to celebrate with them,” mused Fennell.

“And the other point that I’d like to make is that after a gap of two years, you would have thought there would be some struggle to excite and energise everybody—because of the [pandemic and] time away—but you could not have asked for any greater excitement.”

“The levels of energy were high and the level of performances, too, which means that the coaches must have worked very hard [themselves] on maintaining a level of focus that ensured the type of competition we saw over the last three days,” he added.

See breakdown of the Carifta 2022 medals table and country rankings below: