SPORTS SECTION E
Thursday, April 9, 2026
CRUISE CONTROL: Athletes in action during the 53rd CARIFTA Games at the Kirani James Athletic Stadium in Grenada.
Team Bahamas 3rd overall By JONATHAN BURROWS Tribune Sports Reporter jburrows@ tribunemedia.net
TEAM Bahamas delivered another competitive showing at the 53rd CARIFTA Games in Grenada, finishing among the region’s top countries while producing key performances on both the track and field. The team closed the meet with 30 medals - eight gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze placing third overall behind Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Jamaica once again led the standings with 71 medals (28 gold, 27 silver, 16 bronze), while Trinidad and Tobago secured second
with 35 medals (nine gold, 11 silver, 15 bronze). The Bahamas followed in third, with Barbados fourth with 17 medals and Guyana rounding out the top five with six medals. While the overall medal count dipped from last year’s 37-medal performance in Trinidad and Tobago, the team remained consistent across events and produced several standout moments. Another bright side of this year's CARIFTA Games performances was the many highlighted performances in the under-17 division from Team Bahamas, alluding to the fact that track and field development in The Bahamas is at an all time high.
One of the biggest highlights came in the relays, where the under-17 girls’ 4x100 metre team delivered a record-breaking run. The quartet of Keyezra Thomas, Brion Ward, Taree Forbes and Jazae Johnson surged to gold while setting a new CARIFTA record with a time of 44.21 seconds, continuing the country’s long-standing strength in sprint relays. Another key performance came from phenom Jazae Johnson, who also etched her name into the CARIFTA history books. In only her second CARIFTA Games appearance,
Johnson,16, walked away with three gold medals (under-17 triple jump 12.35 metres, under-17 long jump - 6.02 metres and under-17 4x100m relay) and one silver medal (under-17 100m dash - 11.30 seconds). In the under-17 division, in the Octathlon, Justin Shephard set new CARIFTA records in the single events such as the 400m dash with a time of 49.62 seconds and the 1,500m run with a time of 4:56.32. Shepherd also broke the overall octathlon point record with 5,387 points. Teammate Ashley Demerittle Jr. finished second with a point total of 4,897. This was both athletes' first time competing at the CARIFTA Games. Those
Photo by Chappell Whyms Jr
moments carried on a trend from last year, when The Bahamas produced multiple record-breaking performances, including the under-17 boys’ 4x400 metre relay team setting a CARIFTA record and several national records falling across events. We also saw some exceptional performances from athletes who performed in the under-20 age group for the first time, highlighted by Eagan Neely capturing a bronze medal in the 200 metre dash with a time of 20.73 seconds. This performance came after Neely missed the first half of the track season due to a leg injury. In Grenada, the field events once again set
the early tone for Team Bahamas. In what would be her last CARIFTA appearance, defending champion Taysha Stubbs secured the country’s first gold medal in the under-20 girls’ javelin, successfully retaining her title. She was joined on the podium by Kamera Strachan, who claimed bronze in her first CARIFTA appearance. The overall performance reflects a team that continues to compete at a high level across multiple disciplines, especially in the under-17 division. While the number of gold medals was lower than the previous year, The Bahamas maintained its position among the top three nations in the region.
9th-inning sacrifice fly lifts Athletics over ‘Jazz’ Chisholm and Yankees 3-2 NEW YORK (AP) — Brent Rooker hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly off David Bednar in the ninth inning, and the Athletics rallied to beat the New York Yankees 3-2 last night. Nick Kurtz singled leading off the ninth against Bednar (0-1), and Shea Langeliers doubled. Rooker lofted a flyball to center field and Kurtz scored without a play. Elvis Alvarado (2-0) got two outs for an A's bullpen that pitched four hitless innings in relief of Luis Severino. Joel Kuhnel worked a perfect ninth for his second major league save, his first since 2022. New York's Ryan McMahon made his first big league start at shortstop, where he had two prior appearances in late-inning switches totalling three innings for Colorado in 2020. He had five assists and was 0 for 3 with a walk at the plate, dropping to 2 for 26 this season. Severino, who pitched in the Yankees organisation from 2012-23, allowed two runs in the first. He gave up four hits and five walks in five innings. New York went
ahead seven pitches into the first on three straight singles, the last being Cody Bellinger's blooper. After a pair of strikeouts, Severino forced in a run with eight straight balls. The A's challenged the last, to J.C. Escarra, which ABS showed was 2.1 inches above the strike zone. The A's tied it 2-all in the fourth on an RBI single by Jeff McNeil, celebrating his 34th birthday, and Will Warren's run-scoring wild pitch. McNeil is 8 for 16 on his birthday. New York's Ben Rice had the first four-strikeout game of his big league career, and the Yankees went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, dropping to 22 for 97 (.227) this year. Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake was ejected by plate umpire Carlos Torres for arguing ball/strike calls from New York’s dugout in the third inning. Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe, recovering from left shoulder surgery on October 14, could start a minor league rehabilitation assignment next week, manager Aaron Boone said.