Bahamas' Shaunae Miller-Uibo put on a show for her hometown fans with a dominant display to win the women’s 400m on day 2 of the NACAC Athletics Championships, in Grand Bahama, on Saturday.

The Olympic and World Champion left very little to doubt as she left the blocks and quickly covered the field by the top of the straight.

World championship bronze medalist Sada Williams of Barbados looked to battle back against Miller-Uibo down the stretch but the Bahamian had enough to pull a few metres clear by the finish line.

Miller-Uibo, who has lost just once in 8 races over the distance this season, stopped the clock in 49.40, her fourth fastest time of the season.  Williams finished second in 49.86, while Jamaica’s Stephenie-Ann Mcpherson was third in 50.36.

In the men’s equivalent, Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor recorded his fastest time over the distance this season after outbattling his opponents down the stretch to stop the clock at 44.63, only his second time below 45 seconds this season.  Another Jamaican Nathon Allen was second in 45.04 with the United States’ Bryce Deadmon third in 45.06.

2020 Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper and 2022 World Indoor silver medallist Devynne Charlton both advanced to the final of the Women’s 100m hurdles at the NACAC Open Championships in Freeport, the Bahamas on Friday.

Jamaica’s Tapper qualified fastest with a 12.62 effort to win semi-final one while Charlton of the Bahamas finished second in the second semi-final in 12.76 to advance. Puerto Rico’s Paola Vazquez (13.34) and Cuba’s Acevedo Lopez (13.43) also advanced to the final.

Costa Rica’s Gerald Drummond (49.68), BVI’s Kyron McMaster (49.77), Jamaica’s Shawn Rowe (50.27), Cuba’s Lazaro Fernandez (50.37), The Bahamas’ Shakeem Smith (50.55) and Haiti’s Joshua Adhemar (52.21) all advanced to the final of the 400m hurdles.

In the 200m, Jamaica’s Natalliah Whyte (22.78) and Ashley Williams (23.67) both advanced to the Women’s final along with The Bahamas’ Tynia Gaither (22.82), Trinidad & Tobago’s Mauricia Prieto (23.48) and Reyare Thomas (24.00) and Grenada’s Amanda Crawford (24.32).

On the Men’s side, Jamaica’s Andrew Hudson was the fastest qualifier to the final with 20.25. He’ll be joined in the event by teammate Jazeel Murphy (20.80), Trinidad & Tobago’s Kyle Greaux (20.68), The Bahamas’ Ian Kerr (20.89), Antigua & Barbuda’s Darrion Skerritt (21.17) and Bermuda’s Suresh Black (21.42).

In the field, Jamaica’s O’Dayne Richards threw 20.05m for bronze in the men’s shot put behind Americans Roger Steen (20.78m) and Adrian Piperi (20.76m).

The region also got silver and bronze in the men’s triple jump thanks to Bermuda’s Jah Nhai Perinchief (15.89m) and Antigua & Barbuda’s Taeco O’Garro (15.70m). Gold went to the USA’s Chris Bernard with 16.40m.

World championships gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Commonwealth champion Sada Williams have both advanced to the final of the 400m of the 2022 NACAC Open Championships that got underway in Freeport, the Bahamas on Friday.

The four men who pleaded guilty to causing grievous harm to Grenada’s elite athlete Anderson Peters were each fined a total of EC$5,500 when they appeared before a judge in the St George’s No.1 Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

All four Trinidadians were ordered remanded in custody until the fines are paid. Failure to pay the fines could mean up to 18 months in prison for each man.

Mikhail John, a 35-year-old sailor, John Alexander, a 55-year-old deckhand, Noel Cooper, 42, the captain of the Harbour Master party boat, and Sheon Jack, a 28-year-old sailor, all pleaded guilty to charges of grievous harm against Anderson Peters and his brother Kiddon.

On the charge of grievous harm, each man was fined EC$3500 to be paid forthwith and in default face a year in prison; on the charge of causing harm each man was fined US$2000 to be paid forthwith or face six months imprisonment.

On Monday, prosecutors dropped the charges against 40-year-old Abiola Benjamin after reviewing a video of the incident that showed he was trying to separate the men involved in the altercation in which Peters suffered injuries to his ankle, elbow and face and was thrown overboard.

Meanwhile, 45-year-old sailor Lance Wiggins pleaded not guilty to the charges and was eventually released after prosecutors decided that the evidence against him was insufficient to bring about prosecution.

Peters was beaten and thrown overboard the Harbour Master party boat on the night of Wednesday, August 10. He suffered injuries to his ankle, elbow, and shoulder. He now faces a race against time to recover in order to complete his season on the Diamond League circuit.

If he is unable to, he stands to potentially lose tens of thousands of US dollars in earnings.

Peters has retained the services of Derick Sylvester in his quest to pursue a civil case against the convicted men.

World 100m Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will clash with British 2019 World 100m silver medallist Dina Asher-Smith in the blue-ribbon event at the Brussels Diamond League meeting on September 2.

Jamaica’s Fraser-Pryce, who won her fifth world title in Eugene last month, has run world leading times at the last two Diamond League stops in Silesia and Monaco.

Unbeaten in the 100m this season, the Jamaican has produced six sub 10.7 times so far and will look to add a seventh and book a spot in the Diamond League final in Zurich on September 7-8.

Asher-Smith, who won gold in the 200m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha to go along with her 100m silver, has a season’s best of 10.83 which she ran to finish fourth at the World Championships in Eugene.

Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who sped to a personal best and African record 10.72 to finish third behind Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson in Monaco, will also be in the race as well as the USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson.

Four of the six Trinidadians charged last week Friday, August 12, in connection with the assault on Grenada's Anderson Peters, the 2022 World javelin champion, pleaded guilty in the St George's Magistrates Court in Grenada on Monday.

They are set to return to the St George’s No.1 Magistrates Court on Wednesday facing the possibility of a maximum five-year prison sentence and hefty fines.

Mikhail John, a 35-year-old sailor, John Alexander, a 55-year-old deckhand, Noel Cooper, 42, the captain of the Harbour Master party boat, and Sheon Jack, a 28-year-old sailor, all pleaded guilty to charges of grievous harm against Anderson Peters and his brother Kiddon.

Prosecutors dropped the charges against 40-year-old Abiola Benjamin after a review of a video of the incident showed he was trying to separate the men involved in the altercation in which Peters suffered injuries to his ankle, elbow and face and was thrown overboard.

Meanwhile, 45-year-old sailor Lance Wiggins pleaded not guilty to the charges and was eventually released after prosecutors decided that the evidence against him was insufficient to bring about a successful prosecution.

Peters, 24, was involved in a brawl aboard the Harbour Master on the night of Wednesday, August 10. Video of the incident showed several men attacking and punching Peters, who had travelled home for a brief vacation after winning the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England a few days prior.

His coach Paul Phillip said the two-time world champion suffered from what appeared to be an ankle sprain as well as bruises to his elbow, neck and face, which put his participation in the Lausanne Diamond League meeting on August 26 in doubt.

In a statement released on the weekend, the captain of the Harbour Master claimed that it was Peters who was the aggressor and is what triggered the beat-down the elite athlete suffered.

Peters and his brother were in court Monday and were seated behind the six suspects. Reports indicate that Peters and his brother have retained the services of attorney Derick Sylvester with a view to filing a civil suit against the guilty.

Captain of the Harbour Master, Neil Cooper, says Anderson Peters was, in fact, the aggressor in last week’s highly publicized incident on the vessel that led to the arrests of six men involved.

“It was an attack on the Harbour Master crew…not Anderson Peters,” Cooper said in a statement issued on Saturday.

The narrative all along was that the crew assaulted Peters, who won his second World title in the Javelin in Eugene last month, and then threw him overboard but Cooper says this couldn’t be further from the truth.

“On August 10, the crew and I had just successfully sailed the Recovery Cruise. I instructed the deckhand team to begin preparing the boat for our next cruise which was scheduled for 8 o’clock. After some time, I went to check on the crew and saw them asking a group of young men to leave the ship. My team tried encouraging the men to leave but again, the group (who I didn’t know at the time included World Champion Anderson Peters) refused to leave the ship. Anderson began to get aggressive and pace up and down the ramp. I approached him and asked him to leave. He then cursed at me, disrespected my nationality, and insulted me for being Trinidadian. I asked Anderson four times to leave the vessel and each time he responded with aggression and cursed at me.”

He further stated,” What happened next is where the issue started. While on the ramp, I informed Anderson that I was the captain of the ship. He responded by cursing at me and throwing water in my face. I tried avoiding further altercation by walking away from him, off the ramp and back onto the main deck. When I got there, I realized a member of Anderson’s clan had assaulted my cruise manager, Benji, by slapping him in his face. My crew tried once again to get the men off the boat, but they continued to refuse with aggression. All men continued to curse at us. Anderson then spat at me and began throwing punches at my face. My crew and I did not start the confrontation, Anderson and his group did. As any team would, we defended ourselves from the ongoing attack.”

Cooper then outlined how Peters ended up in the water.

“The brawl eventually moved to the ramp. With all the scuffling, Anderson lost his balance and fell into the water. No one threw him into the water! It’s upsetting to see reports that my crew and I threw him into the water. We were relieved to see that Anderson was pulled up out of the water and was safe, but even then, he continued to be aggressive towards us and refused to leave the boat. Eventually, the police arrived on the boat, and a mob gathered outside saying that we attacked Grenada’s National Hero.”

“In my profession, I make an ode to protecting all souls on every vessel I captain. I would never intentionally harm another human. I understand Grenada’s love for Anderson Peters but I believe the public should know the truth about the situation,” he added.

Could Shely-Ann Fraser Pryce's meet record of 10.60 be on borrowed time when three of the four fastest women in the world this year line up for the 100m at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting on August 26?

Jamaica sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has put together one of the most exceptional seasons in track and field history, after dominating the 100m at the World Championships, and clocking a number of blistering times, she has just one objective left, to keep running fast.  

Earlier this week, the sprinter clocked a speedy 10.62 at the Monaco Diamond League meet.  The time was the athlete’s best this season and just two hundredths of a second outside her personal best.  Even more remarkable was the fact that the performance marked the sprinter’s 6^th sub-10.7 time this season, the most by any female athlete in history.

Despite all that she has achieved so far, the sprinter is not quite ready to end the season just yet.

“To be able to run 10.6 consistently means a lot to me. It is remarkable. It is very hard to keep the speed at this high level,” Fraser-Pryce said.

“It is important for me to deliver fast times because I´m looking forward for myself to having a great season,” she added.

“I´m in my late thirties, and I think I feel like I have more to give. I look forward to doing my Personal Best for the rest of the season and running fast.

“As a sprinter, you always want to run on the fast track. The only target I have for the rest of the season is just to run fast. Now, we break, and then we come again. Not sure about Lausanne yet.”

With five events to go Fraser-Pryce is also in contention for the 100m Diamond League title.

World 200m champion Shericka Jackson, Commonwealth Games 110m hurdles gold medallist Rasheed Broadbell and Christopher Taylor have all been included in Jamaica’s 39-member team to the NACAC Area Championships set to run from August 19-21 in The Bahamas.

Six Trinidadian nationals were arrested and charged today Friday, August 12, 2022, in connection with the incident involving Anderson Peters, which occurred on board the Harbour Master Vessel on Wednesday night in St. George’s, Grenada, the Royal Grenada Police have revealed.

According to the police, John Alexander, 55, a deck hand of Arima; Mikhail John, 35, a sailor of San Juan; Noel Cooper, 42, Captain of Gurpe; Lance Wiggins, 45, a sailor of Cocorite and Sheon Jack, 28, a Sailor of Cocorite were all charged with one count each of grievous harm and stealing, while Abiola Benjamin, 40, Operations Manager and police officer of Maraval was charged with assault on Anderson Peters.

Alexander, John, Cooper, Wiggins and Jack were also charged with causing harm to Kiddon Peters, the brother of Anderson Peters.

All of the accused individuals are scheduled to appear in court on Monday, August 15, 2022.

The men will remain in police custody until their appearance before the Magistrate.

Six people remain in police custody in Grenada in connection with the attack on world javelin champion Anderson Peters on the Harbour Master party time on the Spice Island on Wednesday night, the Royal Grenada Police reported on Friday.

Investigations are continuing about the incident wherein the athlete was involved in a brawl with several men said to be from Trinidad and Tobago but so far no charges have been filed, police said. However, there are concerns over the athlete’s health following the incident.

The police said he was treated at a hospital and released but Paul Phillip, who coaches the athlete revealed on the Sportsmax Zone on Friday evening that Peters’ suffered injury to his left ankle as well as bruises to his elbow, neck and face.

According to Phillip, the ankle injury is of greatest concern as that is the ankle Peters’ throws off and it appears he has suffered a sprain which could prevent him from competing at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on August 26.

The incident has drawn strong reactions across the region including Brian Lewis, President of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) who expressed “shock and dismay” at the incident.

Discussions at a diplomatic level have also been engaged between representatives of Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago, who have said that it is hoped that justice will be served.

President of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC), Brian Lewis, has expressed shock and dismay at the contents of a video showing Grenada Javelin world champion Anderson Peters being beaten up and thrown off a boat on Wednesday.

The incident, which has caused uproar around the region, is still being investigated in his homeland Grenada where it occurred.  The Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) is expected to hand a file to the country’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in short order.

Details surrounding the cause of the incident, however, remain unclear.  The company at the heart of the incident Trinidad-based Harbour Tours Ltd has, however, also condemned the incident and promised a separate investigation.

On behalf of CANOC, Lewis spoke of the feelings of disappointment upon witnessing the incident and wished the athlete a speedy recovery.

“There are no words to adequately express my regret, disappointment, and dismay at what was seen on the video of an altercation involving Grenada and Caribbean Sports Hero Anderson Peters,” Lewis said via the release.

“We at CANOC wish Anderson a speedy and full recovery. Even as the Grenada Police conduct a full investigation to ascertain the facts about what transpired,” he added.

“In resolving and de-escalating conflict Acts of Violence can't be condoned.

We trust that Anderson with support from his family, friends, and the Grenada Olympic Movement will fully recover. There are lessons from this unfortunate situation that we can all learn from as we continue to mentor and nurture and support our Caribbean athletes, youth, and young people to fulfill their potential and aspirations."

Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell has condemned the attack on 2022 World javelin champion Anderson Peters on Wednesday night and expects a speedy conclusion to the investigation being conducted by the Royal Grenada Police.

No one has yet been charged in connection with the incident night in which Grenada’s javelin world champion was beaten and thrown overboard a boat in his homeland on Wednesday.