NASSAU, Bahamas (Sporting Alert) — Following the Opening Ceremony on Friday, the 2013 Carifta Games get underway on Saturday with a full schedule of events in the two sessions at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Bahamas.
Watch Live 2013 Carifta Games Streaming | Follow Live Results
Regional giants Jamaica which dominate the championships yearly assemble another star-studded group of athletes to do battle with their rivals, although a strong gold medal favourite Michael O’Hara has been ruled out after picking up the chicken pox.
Hosts Bahamas are expected to be strong challengers to Jamaica in the battle for medals, while Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, among others, has put together a strong group of athletes for the Games.
Still, Jamaica is expected to dominate.
“The vibes among the athletes is really great and, despite a little disappointment in O’Hara not being able to compete, the athletes are committed and are ready to go, and they are even more motivated because of this,” head coach David Riley said in the Jamaica-Gleaner.com
“Although the home team is expected to thrive on their local support, we are ready for the challenge,” said Riley, who thinks that the team can go near or surpass last year’s haul.
The action gets underway in the morning session with the boys and girls multi-events – the girls in the Pentathlon and the boys in the Heptathlon.
Sprinter Jazeel Murphy will line up in the boys U-20 100-metres an event in which he is the hot favorite to win, another athlete set to star at the meet is Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller, the 2010 World Junior champion and 2011 World Youth gold medallist.
Eighteen finals are set for the opening day, four in the morning and 14 in the final session of day one.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS-CARIFTA 2013
DAY 1 SESSION 1
9:00 100m H Pent. Girls (1)
9:00 High Jump U-17 Girls
9:15 110m H Hept. Boys (1)
10:00 Shot Pent. Girls (2)
Discus U-20 Boys
10:00 Long Jump Hept. Boys (2)
11:15 400m Heats U-17 Girls 11:00 Shot U-17 Girls
11:30 400m Heats U-17 Boys Javelin U-17 Boys
11:45 400m Heats U-20 Girls
12:00 400m Heats U-20 Boys
DAY 1 SESSION 11
16:30 High Jump Pent. Girls (3)
17:00 100m Heats U-17 Girls
17:00 Triple Jump U-17 Boys
17:10 100m Heats U-17 Boys Javelin Hept. Boys (3)
17:20 100m Heats U-20 Girls
17:30 100m Heats U-20 Boys
17:40 Shot U-20 Girls
MEDAL PRESENTATION
U-17 Girls HJ; U-20 Boys Discus; U-17 Girls Shot; U-17 Boys Javelin
17:50 1500m Finals U-17 Girls
18:00 1500m Finals U-17 Boys
18:10 1500m Finals U-20 Girls
18:00 High Jump U-20 Boys
18:20 1500m Finals U-20 Boys
18:45 200m Hept. Boys (4)
18:30 Long Jump U-20 Girls
19:00 400m Finals U-17 Girls
19:10 400m Finals U-17 Boys
19:20 400m Finals U-20 Girls
19:30 400m Finals U-20 Boys
MEDAL PRESENTATION
U-17 Boys TJ; U-17 Girls 1500m; U-17 Boys 1500m; U-20 Girls 1500m; U-20 Boys 1500m;
U-20 Girls Shot; U-20 Boys HJ; U-20 Girls LJ; U-17 Girls 400m; U-17 Boys 400m; U-20 Girls 400m; U-20 Boys 400m;
19:40 100m Invitational Girls Special Olympics
19:50 100m invitational Boys Special Olympics
20:00 100m Finals U-17 Girls
20:10 100m Finals U-17 Boys
20:20 100m Finals U-20 Girls
20:30 100m Finals U-20 Boy
