Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Athletics 2019

2019 was the year of the first IAAF World Championships to be held in the Middle East and although there were some disappointments at the meet in its first incarnation as the championships of World Athletics, rather than the I.A.A.F., there were also some outstanding successes.

The Junior athletes of the sub-region turned in several creditable performances in 2019, most notably at the Carifta Games.  British Virgin Islands under 17 sprinter Jaleel Croal, impressed in winning the 200 metres and adding a bronze in the shorter sprint.  Grenada’s tall shot putter Kelsie Murrell-Ross could not come close to the massive 15.91 metres performance she recorded at their National Championships, but easily won at Carifta nonetheless. Under-17 sprinters Uvilla Lewis of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Akresa Eristee of the British Virgin Islands also showed well for the future.  Ironically the two leading Junior female sprinters of the sub-region, Julien Alfred of St. Lucia and Joella Lloyd of Antigua and Barbuda were absent due to collegiate commitments but Alfred moved into the O.E.C.S. All-Time top 10 in both sprints and Lloyd buttressed a strong freshman season with some strong indoor performances, as the calendar turned to 2020. 

Grenada, which has produced several male multi-eventers may have found a female counterpart in Jonair Thomas who exceeded 4700 points at Carifta. 

Among the senior athletes there was much to be proud of. The Pan American Games in Lima, Peru brought a rich harvest of medals for the region with victories going to St. Lucia’s evergreen high jumper Levern Spencer, Grenadian javelin thrower Anderson Peters and B.V.I. long jumper Chantel Malone, all of whom had mounted the victory stand a year earlier at the C.A.C. Gamers of 2018.  Grenada’s Lindon Victor, with a silver medal, confirmed his status as one of the world’s elite decathletes.  St. Lucian javelin thrower Albert Reynolds, with a bronze in his event, became the first thrower from his country to qualify for a global championship.

Other O.E.C.Sthletes to finish in the top eight were B.V.I, shot putter Eldred Henry (6^th) and Bralon Taplin of Grenada (8^th in the 400).  Henry had consistently thrown beyond 20 metres during the season and his 21.47 metre heave to win the N.C.A.A. Division II title has been surpassed only by Jamaica’s O’Dayne Richards among C.A.C. throwers.  Taplin had compiled a reasonably good season, topped by a victory at the Grenada Invitational, but his season ended at the Pan American Games in controversial circumstances.

At the World Championships several of the O.E.C.S. athletes surpassed, or at least lived up to expectations.  Anderson Peters became Grenada’s second Gold medalist with an impressive win the in the javelin throw, adding to a list of medals won at virtually every major championship he had contested.  Grenada’s greatest athlete ever, Kirani James, made a startling comeback from a long period of illness and finished fifth in the 400, culminating a season that showed him to be a likely contender for major honours at the Olympic Games.–  Kyron McMaster of the B.V.I. was tipped for fourth on the form chart in the 400 metre hurdles behind three of the four men to have ever run faster than 47 seconds and albeit close to a medal, fourth was where he finished, drawing a line on another outstanding season.  Lindon Victor, with outstanding results in Gotzis and at the Pan Am Games, was fairly well placed to contend for a medal in Doha, but three fouls in the discus throw, probably his strongest event, put paid to his chances.

Another star of the early season, Thea La Fond of Dominica had set an O.E.C.S. record of 14.38 metres in the triple jump in Florida and had two other meets beyond 14 metres but could only finish 8^th at the Pan Am Games and did not compete at the World Championships.  Of the other four Pan Am medallists/finalists -Spencer, Malone, Reynolds and Henry, none was able to replicate the form shown earlier when the lights were brightest and must adopt the attitude that tomorrow is another day.