On THE Easter weekend, the 68 square-mile island of St Kitts hosted the 37th Carifta Games and, for the most part, the event could be considered a huge success. Again, the Games, which were attended by IAAF President Lamine Diack, NACAC president and IAAF Area Representative Teddy McCook, Olympic gold medallist Donald Quarrie and Hasley Crawford, saw large numbers of fans from Jamaica and The Bahamas.

More than 650 athletes from 21 countries participated in the Carifta Games this year in front of a record-breaking attendance of 7,000-plus spectators who witnessed four records on the final day of competition.

According to information coming out of the local organising committee, about 900 persons were accredited for the Games, which included officials, special guests, along with 90 local and regional media professionals representing print, television, the Internet and radio.

High praise was given to the organisers of the Games for their successful running of the meet by Diack.

"I think you (the Carifta Games) are a far way in front of the others, so I am very impressed every time I come to the Carifta Games," Diack said.

colossal display

In the end, after three days of action which saw eight records established, Jamaica athletes produced another colossal display and strode to an unchallenged 24th consecutive medal-topping performance.

Propelled by championship records from distance runners Natoya Goule, K'Don Samuels, Salcia Slack and Kemoy Campbell, the Jamaicans won 29 gold, 25 silver and 15 bronze medals.

World Youth representatives Goule and Campbell broke records on the final day while Samuels and Slack secured their records on Sunday's penultimate day.

In the boys' 5,000m Open, Campbell destroyed a large field on his way to an impressive 14:46.51 seconds, which beat the Grenadian Maurice Williams' 27-year-old mark of 14:58.23. Christian Rock of Barbados (15:57.99) was second.

Goule, who had earlier won the 1,500m gold, ran a personal- best 2:05.90 to beat Mellisa De Leon's of Trinidad and Tobago 10-year-old 800m mark of 2:06.83. She completed the 800m/1500m double by defeating T&T's pair of Afiya Walker (2:10.20) and Jessica James (2:11.07).

Samuels and Slack accounted for the day's other records, which came in the boys' Under-20 pole vault and girls' Open pentathlon, respectively.

Samuels raised the pole vault bar to 4.60m, erasing the 21-year-old mark of 4.26 jointly held by Jamaican Mark Godfrey (1990) and Bahamian Brent Johnson (1987), while Slack tallied 3,935 points in the five-event discipline to secure her record, which bettered the previous mark of her countrywoman Nadina Marsh who tallied 3,868 points in 2003.

double for goule

Apart from Jamaica's new record holders and Goule's 800m/1500m double, other highlights for Jamaica came from Nickel Ashmeade, who won three gold medals (200m, 4x100m, 4x400m) and Sandrae Farquharson, who won two gold (4x100m, 4x400m) and a silver (400m).

The performance of Keiron Stewart in the boys' Under-20 110m hurdles must also be commended, as his winning time of 13.50 seconds was a hundredth of a second outside his own national junior record.

Barbadian Kierre Beckles grabbed glory after she broke Jamaican Shermaine Williams' one-year record in the girls' 100m hurdles for which she was voted the Games' top performer and collected the Austin Sealy Award.

The fourth record on the final day came when Bahamian Aaron Wilmore surged to gold in the Under-17 boys' 100 hurdles. Wilmore erased Jamaican Romaine Gordon's 2003 mark of 13.12 as he sped to a championship record 12.88 seconds.

first record

Bahamian Nejmi Burnside accounted for the meet's first record when he ran 52.81 seconds in the boys' Under-17 400m hurdles. Burnside's time bettered the 52.97 Jamaica's Ricardo Melbourne produced for gold in 1998.

In the girls' Under-20 sprint relay, the Bahamas' quartet of Sheniqua Ferguson, Krystal Bodie, Cache Armbrister and Nivea Smith, backed by more than 4,000 cheering fans, raced around in 44.36 seconds to beat the previous mark of 44.42 set by Jamaica's Sherone Simpson, Nickeisha Anderson, Kerron Stewart and Jodi-Ann Powell in 2003.

anthony.foster@gleanerjm.com.

The boys' Under-20 4x100m quartet (from left): Dexter Lee, Nickel Ashmeade, Ramone McKenzie and Warren Wier pose after their victory.

Jamaica's 4x400m team (from left): Ramone McKenzie, Keiron Stewart, Nickel Ashmeade and Andre Peart pose after their boys' Under-20 4x400m victory in 3:09.71. - photos by anthony foster

Members of Jamaica's Carifta Games contingent celebrate their 24th straight Games' success on Monday night.

From left: Kayon Robinson, Alecia Cutenar, Shana-Gay Tracey and Nikita Tracey pose after their 3:39.12 victory in the girls' Under-20 4x400m final.

Petra Fanty (left) takes second in the girls' Under-17 100m heats in 12.28 seconds behind Kai Selvon of Trinidad & Tobago (12.21).