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The Caribbean party in Berlin

Posted by CaribShout on August 23, 2009 at 9:00pm

Jamaica's men's and women's relay teams brought home more gold at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday to wrap up an amazing - and historic - achievement for the country, and the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago got the silver medal in the men's 4 x 100 relay on Saturday. Jamaica comes away from the competition with seven gold medals - including three for Usain Bolt - two of which were new world records at 100 and 200 meters. The Jamaicans came to Berlin under a cloud - caused by an unresolved issue of alleged drug-taking by a handful of second-rung athletes and a row between a strong-willed coach and the island's athletics federation that threatened the participation of elite runners like Shelly-AnnFraser and Asafa Powell. Jamaica is taking over the world!

Asafa Powell, (2nd from left) and members of Jamaica's 4x100M relay team But maneouvring by the world governing body, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF), meant that the athletes under investigation actually sat out the championships and those who weren't under suspicion ran, mostly triumphantly it turned out, in the Olympic Stadium. So an unwelcome incongruity was avoided. Jamaica's week The peerless Bolt, who turned 23 years old on Friday, broke both his individual world records - in the 100 and 200 metres - and left the world grasping and gasping for superlatives as attention turned rightly to Jamaican performances on the track and field. But this was no one man-show as, after six days of this nine-day event, Jamaica led the gold-medal count with five. That was one more than the United States, two of whose winners have come from Caribbean-born athletes. Just incredible. And there was the promise of more to come from Jamaica, particularly in the sprint relays. Ryan Braithwaite holds out his Barbados shirt

Ryan Braithwaite is the third Bajan to reach a wolrd championship final The other gold medallists for the island, up to Thursday, were all women -Shelly Ann Fraser (100m), Bridgette Foster-Hylton (100m hurdles) and Melaine Walker (400m hurdles). At the 11 previous world championships, Jamaica had never won more than one gold medal per meet and in 2005 its runners failed to win a single final. The Caribbean has recorded two other winners so far, Yargelis Savigne of Cuba in the women's triple jump and memorably, Barbadian Ryan Brathwaite, the 100m hurdler who won his country's first ever gold at a senior global championship. Caribbean medals tally (to Thursday) - Gold followed by silver, bronze, total * Jamaica 7 2 2 9 * Cuba 1 2 1 4 * Barbados 1 0 0 1 * Puerto Rico 0 1 0 1 * Trinidad/Tobago 0 1 1 1 The Caribbean gold medallists Usain Bolt - Jamaica (men's 100m and 200m): Bolt's breathtaking runs in Berlin, breaking his two individual sprint records, have enhanced his reputation as the best sprinter of all time. He ran a time of 19.19 seconds in the 200 metres on Thursday to demolish the previous record he set in winning Olympic gold in Beijing. That was 11-hundredths of a second faster than the 19.30 recorded in China, ironically the same margin that he also improved his 100m record by running 9.58 seconds Sunday night. His place in history is already assured but he seems to want more, much more. "I keep telling you guys, my main aim is to become a legend, that's what I'm working on," Bolt said. After his awesome domination of the shorter sprinters, could he thinking about bringing forward that long hinted-at assault on the 400 metres? Shelly-Ann Fraser - Jamaica (women´s 100m): Shelly-Ann Fraser added the world title to her Olympic crown by winning the 100m gold in10.73sec, equalling the third fastest time in history. Unlike, Bolt she has a brilliant start, and used that and her pick-up to justhold off her compatriot Kerron Stewart by two hundredths of a second. The girl with the winning smile had poved he point that her Beijing success, as a virtual unkown, was no flash in the pan. She told BBC Caribbean that she knew that others believed that she shouldn't have won then so this victoy is perhaps evern sweeter, particularly since she lost several weeks of preparation after an appendectomy. "I am happy and excited as I have really worked hard for this," she said Ryan Brathwaite - Barbados (men´s110m hurdles): Brathwaite may haved suffered for attention in the stadium as his race followed Bolt's 200 record-breaking extravganza but certainly not in Barbados, which was experiencing its first athletics gold medal at the highest level. In fact, only two Barbadians had previously reached a world championship final. At 21 years of age, Brathwaite became the youngest ever champion in the history of the hurdles event at the championships. It was a very narrow win, in 13.15 secs, over the American Terrence Trammel, and the unassuming Bajan could be seen, by his hand gestures, willing the photo-finish camera to put him ahead. It did, much to his shock, as it turned out. "I am so proud now, " he told BBC Caribbean. "And proud for Barbados. I would like to thank everyone who helped me.” Berlin feels good for us. These are proud moments for Caribbean nationals. His credentials were evident in July when he ran the world record holder, the Cuban Dayron Robles, very close at the London grand prix. Robles limped out in the semifinals and Brathwaite said he was disappointed as he wanted to compete against the best. For now, he is the best in the world. Brigette Foster-Hylton - Jamaica (women's 110m hurdles): Brigitte Foster-Hylton acknowledged that she had contemplated retirement because of her frustration at her failure to make the winners rostrúm at a global championship. Before Berlin, this 34-year-old, the oldest in the race, had won silver and bronze and it was getting to her especially after her failing to even medal in Beijing. Hers was the most emotional of victories, surprising but exhilarating after the years of pain. "I give it all to my coach because I retired last year after the Beijing Olympics because I was so disappointed at not winning a medal,” Foster-Hylton said. “He dissuaded me. " All those negative thoughts are now banished. “I feel special,” she said. Hers was the first sprint hurdles gold at worlds or Olympics by any Jamaican athlete, male or female. Melaine Walker - Jamaica (women’s 400m): Like Bolt and Fraser, Melaine Walker is both the world and Olympic champion. Although she won in Beijing, Walker was not odds-on in Berlin. Lashinda Demus of the United States, who was second on Wednesday, had been unbeaten this year in the 400m hurdles. Walker had to be at her best, and she was, at least in speed terms, posting 52.42 ses, the second-fastest time in history, with Demus recording 52.96. "To defeat her, you really feel like you did something," a relieved Walker said of her now great rival. "I am really, really, really happy." Cuba also took off on the medals table this week

Yargelis Savigne - Cuba (women's triple jump): Savigne repeated her 2007 worlds triumph, which was interspersed with failure in Beijing. Her winning distance was 14.95 metres, but that didn't matter as much as the satisfaction of getting rid of the heartache of Beijing. “I am not disappointed by missing out on jumping 15 metres. All I wanted was to win," she said. This win was even sweeter than two year's ago, Savigne added. Other medallists Silver Mabel Gay - Cuba (women's triple jump) Leonel Suarez - Cuba (men's decathlon) Javier Culson - Puerto Rico (men's 400m hurdles) Bronze Josanne Lucas - Trinidad and Tobago (women's 400m hurdles) (first championship medal by TT woman) Alexis Copello - Cuba (men's triple jump)

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