Dominica will have to wait a little longer for its first medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games as the National record holder in the men’s long jump, Tristan James came up short in his bid to medal.
James put in a solid showing in the Men’s Long Jump finals on Thursday but came up just short in a tough field.
James jumped 7.85 meters with his first jump.
His second attempt resulted in 7.79 meters but fouled his third attempt.
His 7.85 meters in his first jump was good enough to get him into the medal round of the finals.
He fouled his first attempt in the medal round.
He returned with 7.80 meters in his second attempt in the medal round.
Needing at least 8.06 meters for a medal or to break the national record of 8.08 for a gold medal in his final jump, James got 7.69 meters to finish in seventh place with a best jump of 7.85 meters.
Gold went to the Bahamas (8.08 meters), Silver to India (8.08 meters) and bronze to South Africa (8.06 meters).
Meanwhile, national female long jumper, Mariah Toussaint, failed to make it out of the qualifying round in the Women’s Long jump as action continued Friday at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Chasing a mark of at least 6.75 meters to automatically qualify for Sunday’s final, Toussaint jumping in Group A, got off to a slow start, as she fouled her first attempt.
Jumping a second time, Toussaint again missed her run up and fouled her attempt.
Needing to get a jump of just over 6 meters to at least finish in the top 12 to qualify for the finals, Toussaint again struggled with her run-up missing her mark and fouled her third and final attempt to end her medal campaign on a sad note.
Guys be fair. I am Jamaican. There is no country in the region, English speaking region , which is poorer and has wretched facilities like Jamaica, yet we produce a few medals here or there.
It has nothing to do with facilities and money.
The main thing needed is coaches, clinics and organization, along with good competition., constant competition against better athletes.
I wondered why I did not see Tristan James listed in the final five of the long jump but now I know. As for Mariah Toussaint to be honest I did not watch that event but apparently I did not miss much. I am sure we could do much better than this mediocrity if the facilities were in place to prepare our athletes better next time round. I also note that Garvin Richards is presented as press attaché. That is a big title and very confusing because normally that is a diplomatic position. Does he report to our high commissioner in London or to the government direct in Roseau and who who pays his expenses and wages in that case. Does he also have a diplomatic passport like Billy Doctrove who I thought was in charge.
Most of the Athletes are not based here so they train at Colleges overseas. Just like all the other foreign based Athletes if other Caribbean countries.They all do not medal and the sensible citizens do not complain or criticize. We need to grow up in DA and be civilized.
Come on man, shouldn’t we expect more then. What about the successes of Jamaican athletes, explain that to me. Jamaica is not a big international nation. We spend money on these Dominican athletes and most of them don’t even qualify. Excuses and sympathy alone are no substitute for hard training and nurturing our young talent properly.
Dear Editor,
Can we use “positive spin” literary devices when writing headlines about our countrymen who are putting out their best out there in Dominica’s name.. It takes a lot of talent, hard work, guts and bravery to face the challenges of competing on international stages. Hats off to our brave men and women who step forward and out into the arena.
Even when our folks fall short (sic) we are no less proud of their effort and we should craft our reporting language to celebrate them and help build up their morale.
So use of the term “Falls Short” while semantically appropriate here… the word “Fail” is a No-No in these contexts.. An example of a positive spin Headline would be “…James and Mariah Fell Short ..etc” or ” Dominica’s Atheletes Fell Short..etc”… the details of the story would then provide positive reinforcing messaging about the effort, work and bravery of our representatives, closing with “best wishes the next time
Is not politics or sales promotion my man. This is sports where only results count. You cannot say an athlete comes first when they come second, third or last can you. This does not need spin, just plain factual, honest reporting results that speak for themselves. Anything else debases the athletes and is nothing but fluff. We have enough of that crap already.
We are bombarded in recent days by the failures of Dominica athletes at the present Commonwealth Games 2022.
I don’t blame the athletes as they always try their best. How can we expect excellence from them when they don’t even have access to any proper sporting facilities at home?
Even before the events begin, our athletes are always at a huge disadvantage because of the lack of adequate and appropriate sporting equipment and facilities. Every time our athletes perform in international competitions we are exposing them to embarrassment and failure.
Going forward, right now, we have to give the athletes a fighting chance by providing them with the requisite resources to master their craft.
Our athletes are failing not because of lack of talent but lack of concern and foresight by a cold, uncaring, incompetent, selfish administration.
It is pure foolishness and folly expecting our athletes to medal when we do not expend the resources to help them train and develop into world class competitors.
It is not on fumes and a wing and a prayer that Kirani James of Grenada was able to attain sustained success. The “who is who” in Dominica athletics and sports in general need to glean from best practises and practisioners from the region and beyond. I am tired of Dominican athletes showing up to dance underprepared while being expected to make the podium and bring home medals.
@I Lie
You have not lied as your comments are succinct and quite on point. I have repeated your point several times.
Grenada has no greater pool of elite athletes than Dominica. Dominica was once the sporting power house in the sub-region. Huge investments and focus on their sports men and women have paid dividends for them.
Everybody, everything in Dominica is being degraded, undermined, stifled and short -changed by a CONCOCTION of bandits, hooligans, buffoons, criminals and gangsters presenting themselves as a government.
Can someone HONESTLY stand up and point out to me an area where Dominica stands out as a shining light?