Darion Whiteman edges Carifta stars in 400m Golden League showdown

RSS Phoenix’s Darion Whiteman closed the show at the second leg of the 2026 Keshorn Walcott Golden League Athletics series with an exciting win in the boys’ under-20 400-metre event at Shaw Park, Tobago, on January 18.

In an exciting finale, Whiteman dug deep to see off the threats of 2025 Carifta gold medallists Brion Scott and Christopher Sammy to win heat three in 50.54 seconds. Whiteman’s time was also the best across the three heats and earned him eight points towards his overall tally in the series. Pace and Performance Factory’s Scott placed a close second in heat three in 50.56s, with Sammy a distant third in the heat in 53.97s as he placed fifth overall. Placing third and fourth overall were two other Pace and Performance athletes in Khordae Lewis (50.88s) and Keiel Samuel (52.26s). Whiteman also added the boys’ under-20 200m to his haul when he topped the 13-man field in 22.93s.

The tense battle for 400m success wasn’t the only one between Scott and Whiteman, as the pair also clashed in the boys’ under-20 800m, which the former won in a time of two minutes and 35 seconds (2:00.35). Whiteman was second in 2:01.60, with Samuel third in 2:03.15.

And though Sammy didn’t keep up with the pace of Scott and Whiteman over 400 metres, he showed off his endurance over 1,600 metres to outclass the field with a time of 4:49.54, nearly a half a minute ahead of Zenith’s Malique Young (5:16.94).

Known for her middle-distance strengths, Shian Lewis showed versatility by bagging a double in the girls’ under-20 200m and 400m events. In the 200m event, Lewis clocked 26.47s to win ahead of Zenith’s Alisha Sampson (26.90s), with a 1:00.86 time taking her past Kaizen Panthers’ Kaori Robley (1:01.40) in the 400m.

Young Azzirion Williams was also in sparkling form as the Lambeau Alliance runner won the boys’ under-13 60m, 200m, and 400m events. Also among the winners were: Ace Beckles (boys’ under-9 60m and 150m); Keanna Cummings (girls’ under-15 60m and 200m); J’Quan Douglas (boys’ under-17 60m and 200m); Kelcey Roach (girls’ under-13 60m and 400m) and Cai Williams (boys’ under-15 200m and 400m).

Meanwhile, in the field events, the exquisitely named Lebron James drew some more attention by winning the men’s discus and shot put events, with Dookie’s Athletic Development’s Eli’jah Titus grabbing the boys’ under-15 discus and shot put double.

The third meet in the series will be held at the Toco Secondary School grounds on January 31.