JAMAICA HAS overhauled the 13 medals won at the 1999 Pan American Games held in Winnipeg, Canada. With two days left in the Dominican Republic Games, the country's medal tally now stands at 14.
Adding to the 11 medals garnered by the track and field team, badminton has captured three additional medals for the country, two bronze and the other quality yet to be decided.
The mixed (Charles Pyne and Nigella Saunders) and men's doubles (Pyne and Bradley Graham) teams both won bronze medals after reaching the semi-finals while the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) triple crown champion Saunders will win at least a silver medal as she is through to today's women's singles final against Canada's Anna Rice.
Although Jamaica has surpassed the Winnipeg's haul, the pool that contributed three silver medals in 1999 through Janelle Atkinson, has not contributed to the tally. The triple silver medallist only managed to contest the B final in the 100m freestyle, an event that she won but ended ninth overall. Atkinson then placed seventh in the 200m freestyle and fifth in the 400m freestyle.
Yesterday, Atkinson's preliminary round 800m freestyle event was scrapped and will be straight final event today. Her 8:52.46 qualification time makes her the fourth fastest in the event.
Tamara Swaby clocked 1:03.95 for third in her heat and seventh overall in the preliminary round of the 100m butterfly. However, she was not able to come up with a medal in the final after finishing eighth.
The 100 breaststroke saw Alia Atkinson finishing fourth in the preliminary round (1:14.81) and ninth overall, forcing her to contest the B final which she won in 1:15.37.
Today, Timothy Wong splashes off in the 200m butterfly, Alia Atkinsontakes on a field that includes teammates Tamara Swaby and Angella Chuck in the 200m Individual Medley.
The Atkinsons, Swaby and Chuck will then team up for the 4x100m medley relay. On Wednesday night, the girls established a new national record of 3:53.5 for fifth in the 4x100m relay.
Cyclist Ricardo Lynch was sixth in the 200m flying start semi-final event yesterday.
