Saint Lucian junior sprinter Jady Emmanuel delivered a record-breaking performance, clinching two gold medals in the Girls’ Under-17 100-meter and 200-meter events at the 52nd CARIFTA Games, held at the Hasley Crawford Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago from April 19 to 21.
On the opening day of the competition, Jady set the pace, securing Saint Lucia’s first-ever gold medal in regional sprints with an impressive time of 11.50 seconds in the 100M. She outperformed Jamaica’s Adora Campbell, who finished in 11.58 seconds, and Brion Ward of the Bahamas, who placed third at 11.78 seconds.
Jady’s performance not only earned her a gold medal but also established a new Under-18 Saint Lucian national record, breaking Julien Alfred’s previous mark of 11.53 set in 2017.
Naya Jules also made history by winning a silver medal in the girls’ pole vault, setting a new personal best and national record by clearing 3.00m. Jade Ferguson of the Bahamas set a new meet record at 3.10m, while Clementine Carias of Guadeloupe secured the bronze with a jump of 2.90m.
Destinee Cenac, a 15-year-old student at St. Joseph’s Convent, opened Saint Lucia’s medal tally with a bronze in the Under-17 girls’ high jump.
In her CARIFTA Games debut, she achieved a personal best of 1.68m, surpassing her initial height of 1.65m on her very first attempt. She finished behind Jamaica’s Sackoya Palmer and Barbados’ Shania Mottley.
Despite the absence of Saint Lucia’s top junior athlete Naomi London, due to injuries, Jady stepped up to represent her country with remarkable poise.
Hailing from the scenic community of Morne Paul, Laborie-Emmanuel earned the title of Saint Lucia’s first-ever double CARIFTA Games sprint champion. Her outstanding performance at the CARIFTA Games followed a series of remarkable results at local and regional meets.
On Monday, Jady returned to the track and continued to display her talent, dominating the 200M with a time of 23.47 seconds. This was the fastest half-lap ever recorded by an Under-18 athlete from Saint Lucia, outpacing competitors like Keyezra Thomas from The Bahamas (23.67 seconds for silver) and Tyra Fenton of Antigua & Barbuda (23.68 seconds for bronze).
Despite battling muscle cramps after five races in three days, Jady’s tenacity produced exceptional results. Her second gold medal, following her historic 100m victory, brought Team Saint Lucia’s total to four medals, placing the nation sixth on the medal table.