Jamaica reigns supreme! Kennedy’s record-breaking feats and golden surge seal 39th Carifta title

In a celebration of athletic brilliance and regional pride, Team Jamaica once again etched its name in Carifta history, capturing the overall title at the 52nd Carifta Games with a commanding 78-medal haul.

The Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, played host to three days of track and field excellence, where Jamaica claimed 30 gold, 27 silver, and 21 bronze medals, clinching its 39th consecutive Carifta crown and 47th overall.

While the final tally narrowly missed last year’s 84-medal mark, the depth, dominance, and dynamism displayed by Jamaica’s young stars underscored a continuing regional dynasty and a thriving pipeline of elite talent.

At the heart of Jamaica’s triumph stood a 16-year-old powerhouse—Kamari Kennedy—who rewrote the record books and claimed the prestigious Austin Sealy Award for the most outstanding athlete of the meet. Kennedy unleashed an 18.90m bomb in the Under-17 shot put, cracking the world’s top 10 for U18 men and breaking a year-old Carifta record.

But his crowning moment came just a day later. In the discus, he launched a monumental 60.87m throw, obliterating the previous mark by more than seven meters. Every legal attempt from Kennedy would have shattered the old record, with his shortest measured at 54.26m.