CARTAGENA, Colombia—Defending champion Dion Crabbe joined debuting Taheisa Harrigan in tonight’s Central American and Caribbean Games 100 meter finals, marking the first time that two BVI athletes have been finalist in the regional quadrennial event.
Harrigan, who joined Karene King as the first women to represent the territory in its 24 year history of participation, won her heat in the night’s fastest time of 11.19 seconds. King, running in heat three, turned in a personal best 12.32 effort in seventh.
Crabbe who made his second successive 100 meter finals, had a season’s best time of 10.36 seconds in fifth in heat one, advancing as one of the two fastest losers. It was only Crabbe’s second 100 meters of the season, the first coming in his first round run. No results were available from that race.
“They have just BVI track and field to another level,” BVI Amateur Athletic Association president Ephraim Penn said. “There’s nothing more we can say. We are at the stage now where we can compete at any level and we just hope to move from there.”
Harrigan’s coach Sydney Cartwright said he thought she did a good job, despite some slight errors. “The way she won, the difference between her and the second fastest time I think it brings a sense of confidence, but not over confidence,” he said. “If she just do what she has to do, based on how she has been training lately, she can run fast. She looked good, she ran really comfortable tonight.”
Cartwright said if she takes the mental preparation she had in the semis into the finals, she can produce a faster time. He said there were some glitches in her start that he will discuss with her. “If she takes the same mental approach, be confident but not over confident, still respect her competitors, I think ultimately, good things will happen for her,” Cartwright said. “But right now, based on what I have seen, I don’t think anyone has enough firepower to make that kind of jump unless she makes that kind of mistake to allow them to come back to her.”
Penn said the way Harrigan performed left his speechless. “I don’t think anyone could have imagined her just moving away from the field like that,” he said of her quick acceleration. “We just hopes she maintains that in the finals and hopefully we’ll have good news to bring tomorrow.”
Of Crabbe, Penn said a champion never dies. “He came with his mind made up to defend his title and now he’s in the finals,” Penn said. “We just hope that he comes through, but he’s a fighter. He’s fighting and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
