Field athletes hit Carifta mark, await NAAA call

A number of field athletes put their names in the hat for consideration for the 2025 Carifta Games when they achieved the qualifying standard on the first day of the Carifta trials at the Hasely Crawford Stadium training field in Mucurapo on April 4.

Up to press time, the Carifta standard in the varying events was met on at least 20 occasions, with a couple of former Carifta medallists achieving the standard in more than one event.

TT will host the Carifta Games from April 19-21.

D'Abadie Progressive Athletic Club's Adrianna Quamina and Burnley Athletics' Peyton Winter had healthy battles in the girls' under-20 discus and shot put events, and their efforts saw them meeting the respective standards for this month's games.

The 18-year-old Quamina, a bronze medallist at the 2022 Carifta Games, was one of three athletes to surpass the 39.21-metre Carifta standard in the discus throw as her 45.56m effort earned her top spot. Zenith Athletics' Ruth Irvine (41.17m) and Winter (40.78m) placed second and third.

In the under-20 shot put, Nattaly Lindo (13.56m) led the trio of athletes who got past the 11.74m qualifying mark, with Winter (13.25m) and Quamina (12.45m) finishing second and third. Winter, who earned a silver medal in the girls' under-17 shot put at the 2024 Carifta Games in Grenada, will be hoping to make her mark as she makes the age group jump.

Quamina, who competed alongside her sister Sofia Quamina, also wants to soar to new heights.

"My first event today was the discus throw. I already knew what I wanted. I had actually made the standard before and I knew I wanted to go past that because I actually wanted to aim for other standards, which I believe I did make," Adrianna told Newsday between events.

"It was a bit difficult because I did make the standard with my first throw. But the distance I wanted, I only made it on my third or so throw. I did feel good because I felt a kinda relief as I did exactly what I wanted and executed what I wanted to."

If selected to represent TT at another Carifta Games, Adrianna has clear plans on her mind.

"Everybody wants to get gold and everybody wants to win, so obviously I will try my best to get there. The main thing is to just keep getting better distances. The main thing is to always keep going up."

Over 500 athletes are expected to participate in the trials, and National Association of Athletics Administration (NAAATT) first vice-president Paul Voisin explained how the selection criteria works for the games.

"The first criteria for selection will be the trials. The selection committee will present to the board and then the board will go through that because there are a lot of other things that are factored in," Voisin said, explaining that meeting the Carifta standard doesn't guarantee automatic selection for Carifta. "There are foreign athletes who will also be competing. You could make the qualifying standard, but two other people in the US make the standard also. The selection committee will present the three people who make the standard and will make a decision based on that."

Voisin said a board meeting will be convened after the trials for the selection committee to make their presentation.

One athlete who will be hoping to get the nod for the games is 15-year-old Bishop Anstey High School East student Karissa Williams, who was the first athlete to meet the Carifta standard at the trials when she won the girls' under-17 javelin with a 25.70m throw.

In her first time competing at the trials, it was a personal best for Williams who eclipsed the 25.63m standard with her third throw.

"I would like to go out and represent (my country). If a medal comes with it, then I'll be very glad. I've been looking forward to Carifta for a while. I wanted to make the standard for a very long time so I'm really glad I made it today," the Burnley athlete said.

The boys' under-17 discus was among one of the most keenly contested events on the day, as five athletes met the Carifta standard, with Ascend Athletics' Nykel Gomez leading the way with a 45.18m throw.

Tenique Vincent, a bronze medallist at last year's Carifta, was another athlete who met the standard for this year's games when she jumped 5.60m in the girls' under-20 long jump.

Meanwhile, the boys' under-20 javelin had two athletes eclipsing the 51.23m standard, with Zenith's Aaron Aparico (56.68m) beating Jaheem Homer (51.55m) to pole position.

The track athletes will get their turn to impress and vie for selection when the trials continue with a flurry events at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella from April 5-6.