About Carifta 49
The 49th staging of the CARIFTA Games will be held in Kingston, Jamaica at the National Stadium, April 16 – 18, 2022. This is the eighth time that Jamaica will host this event and their national team will go after its 44th title. The Games are being staged under the endorsement of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC).
Background
The CARIFTA Games were founded by the Caribbean Free Trade Association and the first Games were held back in 1972 in Barbados. The CARIFTA Games is an annual sporting event that features many different athletic competitions. Those competitions include track & field, middle distance track competitions, sprint races, hurdle races as well as many jumping, throwing and relay events.
The Games are split into two age categories, Under 17 and Under 20. There are 27 countries down to participate.
Where the Games have been 2010 – Now
A Summary of the CARIFTA Records
Jamaica has dominated the medals table at CARIFTA Games over the years and also the record books.
Jamaicans hold records in 10 of the 21 Under-20 boy’s events contested all-time and hold or share 11 of the 17 Under-20 girl’s records. Jamaican boys own 9 of the 17 Under-17 records, whilst their Under-17 girls possess a remarkable 10 of 16 marks.
The oldest record in the books, though (at least for events still being contested in the modern Games), belongs to Bermuda’s, Sonya Smith, whose Under-20 Javelin Throw performance of 53.98m has been on the books since 1979.
The oldest boys’ record is 15.03m, the winning distance for Lyndon Sands of the Bahamas in the Under-17 Triple Jump in 1980.
Kareem Streete-Thompson went on to become one of the world’s leading long jumpers, but his CARIFTA performances have earned legendary status. In 1989, he set an Under-17 Long Jump record with a leap of 7.83m, and a year later his leap of 7.94m was an Under-20 record in his first year competing at that level for the Cayman Islands. Both marks remain untouched.
The Bahamas owns the girl’s long jump records. Jackie Edwards’ 1987 mark of 6.14m became the Under-17 winning distance that year, and Daphne Saunders’ leap of 6.93m won her the 1989 Under-20 title.
Track & Field Events
There are 44 different events that are part of the track and field competitions.