JANAE De Gannes achieved her goal by breaking the girls' Under-20 long jump Carifta record, as she leaped to gold when action at the 51st edition of the games continued on April 1 at Kirani James Stadium in St George's, Grenada.
The gold medal by De Gannes and a bronze medal by Keneisha Shelbourne in the girls' Under-20 high jump pushed Trinidad and Tobago's medal total to 17 – two gold, six silver and nine bronze.
Late on March 31, the TT boys Under-20 4x100m quartet of Che Wickham, Mikhail Byer, Hakeem Chinapoo and Dylan Woodruffe won this country's first gold medal with a time of 40.45 seconds to upset Jamaica.
[caption id="attachment_1074442" align="alignnone" width="960"] The Trinidad and Tobago 4x100m Under-20 boys team of Che Wickham, from left, Mikhail Byer, Dylan Woodruffe and Hakeem Chinapoo after winning gold in 40.45 seconds on April 1 at Kirani James Stadium, St George's, Grenada. - Photo courtesy the National Association of Athletics Administrations.[/caption]
It only took one jump for De Gannes to break the previous record as she disturbed the sand at the 6.50-metre mark on her first attempt.
The previous record of 6.48m was held by Yanis David of Guadeloupe since 2016.
De Gannes jumped 6.40m on her second attempt, before passing in the third round. She fouled her last three attempts in the competition, but the other athletes could not catch the Tobagonian.
Two weeks ago, De Gannes told the media she was aiming for the gold medal and the record.
"Of course, I will be looking forward to the gold and the record as well," De Gannes told the media on March 16 at the First Citizens Sports Foundation Awards ceremony.
De Gannes, who now lives in Trinidad and attends Bishop Anstey High School in Port of Spain, was speaking after winning the Youth Sportswoman of the Year award.
Silver in the long jump went to Jamaican Rohana Sudlow with a 6.30m effort and Lanaisha Lubin of the Bahamas grabbed bronze with a 5.90m jump.
TT's Naomi Pierce was also in the field, finishing sixth among the 14 athletes with a top jump of 5.77m.
Shelbourne was the other TT athlete to medal in the morning session on the third and final day of competition.
She finished third in the girls' Under-20 high jump after clearing the bar at 1.70m. Jamaica took gold and silver as Rasheda Samuels and Dejanae Bruce was a class above the rest. Samuels captured gold with a 1.78m effort and Bruce took silver with a 1.76m jump.
TT will aim to add to their medal tally when the final session of the games begin at 4 pm on April 1.
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