Davonte Howell, with Jamaican connections, wins big at Carifta Games

NASSAU, Bahamas (April 12) – Davonte Howell, a 17-year-old athlete from the Cayman Islands, emerged as the champion of the Under-20 boys 100m at the 50th Carifta Games.

Howell has a connection to Jamaica as he was born in Barbados, moved to the Cayman Islands when he was young, and then left to attend IMG Academy in the United States, where Jamaican Olympian Dwight Thomas is coaching him.

Jamaica’s hope of winning the under-20 boys 100m at the Carifta Games ended when Bouwahjgie Nkrumie pulled up with an injury. Adding to their disappointment, defending Carifta champion, De Andre Daley, was disqualified from his semi-final race and was thus unable to defend his title.

Howell stepped up to the plate and delivered for his team. READ Carifta Games 2023 medal table standings

Under Thomas’s guidance, Howell improved his time from 10.80sec to 10.28sec and became the Carifta Games U20 Champion. Despite the challenges of adjusting to a new environment after moving to a boarding school in Bradenton, Florida, where Thomas is the sprint and relay coach, Howell persevered.

“He’s only 17 years old. He’s been working hard to get to this point. He had to adjust to the new environment moving from the Cayman to a boarding school in Bradenton, Florida,” noted Thomas.

Currently, Thomas’s team holds the fastest 4x100m relay team in the United States, with a time of 40.11sec, which they won at the Texas Relay HS section. Howell ran the second leg on that team.

As one of the favorites, Thomas’ team will compete at the Penn Relays. A Jamaican team has not lost at the Penn Relays in several years. Thomas stated that Howell is eager to demonstrate his talent and compete with Jamaican athletes.

“We still have a lot of work to do. He will run the 100m at the Adidas Atlanta Street Meet on May 6. I believe he has a shot at running 10.1sec this season.”

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