Romeo edges Fox for Combined U-17 decathlon crown

IN one of the closest finishes in decathlon, Devonte Romeo edged Josiah Fox in the boys Under-17 event at the 2025 National Association of Athletics Administrations Combined Events Championships at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo, on June 7 and 8.

Romeo of Kaizen Panthers finished the decathlon, which requires athletes to compete in ten events, with 4,139 points.

Fox of Fod Flash Point ended with 4,129 points to narrowly miss out on the top spot.

Five events were held on day one with Fox having a stronger day than Romeo.

Fox got the better of Romeo in three of the five events on the opening day.

In the 100-metre dash, Romeo finished in 11.74 seconds just ahead of Fox in 11.81.

Fox then showed his quality in the three field events which followed. He jumped 5.68m in the long jump, compared to 5.41m achieved by Romeo.

The Flash Point athlete dominated the shot put with a 9.12m throw, ahead of Romeo's 7.30m.

Fox's leaping ability was on show again in the high jump when he cleared the bar at 1.54m. Romeo's best effort was 1.42m.

Romeo ended day one on a high note with a 54.47-second clocking in the 400m, faster than Fox's 55.90.

At the end of the opening day, Romeo had 2,442 points and Fox had 2,623.

It continued to be an intense battle from the sixth to the ninth event. In the 100m hurdles, Romeo finished the race in 15.73 and Fox in 16.79.

In the discus, Fox destroyed the field with a 28.43m effort and Romeo could only manage a 18.68m throw.

After both athletes failed to earn any points in the pole vault, Romeo threw the javelin 25.79m with Fox close behind with a 23.48m heave.

With all the athletes trying to remain competitive, it was Romeo who had more stamina in the final event – the gruelling 1,500m race.

Romeo was way ahead of the field, showing his kick to end first in five minutes, 20.56 seconds (5:20.56). Fox finished low in the field in 6:11.99.

That result was just enough for Romeo to win gold ahead of Fox. Learie Drayton of Neon Wolves was third overall with 3,638 points.

Other winners:

Girls U-9 triathlon: D'Mya Williams (Zenith)

Boys U-9 triathlon: Aiden Beard (IG Fastlane)

Girls U-11 tetrathlon: Kaila Agard (Zenith)

Boys U-11 tetrathlon: Kenai Reid (Zenith)

Boys U-13 pentathlon: Jeremiah Hector (Zenith)

Girls U-15 heptathlon: Daija Reid (Zenith)

Girls U-13 pentathlon: Gloria Henry (RSS Phoenix)

Girls U-17 heptathlon: Chelcia Joseph (Point Fortin New Jets)

Girls U-20 heptathlon: Kaori Robley (Kaizen)

Boys U-15 heptathlon: Jafari Edwards (Mercury)

Boys U-20 decathlon: Jeremiah Francis (D'Abadie Progressive)

Men's decathlon: Kaleb John (Point Fortin New Jets)