Swimmer Nikoli Blackman won Trinidad and Tobago’s first gold medal of the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games when he won the men’s 50m freestyle at the Juan Pablo Duarte Aquatic Center in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Tuesday night.
In addition to Blackman’s gold, T&T has so far won four bronze medals in cyclings, via Teniel Campbell, Kwesi Browne and the men and women sprint cycling teams.
The 21-year-old Blackman, of the University of Tennessee, who had the slowest reaction time of 0.68 seconds to start the event, stormed to victory in 21.98 seconds from lane four, beating 23-year-old Venezuelan Jorge Otaiza (22.42), and 19-year-old Javier Nunez of the Dominican Republic (22.46) into the silver and bronze medal positions while T&T’s Dylan Carter, 30, the winner in 2023 , was fourth this time around in 22.61 from lane five.
Earlier in the morning session, Blackman was the fastest qualifier overall after he raced to victory in heat four of the men’s 50m freestyle in 22.23 seconds from lane four, with Honduran Gabriel Martinez second in 22.63, and Suriname’s Ismael Holtuin who was third in 22.80.
Carter, the record holder with a time of 21.87 in winning the gold medal in 2023 topped heat five from lane four as well in 22.41 for the second fastest time in the heats overall, with Nunez second from lane three in 22.44, and Venezuelan Jorge Otaiza, third in 22.80.
Fellow national swimmer, and USA-based swimmer, Liam Carrington was tenth in the men’s 200m individual medley final in two minutes, 05.21 seconds.
When the heats took place in the morning session, the 18-year-old Carrington was fourth in heat two in two minutes, 05.32 seconds for the ninth fastest time overall as he finished behind Venezuelan Manuel Diaz (2:03.60 mins), Guatemalan Erick Gordillo (2:03.80) and Puerto Rican Andrtes Brooks (2:04.32).
Wednesday, Carter and Blackman will be back in the pool in the men’s 100m freestyle heats while they will be joined by Zarek Wilson and Carrington for the 4x100m freestyle relay heats.
Browne adds to cycling
bronze medal haul
Trinidad and Tobago’s Kwesi Browne won his first individual bronze medal, and second in two days when he placed third in the men’s sprint at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games.
Competing at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center Velodrome, the 32-year-old Browne outclassed Guadeloupe’s Matthias Sylvanise in two straight rides in their best-of-three bronze medal contest.
The T&T cyclist won the first ride in 10,756 seconds with 19-year-old Sylvanise trailing behind by 0.041 seconds before while he was awarded the second ride after the French-speaking cyclist failed to face the starter.
Earlier in the semifinals, Browne was beaten in two straight rides by Colombian Cristian Ortega with the South American taking the first ride by 0.001 while in the second ride, Ortega won by 0.141.
Colombian Kevin Quintero also won his semifinal against Guadeloupe’s Matthias Sylvanise in two straight rides, the first by 0.099 seconds, and the second ride, by 0.248 seconds.
The 27-year-old Quintero won the gold medal in two straight rides over his countryman Ortega, 25, winning the first by 0.091 seconds, and the second ride, by 0.025.
When the quarteterfinals rode off, Browne was edged out in his first ride in the quarterfinals by Mexicoan Edgar Verdugo who won in 10.715 seconds, just 0.002 ahead of the T&T competitor.
However, in the second ride, Browne won convincingly in 11.484, with Verdugo, trailing by 0.774 seconds to set up the third and decisive ride which Browne won in 10.935 seconds, with Verdugo trailing by 0.107 seconds.
T&T’s other entrant in the event, Danell James was beaten in the quarterfinals by Ortega in two straight rides, with winning times of 10.626 seconds, and 10.556 seconds respectively.
Quintero also won his quarterfinal against Venezuela’s Bladimir Alvarado in two straight rides while in the other quarterfinal, Sylvanise got the better of Venezuelan Alberto Torres in three rides, 2-1.
In the Round of 16, Browne defeated Suriname’s Xavi Wadilie in their one-off ride in 11.865 seconds to his opponent’s 11.912 in heat three to secure his spot in the quarterfinals while James (10.920) outpaced Mexico’s Jalet Lopez (10.976) to earn his place in the last eight.
When the men’s sprint flying 200m qualifying round took place to start the day, Browne had the third best time of 10.152 seconds, behind Quintero who was timed at 9.978 and Ortega’s 10.090 with Sylvanise fourth in 10.336, while James was the tenth fastest in 10.688.
Double bronze medal winner, Teniel Campbell was back in the medal hunt in the women’s omnium and placed fifth in the scratch raceccontestdover 10km (30 laps) with 32 points.
Mexico’s Yareli Acevdeo won the event with 40 points, two more than Cuban Malies Mejias while Colombian Lina Hernandez was third with 36, and Venezuelan Veronica Abreu, fourth with 34 points.
Campbell then contested the tempo race and won sprint laps six, 21 and 26 on her way to a fourth place finish with a minus-17 points tally.
Acevdeo won eight sprint laps of the 30-lap event and secured the top spot with eight points with Mejias second with six sprints laps wins and six points, and Hernandez, third with five sprints laps won and five points.
Campbell was also fourth across the finish line in the elimination race with Mejias taking the win ahead of Acevedo and Abreu.
And in the 60 laps (20 km) points race, Browne was fifth with 17 points, with Acevdeo the winner with 61, ahead of Hernandez who tallied 44, two more than Mejias, with Abreu, fourth with 39.
Overall, Acevedo took the gold medal with 179 points with Mejias the silver medal winner with 158, and Hernandez, bronze with 148, whille Abreu was fourth with 141, and Campbell, fifth with 117.
Today, Kyra Williams and Phoebe Sandy, who along with Teniel Camnpbell won bronze in teh women’s team sprint will compete in the women’s sprint flying 200m heats from 10 am ahead of the round-of-16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal rides while Akil Campbell lines up in the men’s omnium.
<Richards Jr fifth in men’s golf>
At the Corales Golf Course, T&T’s Chris Richards Jr missed out on a medal in the men’s golf competition when he ended in the joint fifth spot after a third straight round of even par 72 to end the 72-hole tournament with two under-par 286, 15 shots adrift of runaway gold medal winner Guatemalan 40-year-old Jose Manuel Toledo Novales.
The 21-year-old birdied the par-four sixth hole, and par-five 14th hole , but bogeyed the par-three second and par-five seventh hole for a third straight even score to add to his first round, two under-par 70, the same as host golfer, Juan Jose Guerra Sanoja, who also carded a final day score of even-par 72, adding to his first three rounds of 69, 72 and 73.
Novales carded a one under-par 71 to add to his previous rounds of 64, 69 and 67 for a four-day total of 17 under-par 271 with Mexican Luis Carrera Melia, 26, securing the silver medal with a score of eight under-par 280 after a final day score of two under-par 70, to add to his previous rounds of 69, 74, and 57 while Dominican Republic’s Guillermo Ramon Pumarol Hernandez, 37, got the bronze medal with a four-day tally of seven under-par 281 after he shot two under-par 70 in his final round.
Venezuelan Manuel Alejandro Torres Salazar, 30, ended in the fourth spot at six under-par 282.
<Miguel, Morrison suffer beach vball defeat>
National men’s duo Jahreef Miguel and Jerome Morrison dropped to a 1-2 win-loss record in Group D round-robin play after going down to El Salvador’s Rafael Vargas and Gabriel Vargas 16-21, 12-21.
It was the second straight loss for the T&T men who were also beaten in straight sets, 8-21 and 11-21, to Cubans Damian Gomez and Eblis Verane after they won their tournament opener against Antigua and Barbuda’s Miguel Lugo and Raenor Sharpe 17-21, 21-17, and 15-7.
Wednesday, Morrison and Miguel face Belize’s Ernest Broaster and Francis Hauze, who also have a 1-2 record with third spot in the pool on the line.
T&T women’s beach volleyball team of Malika Davidson and Apphia Glasgow are also 1-2 heading into their final round-robin match in Group C against Hondurans Reizel Bruhier and Shanna Rivera on Wednesday, with the latter team also winners of one of their three matches.
The T&T women swept past Grenadians Thornia Mitchell and Renish Stafford 21-16, 21-19 after they beaten by Guatemala’s Paola Alvarado and Naomi Monney 7-21, 9-21 and Mexicans Abril Flores and Susana Torres 5-21, 5-21.
Davidson and Glasgow will conclude pool play versus Hondurans Reizel Bruhier and Shanna Rivera on Wednesday, needing a win to have any chance of a quarterfinal spot.
On Monday night, T&T women’s basketball team fell to a second defeat, 48-65 against El Salvador and they return to the court today to face Mexico from 6 pm.
Also Wednesday, from 10 am, the senior men’’s hockey team buoyed by their 5-1 whipping of reigning gold medal winners Mexico on Monday, will face Barbados who defeated Guatemala 4-2 in their opener, while Mexico play Guatemala two hours later.
