After long anticipation and countless meets, we finally witnessed the National Championships come alive in July, setting the stage for the nineteenth World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. As the World Athletics Championship marked its 40th year, it became a grand platform for global athletes to vie for titles, medals, and lucrative rewards, all while flaunting their unmatched skills to the world.
The Budapest Championships turned the spotlight on our Caribbean champions, many of whom not only met expectations but surpassed them in extraordinary ways. The Caribbean pride shone through, bringing home a total of twenty medals – with The Dominican Republic earning one medal, Barbados one medal, The British Virgin Island one medal, Grenada one medal, Puerto Rico one medal, Cuba 3 medals, and Team Jamaica proudly clinching an amazing twelve medals. For a small Caribbean island of under 3 Million people, Jamaica was 2nd in the entire world with the most medals at the Budapest Workd Championships, behind only the United Stares. Hats off to Team Jamaica!
This championship was an electrifying mix of excitement, competition, unexpected turns, and sheer dedication. Given the Caribbean’s standout performance, it’s only fitting we present a Top Ten Countdown of the Caribbean’s Finest Moments at the Budapest World Championships.
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Outside the Top 10 Caribbean moments, are are some outstanding medal performances that are worthy of mention from the 2023 Budapest World Championship before starting the top 10 countdown:
- In the 4×100 meter relay, The Jamaican Team of Natasha Morrison, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shashalee Forbes, and Shericka Jackson ran 41.21 seconds to earn silver, while Team USA got the Gold.
- In the 100-meter, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran 10.77 seconds to earn her sixth medal in this event, the first 5 of which were golds in previous championships.
- Shericka Jackson of Jamaica ran 10.72 seconds to take her second consecutive World Championship silver medal in the 100 meters behind Sha’Carri Richardson of the United States who won in a Championship Record of 10.65 seconds.
- Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton ran a Personal Best of 52.81 seconds to earn bronze in the 400-meter hurdles.
- Cuba’s Leynais Perez leaped 14.96 meters to take bronze in the Women’s Triple Jump.
- In a time of 37.76seconds, The Jamaican 4×100 men’s relay team of Oblique Seville, Rohan Watson, Ryiem Forde, and Ackeem Blake took bronze, making it the first time that a Caribbean nation had mounted the podium in the event since the 2015 Beijing World Championship.
Here’s our Caribbean Top 10 Countdown at The Budapest Athletic World
10. Lazaro Martinez takes silver in the men’s Triple Jump
The men’s Triple Jump was shaping up to be Jamaican teenage sensation Jaydon Hibbert versus the rest of the field. After having entered the competition with a World-Leading mark of 17.87 meters. Hibbert qualified for the Final with the best mark of 17.70 meters. But he could not complete the Final due to injury.
This left Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez with the best chance for gold from a Caribbean standpoint. After a very competitive series of jumps, Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso won gold with a leap of 17.64 meters. Lazaro Martinez took silver with a mark of 17.41 meters and his Cuban teammate Cristian Napoles earned bronze with a Personal Best leap of 17.40 meters to rule out the Caribbean placings in the men’s Triple Jump.
9. Hansle Parchment’s Silver in the Mens’ 110-meter hurdles
Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment can be considered a veteran when it comes to Track and Field. A man who made his debut at the 2012 London Olympics and is still going at the age of thirty-three.
In the 110-meter hurdles, Hansle Parchment did not expect to factor that much because his teammate Rasheed Broadbell entered the event as the clear favorite ahead of two-time World Champion Grant Holloway of the United States. However, races are not run on paper.
Rasheed Broadbell crashed out of the 110-meter hurdles in his Heat and did not advance to the next round. It left Hansle Parchment as the best Caribbean hope for a medal. Throughout the rounds, Hansle Parchment kept on improving and entered the final almost certain of earning a medal. But which color would it have been?
In the Final Hansle Parchment got off to a very slow start but he tried his best to maintain his form with a dip at the line. Grant Holloway of the United States won gold with a Season’s Best of 12.96 seconds while Hansle Parchment earned silver with a Season’s Best of 13.07 seconds and Grant Holloway’s countryman Daniel Roberts took bronze with 13.09 seconds to close out the medallists in the men’s 110 meters hurdles.
8. Kyron McMaster finally earns a major championship medal
Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands has been trying to mount the podium at a major championship since 2017 but was not able to do so until the Budapest World Championship.
The men’s 400-meter hurdles was shaping up to be the three fastest men of all time: Karsten Warholm of Norway versus Rai Benjamin of the United States versus Alison dos Santos of Brazil. But no one had Kyron McMaster as a medal favorite.
Throughout the rounds, Kyron McMaster kept improving and it was down for him to run the race of his life in order to earn his first World Championship medal.
In the Final, World Recordholder Karsten Warholm began leading the race from the start. But Kyron McMaster was chasing him all throughout the race. Warholm had things his own way and crossed the line in 46.89seconds to earn his third World Championship gold medal, Kyron McMaster ran 47.34 seconds to take silver and Rai Benjamin of the United States ran 47.56 seconds to turn his Eugene World Championship silver into Budapest bronze.
7. Wayne Pinnock’s Golden Silver in the Men’s Long Jump
Jamaica’s Wayne Pinnock entered the Budapest World Championship very frustrated after being beaten by his teammate Carey McLeod at the Indoor and Outdoor NCAA Championships.
Pinnock entered the Long Jump with only one goal and that was to claim gold. In his Qualifying Round, Wayne Pinnock leaped a Personal Best and World-Leding mark of 8.54 meters to advance to the Final as the clear favorite.
Pinnock tried to get close to his Personal Best in the Long Jump Final but only managed a mark of 8.50 meters to earn silver behind Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece who leaped 8.52 meters to win gold. Wayne Pinnock’s teammate 2019 Doha World Champion Tajay Gayle leaped 8.27 meters to take the bronze medal.
6. The Jamaican Women earn silver in the 4×400 meters relay
The women’s 4×400 meters relay was shaping up to be the United States versus the World. But the United States got disqualified in their Heat due to an illegal baton change and was unable to advance to the Final which left the Jamaican women as the slight favourite.
The team of Candice McLeod, Janieve Russell, Nickisha Pryce, and Stacey Ann Williams ran an impressive race from start to finish but was passed by the Netherlands in the latter stages. The Netherlands ran 3:20.72 to win the gold while Jamaica ran 3:20.88 to take silver and Great Britain ran 3:21.04 to earn the bronze medal to close out the final track event at the Budapest World Championships.
5. Lindon Victor of Grenada created history by taking bronze in the Men’s Decathlon
This bronze medal is somewhat significant because it was the first medal for Grenada in the Decathlon. Lindon Victory was determined to get Grenada on the medal table due to the fact that his countryman 400 meters runner Kirani James and Javelin Thrower Anderson Peters did not mount the podium. Throughout the two-day decathlon competition, he was able to score a total of 8756 points to take bronze in the event and leave as Grenada’s only medallist at the championship.
4. Antonio Watson’s surprise gold in the men’s 400 meters
The men’s 400 meters was looking to be Olympic Champion Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas versus the rest of the field but Gardner was unable to make the Final due to pulling up injured in his Semi-Final. This left the race wide open.
Even though he ran a Personal Best of 44.12 seconds to qualify for the Final, no one thought that Antiono Watson would have been ready enough to win the gold medal. In the Final Antiono Watson ran quite a tactical race to hold off the field and crossed the line in 44.22 seconds to become the fifth Caribbean man to win the 400 meters at the World Championships. Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain ran 44.31 seconds to take the silver and Quincy Hall of the United States ran a Personal Best of 44.37 seconds to take bronze. This performance by Antonio Watson made him the only Caribbean man to win gold at the Budapest World Championships.
3. Danielle Williams proves that she is a Championship Performer
Jamaica’s Danielle Williams won the 100-meter hurdles once before at the 2015 Beijing World Championships. But with such a stellar field including previous World Champions, former World Record holders, NCAA Champions, and the Olympic Champion, no one would have thought that Danielle Williams would have won a second World Championship Title from lane two.
However, when the gun struck Danielle Williams was in her own world and running her own race. In the end, Danielle Williams crossed the line in a Season’s Best of 12.43 seconds to take her second World Championship gold, while her Caribbean counterpart Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ran 12.44 seconds to take the silver and former World Recordholder Kendra Harrison of the United States ran 12.46 seconds to take the bronze medal.
2. Marileidy Paulino finally wins an individual gold medal
Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino entered the 400 meters at the Budapest World Championship as the cleat favorite. Especially with the absence of America’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain.
Marileidy Paulino showed that she was serious from the first round by running 49.90 seconds in her Heat. In the Final, she was able to run quite a tactical race from start to finish and crossed the line in a National Record of 48.76 seconds to continue Caribbean’s dominance in the 400 meters at the World Championships. Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek took silver with 49.57 seconds and Sada Williams of Barbados earned her second consecutive World Championship bronze medal with 49.60 seconds.
1. Shericka Jackson runs a Championship Record of 21.41 seconds to win the 200 meters
Shericka Jackson entered the 200 meters at the Budapest World Championship as the overwhelming favorite to win the 200 meters. After being beaten by Sha’Carri Richardson of the United States in the 100 meters she was determined to defend her 200 meters title. Throughout the rounds of the 200 meters, Shericka Jackson looked extremely comfortable and was ready to lay it all out in the Final.
In the Final Shericka Jackson got a credible start and ran the most effective curve to separate herself from the rest of her competitors. In the end, Shericka Jackson crossed the line in a Championship Record and the second-fastest 200 meters of all time of 21.41 seconds to continue her reign as the fastest woman alive in this event.
Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Thomas of the United States took silver with 21.81 seconds and her countrywoman Sha’Carri Richardson ran a Personal Best of 21.92 seconds to take the bronze medal.
This was indeed one of the most successful World Championships for the Caribbean region and our athletes will be looking forward to next year’s Paris Olympics.
From record-breaking performances to unexpected twists, our athletes truly showcased the spirit and prowess of the Caribbean at this year’s world championship.
Thank you so much for joining us on this exhilarating journey through the Budapest World Championships. The passion, dedication, and sheer brilliance of our Caribbean athletes never cease to amaze us. We hope this countdown ignited the same pride and excitement in you as it did for us. If you loved what you watched, don’t keep it to yourself – hit that like button and share this video with your friends and family.
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