Harper gets CAC sprint bronze

Sprinter Jacey Harper claimed a bronze in the men’s 100-metre final with a time of 10.33 seconds.

Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles sped to the gold medal in a championship record time of 10.06 while TT’s Melvin Nero was seventh in 10.52.

Ayanna Hutchinson placed fourth in the women’s version in 11.55 while, in the women’s long jump, Charisse Bacchus was fourth in 6.13m. In table-tennis action, Dexter St Louis and his step-daughter Rheann Chung took bronze in the mixed doubles. Meanwhile, latest medal successes outside of track and field have come from Trinidad and Tobago competitors.

Roger Daniel, has won a second rifle shooting medal adding the standard pistol silver to the air pistol bronze he got last week, and TT also snatched a bronze medal in karate’s team event. And Kurt Fermin defeated Panama’s Gustavo Caicedo 5-1 in a boxing semi-final bout. Fermin will be assured of a gold or silver medal in the final.

Also assured of medals are the respective men’s and women’s hockey squads. The men’s unit trounced Mexico five to two to advance to the final while the women’s team were due to face Cuba yesterday in the semis.

Trinidad and Tobago men’s squad will qualify automatically for the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil while the women can seal a Pan Am spot if they defeat the Cubans. Meanwhile, in badminton, the pair of Darren Charles and Glendon Thomas moved into the second round of the men’s doubles while Nikesha Blake and Kesma Benito are in the second round of the women’s doubles.

The hockey and badminton events are being staged in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Meanwhile the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) are upset at the disregard shown by some local athletes towards the current Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games. “Some athletes have been less than forthright in their reasons for not attending the CAC Games,” stated a media released issued by the TTOC yesterday. “The TTOC provided assistance to prepare for the CAC Games, in addition to working with the Ministry of Sport and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to ensure that deserving athletes receive much-needed financial support in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics,” it said.

The local Olympic body has also issued a strong warning that athletes who decline participation at the 2007 Pan Am Games “will not be considered for selection for the Beijing Olympics,” which will take place in 2008. “National Olympic Committees have the exclusive powers for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games and at regional, continental or world multi-sport competitions, patronised by the IOC,” the release ended.