Jamaican discuss champion Fredrick Dacres and Shanieka Ricketts, triple-jump champion, set championships records at the North American Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Senior Championships held in Toronto, Canada over the past weekend.
Jamaican ended the championships with 21 medals, seven gold, nine silver and five bronze, a significant improvement over nine medals won three years ago in the same meet held in San Juan, Costa Rica.
Dacres threw 68.47m to lead a Jamaican first and second place finish in the men’s discus throw as Traves Smikle took second. Ricketts successfully defended her triple jump title with 14.25m (-0.9 m/s), improving her own record in the final round after a battle with American silver medalist Tori Franklin.
Shericka Jackson also won a gold medal in the women’s 200m. Tajay Gayle in the men’s long jump, Smikle, Janieve Russell in the women’s 400m hurdles, Annsert Whyte in the men’s 400m hurdles, both female relay teams, and the men’s 4x400m team won silver medals, while Ramone Bailey in the men’s long jump and Nigel Ellis in the men’s 200m all won bronze medals.
Dacres added yet another record to his growing list of achievements as, after setting the record at the Commonwealth Games in March, he surpassed the old record of 60.68m set in 2015 by American Russ Winger on all five of his legal throws as the first four men in the field of six also went past the old mark.
Smikle, who had won the bronze at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Colombia just over a week ago, upgraded to silver with 65.46m with the USA’s Reggie Jagers taking bronze with 62.70m.
Jackson edged Canada’s Crystal Emmanuel for the gold in the women’s 200m, in a record time of running 22.64 seconds, setting a new stadium record. America’s Phyllis Francis took third with 22.91 seconds as Jamaica’s Jodean Williams was fourth in 23.19 seconds.
In the men 200m Trinidad’s Kyle Greaux won the gold in a championship record 20.11 seconds, under the 20.12 second set by Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer in 2015, while Canada’s Aaron Brown took the silver in 20.20 seconds.
