National Championships marks return to competition for athletes post (covid-19)

Roseau, Dominica – The Dominica Athletics Association (DAA) concluded its 2020 version of the annual National Track and Field Championships on Sunday the 9th of August. The Track and Field community was elated to see the return of athletics and the introduction of the newly established (Winners Circle Athletics Club) from the sporting town of Portsmouth. President of the Dominica Athletics Association, Godwin Dorsette, expressed shared enthusiasm to witness such an achievement. Also, Head Coach of the Winners Circle Athletics Club, Johnathan Celestine was credited with his commitment to the development of Track and Field in Dominica.

In what turned out to be a highly successful championships, messages from the meeting was simple; it was pure grit and resilience! Despite the fight with (Covid-19), which has caused severe disruption to all aspects of the sporting landscape, athletes displayed competence in their performances. Although he cited a few areas that athletes needed to work on, President Dorsette was very pleased with the turn out and performances.

Highlights of the day included:

Mac Naguirre Suares- The return of national senior athlete, Mac Naguirre Suares made for a sensational 1500m final. An experienced Suarez secured his win in a dramatic fashion by maintaining a stride length behind front runner Johnathan Celestine and striking to victory in the last 100m of the race. He recorded a time of 4:17.4 seconds while Celestine of the Winners Circle Athletic Club came in a near second, recording a time of 4:19.2 seconds. Suares also won the 800m in a time of 2:00.0 seconds and his 52.4 seconds was good enough to secure gold in the 400m. Adding to his already perfect day, Suares ran a blistering leg in the mixed 4x400m relay to conclude the day.

Treneese Hamilton outclassed her rivals to secure victories in the Shot Put, Discuss Throw and Javelin Throw. Hamilton who threw the 4k Shot Put implement served the field with a 14.31 meters and a new Under 20 national record. She continued her winning streak by posting up 33.22 meters in the Javelin Throw and 36.94 meters in the Discuss Throw. An excited Hamilton positioned herself to be the lead scorer in the Under 18 category.

Meralda Thomas of the Pioneers Athletics Club recorded decisive victories in the Under 18 women’s 100m dash and 200m dash. The talented youngster recorded a personal best (PB) time of 12.6 seconds in the 100m and a PB of 26.8 seconds in the 200m. Thomas was one of the few under 18 athletes to score double digits in points.

Joshua St. Jean emerged victorious in a stacked 100m field. St. Jean recorded a time of 11.1 seconds to edge out Andriv Nelson who finished second in 11.3 seconds. Third and fourth place finishers, Peter Daniel and Shakan Stedman (respectively) were contented to have broken 12 seconds in the event. St. Jean who despite running an amazing leg on the 4x100m relay had to settle for a second place finish.

Peter Daniel of the Dominica Grammar School won the one lap event in exciting fashion to clock a new PB of 55.0 seconds. He outran his rival and the event favourite, Kody Parillion who placed second in a time of 55.4 seconds. The multi talented Lequante Alphonse was third, in a personal best time of 56.1 seconds. An already excited Daniel returned to the track for the U18 200m where he posted up a third place finish in a time of 24.2 seconds.

Keva Pierre – National Athlete Keva Pierre displayed her dominance to win the women’s 18+ 400m by almost 30 seconds ahead of Darriana Espirit. She recorded a lifetime best of 58.9 seconds which is also a new national lead in the event. Her coach and Head Coach of the Pioneers Athletics club, Cedric Harris, mentioned that he is very pleased with the performance.

Kenyon Burton – US based athlete Kenyon Burton outclassed his rivals with a whooping 60.34 meters in the event. All his throws were over the 50 meter mark with his worst throw being 54.90 meters. Nelson Maxime of the Aithons Athletic Club threw 38.17 meters to earn second place honors.

Jariq Laurent posted a personal best throw of 9.71 meters in the Boys U-15 Shot Put and 24.63 meters in the Javelin Throw to secure double gold for the Aithon Athletics Club. That level of success is nothing new to Laurent, he was always a contender for medals at previous meetings.

Akeisha Luke displayed incredible range by post up a whooping 26 points across three events. The Under 15 female athlete took the 1500m title in a time of 5:57.0 seconds, secured a runner up positions in the 100m and 200m. Her time of 28.5 seconds made for a competitive 200m finals which she missed by only two hundredths of a second.

Mickayla Joseph– The multi talented athlete was by no doubt the MVP of the meeting. Joseph denied all her competitors a chance of winning gold as she posted up a whooping 40 points! She secured the 100m, 200m, Long Jump and High Jump titles. The under 15 female athlete has always been a force to reckon with and has proved herself to be one of Dominica’s top emerging athletes.

Other top performers included Abini St. Jean, Alika St. John, Andriv Nelson, Carla Bunche, Curvin Leatham, Eddie Edwards, Espirit Meyshelle, Hannah Augustine, Jamatson Leatham, Jemerly Lawrence, Kalie Christmas, Kyrone Phillip, Maliki White, Nathan Telemaque, Sanjay Laville, and Tristan Francis.

President Dorsette in his press interview said that “We are still lacking in areas and as we move forward we plan to address those areas”. He also took the time to express his gratitude towards the parties involved in a successful national championships.

“I am very thankful to the Dominica Sports Division for their continued support of lending over their officers and officials. I am also grateful to the management of the Windsor Park Sports Stadium for always working with the DAA and hopes to continue that partnership. A very special thank you to Technical Director of the meeting, Walson Pacquette”.

Check below for the completed document of official results!