Despite the cancellation of CARIFTA 2021 in Bermuda, TCI athletes can celebrate their achievements at the 2021 CARIFTA Trials held on May 7-8 at the TCI National Stadium. The meet which was held to allow athletes to compete for a chance to represent the TCI at CARIFTA, saw four national records broken in the field events.
One record broken spanned two age categories, with Under 17 Female athlete, Tanesia Gardiner breaking the National Record for High Jump clearing 1.68m. The jump broke both the Under 17 Female record of 1.50m previously held by Israel Ramsey, as well as the Under 20 Female High Jump record of 1.65m previously held by Sanadia Forbes.
Continuing the record breaking for field events, Tayjoe Oppong shattered his own national record of 13.20m for the Under 20 Male Shot Put event with a throw of 16.02m. Following closely behind Antwon Walkin bested the Under 17 Male Shot Put record of 12.94m previously held by Darvion Rigby, with a throw of 14.01m.
Speaking of the athlete’s accomplishments, President of the Turks and Caicos Islands Amateur Athletics Association, Ms. Edith Skippings said “The TCAAA is extremely proud of Tayjoe, Tanesia and Antwon. We salute them for not only performing well at the trials but also beating their own personal bests and ultimately breaking national records.”
Director of the Turks and Caicos Islands Sports Commission, Mr. Jarrett Forbes said he was impressed by the athletes' performances. “It was quite exciting watching our athletes perform at the CARIFTA Trials. Their display of tenacity reflected their passion for excellence and desire for quality country representation. We are disappointed that CARIFTA Games 2021 was cancelled but we have no regrets in hosting the CARIFTA trials. What we witnessed from our athletes was nothing short of spectacular.”
Minister of Education, Hon. Rachel congratulated the athletes on their accomplishment. “As Minister with responsibilities for Sports, congratulations to all athletes who participated in the CARIFTA Trials. Your dedication, enthusiasm and persistence played a pivotal role in your success. We must highlight Tayjoe Oppong, Tanesia Gardiner and Antwon Walkin who broke the Turks and Caicos record in their particular event. This sums up the level of coaching received , the inner desire to succeed and the self-discipline of each athlete. There is always room for improvement and this is achieved with more training. Stay focus and have the courage to follow your dreams.”
Both Under 17 record breakers, Tanesia Gardiner and Antwon Walkin are members of the Quality Athletics Track Club in Providenciales lead by coach Randy Ford. Tayjoe Oppong is a student at Kingston College in Kingston, Jamaica.
CARIFTA 2021 was scheduled for August 13-15 in Bermuda but was cancelled due to a two-week quarantine requirement for arriving guest. For more results from the TCI’s CARIFTA Trials and for updates on the 49th CARIFTA Games, visit the Turks and Caicos Islands Sports Commission’s Facebook or Instagram page.