Swimmers Dylan Carter and Nikoli Blackman, alongside cyclist Teniel Campbell, earned Trinidad and Tobago a gold, a bronze, and a silver medal, respectively, on day nine of the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games on Saturday in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Former Olympian Carter delivered on expectations by clinching the top spot in the men’s 50-metre butterfly final with a swift time of 23.43 seconds. Reacting to the starter’s gun in 0.67 seconds from lane four, he maintained his pace to claim the gold medal. However, he fell just short of breaking the record of 23.32 seconds he had previously set at the same CAC Games event in San Salvador in June 2023.
Carter was comfortably ahead at the wall before Colombia’s Emiliano Calle arrived to take the silver medal in 23.48 seconds. Neighbouring Venezuela’s Jorge Otaiza secured the bronze after a 0.62-second reaction time brought him home in 23.56 seconds. Another T&T swimmer in the mix, Zarek Wilson, finished well outside of the medals, placing seventh in lane one with a time of 24.39 seconds.
Later yesterday, Liam Carrington contested the 200-metre backstroke but could only manage a seventh-place finish in 2:05.57. That race was won by Mexico’s Humberto Najera in 1:58.62, with Puerto Rico’s Yeziel Morales (1:59.43) and Aruba’s Patrick Groters (1:59.91) completing the top three in second and third respectively.
Last night, Blackman claimed third place in the men’s A Final of the 200-metre freestyle with a time of 1:49.41. However, the spotlight belonged to Guyana’s Raekwon Noel, who shattered the record with a 1:47.08 performance to take the gold medal, while Mexico’s Jorge Iga secured the silver in 1:47.95.
Lone women’s swimmer in action Zuri Ferguson was a fith-place finisher in the women’s 200m backstroke final. She touched the wall in 2:14.73 to place behind gold medallist Mexican Daniela Linares (2:10.68), silver medallist Kristen Romano (2:11.68) of Puerto Rico, and bronze medallist Celia Pulido (2:12.92) also of Mexico. Also finishing ahead of Ferguson was fourth-placed Jasmin Pistelli (2:13.52) of Colombia.
Campbell second in women’s road race
On the track, cyclist Teniel Campbell showed her class by capturing a silver medal, her second medal of the Games. Backed by a confidence-boosting bronze in the women’s team sprint earlier in the Games, Campbell proved her pedigree among a highly competitive field of close to 40 riders, clinching second place in three hours, 10 minutes and 32 seconds.
She was narrowly edged out by the talented Marlies Mejias of Cuba, who topped a bunched finish in an identical time, while Mexico’s Yareli Acevedo rounded out the podium positions. Campbell was not the only T&T rider in the event; however, Alexi Costa-Ramirez could not produce her best form and finished a distant eighth in a time of 3:10:34.
Women’s table tennis players struggle
Outside of these podium finishes, athletes wearing the red, white, and black struggled across various disciplines.
T&T’s women’s table tennis team was swept 3-0 by Puerto Rico in Group A. The demolition concluded with a 3-0 defeat in the doubles, where T&T’s top two players, Imani Edwards and Chloe Fraser, were beaten 11-7, 11-4, 11-5. This capped off a tough series of consecutive 3-0 losses in the singles matches.
Earlier, Rheann Chung contested the opening rubber against Adriana Diaz but was unable to contain her opponent, falling in straight sets 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 to trail 1-0. Hopes of an equalising match from the country’s number-one ranked Chloe Fraser never materialised; despite fighting hard, she eventually surrendered to Alondra Rodriguez 11-4, 11-8, and 14-12 in a tight third set.
In boxing, Angel George suffered a 5-0 defeat in her women’s 75kg quarterfinal contest against Colombia’s Vanegas Solano. The T&T fighter was outclassed, with all five judges comfortably ruling in favour of the Colombian.
Meanwhile, the duo of Maria Gooding and Dmitri James finished well outside the medals in their respective women’s and men’s cross-country mountain bike events at the La Barranquita MTB Course, after both were lapped by the field.
3×3 basketballers edged by Venezuela
In basketball, T&T’s 3×3 campaign suffered a narrow setback, going down 12-11 to Venezuela. Represented by the quartet of Jameela McCarthy, Jilisa Briggs, Nairobi Lewis, and Rosemarie Julien, the T&T squad was not good enough on the day against a Venezuelan team comprised of Noholia Chile, Jessuana Machado, Barbara Pico, and Eduglatriz Castro.
T&T medals
Gold
Nikoli Blackman (swimming) – men’s 50m freestyle
Nikoli Blackman (swimming) – men’s 100m freestyle
Liam Carrington, Dylan Carter, Zarek Wilson, Nikoli Blackman (swimming) – men’s 4x100m freestyle relay,
Kwesi Browne (track cycling) – men’s keirin
Dylan Carter (swimming) – men’s 50m butterfly
Silver
Liam Carrington (swimming) – men’s 50m backstroke
Teniel Campbell (cycling) – women’s road race
Bronze
Kwesi Browne (track cycling) – men’s individual sprint
Teniel Campbell (road cycling) – women’s time trial
Akil Campbell (track cycling) – men’s omnium
Kwesi Browne, Danell James, Ryan D’Abreau – (track cycling) – men’s team sprint
Teniel Campbell, Kyra Williams, Phoebe Sandy – (track cycling) – women’s team sprint
Teniel Campbell, Alexi Costa-Ramirez – (track cycling) – women’s madison
Dylan Carter (swimming) – men’s 100m butterfly
Nikoli Blackman (swimming) – men’s 200-metre freestyle
