Michelle Smith at the 2024 Carifta Games in Grenada. By. SPORTS CULTURE
Track phenom Michelle Smith will bring home two gold medals following the conclusion of the 2024 CARIFTA Games in Grenada.
On Sunday, Smith electrified the Kirani James Stadium with a blazing fast time of 56.28 in the U20 Girls 400m hurdles, her third consecutive victory in that event at CARIFTA.
On Monday, against a field of six other runners, Smith successfully defended last year’s title, adding a sixth CARIFTA gold medal to her stash. She ran a technically excellent race, pulling away from the pack about halfway into the second 400 meters, putting distance between her, the Jamaican duo of Monique Stewart and Kitania Headley, who led in the first half of the race, as well as Haiti’s Victoria Guerrier.
Once Smith had taken the lead, her leggy strides proved impossible for the other runners to match, and she increased her lead down the home stretch to finish in 2:06.18, just under the established record time for that event. “She’s one of the best you’ll see at the CARIFTA games in 2024,” remarked announcer Ricardo Chambers after Smith’s victorious run.
In second place was Haiti’s Guerrier, who crossed the finish line 1.27 second behind Smith, with third place secured by Jamaica’s Stewart, in a time of 2:07.56.
Watch Smith’s winning 800 m run here.
