When it comes to sports and achievement, The Bahamas is – pound for pound – simply the best in the whole wide world.
By this way of seeing and understanding things such as those that recently took place at Carifta, we are clearly [pound for pound] greater than the rest.
But of course, we yield to say that Jamaica [as is to be expected with its much larger population] is really pretty good.
And so, we begin by noting this country’s games’ successes through their own lens.
As Raymond Graham, Gleaner Writer reports:- In chilly conditions at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium last night, the jam-packed crowd, which included thousands of cheering Jamaican fans waving their green, gold and black flags, witnessed some awesome running in the 200 meters. Natalliah Whyte and Manley Martin scored double wins after scoring respective victories in the Under-17 boys and girls events, while Shericka Jackson and Jevaughn Minzies recorded personal bests in winning silver in the senior category.
Powerhouse Jamaica topped the medals table for yet another year. In the mile relays that brought the curtains down on the three days of competition, Jamaica won twice, while The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago captured one each.
Jamaica ended with 28 gold, 25 silver and 15 bronze for a tally of 68 medals, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago with nine gold, one silver and 10 bronze. Hosts the Bahamas claimed eight gold, 12 silver and 11 bronze, while Barbados finished with four gold, 14 silver and two bronze.
With this said, we note that Carifta 2013 has come and, too – Carifta 2013 has gone.
Today we send out kudos to each and every athlete who played a role in making the games the clear success they surely happened to have been. We are especially proud of Team Bahamas for how proudly they carried this nation’s emblem.
There are those athletes who – as in the case of Shaunae Miller – should be singled out for both praise-shout and kudos.
This great one in the making who is The Bahamas World Junior and Youth Champion in the Under-20 Girls Division won the 400m Finals in a new record time of 51.64 seconds as Jamaica’s Chris Ann Gordon ran 53.22 seconds for the silver medal and Kadecia Baird of Guyana clocked 54.28 seconds for the bronze medal.
As she did what she seemingly had to do, the Bahamian crowd did its’ own thing to the pulsating beat of goat-skin’ drums, horns and whistles; and as an ecstatic Miller declaimed:-“…I thank God for my race, without Him I could not have done it. Competition was always stiff so I did my best. It feels good and winning it in front of my home crowd makes it feels much better. There was nothing better I could have asked for.” This young woman and her peers understood and clearly did appreciate the extent to which the home crowd went to put just that little more wind behind their backs. We too were left mightily impressed.
We would also wish to thank the men and women in the BAAA who – as was to be expected of them – rose to the challenge implicit in this wonderful moment. We single out the nation’s understated [but never-ever under-rated] Mike Sands for all that he continues to give to sports in the Bahamas. Mike Sands now seems as if he has been for us across a span of time that would have daunted most of those who could be described as being among the truly good in the land of the best. His work has been [and continues to be] outstanding.
Most of the people who routinely tune in to sports are – on occasion- blithely unaware of why they spend so much time and money on watching athletes do their thing in this or that sports discipline. Most of the people who tune into that world which features athletes do so because they admire these people who in their appearance seem to exude health and who seem to be so wonderfully disciplined.
This and more of this we witnessed across the span of the past few days when athletes from across the Caribbean showed that – in time- they have what it takes [at least in the sports arena] to help bring alive a truly Caribbean meta-nation. This was especially good for our Bahamas; a blessed space that has in it Bahamians whose roots go and grow deep in that wider and deeper Caribbean space. Congratulations to all who did what they had to do in order to so successfully pull of Carifta 2013 in the Bahamas.
