Antiguan Zonique Charles wins gold with 46.29m javelin throw at CARTIFTA 2025

The 15-year-old from Sir Novelle Richards Academy shone brightly with U-17 gold, a major leap from last year’s 4th place finish.

Written by Monika Walker

Published 2025-04-22 10:26:05

Updated 2025-09-17 08:07:45

Antigua and Barbuda: Zonique Charles, 15, from Antigua and Barbuda won gold at the 2025 CARIFTA Games in Trinidad and Tobago. The athlete threw the javelin out to a personal best of 46.29m in the 5th of 6 rounds to beat all challengers.

According to the information, the U-17 gold undoubtedly outshined the 4th place finish last year. The 15-year-old stand-out is a student of the Sir Novelle Richards Academy.

This marked the second gold medal for the Antigua and Barbuda contingent following Tyra Fenton’s gold in the category of Girls U-17 400m. The medal tally for the team now stands at 5 to include a silver for Geolyna Dowdy in the Girls U-20 100m, a bronze for Ranique Richards in the Girls U-17 shot put and another bronze for Tyra Fenton in the 200 meters category.

Fenton added a 200 meters bronze medal to her 400 meters gold after clocking 23.68 seconds in the final on Sunday night. The 14-year-old St. Anthony's Secondary School student was bettered only by St. Lucia's Jady Emmanuel who won gold in 23.47 and Keyezra Thomas of the Bahamas who won silver with a time of 23.67.

With these medals, the Antigua and Barbuda team finishes at 5th position overall, standing above Saint Lucia, Cayman Islands and several others.

Team Jamaica won the CARIFTA Games 2025 with a total of 78 medals comprising of 30 gold, 27 silver and 21 bronze. Meanwhile, Team Bahamas stands 2nd with 37 medals, featuring 16 gold, 13 silver and 8 bronze medals.

Notably, the CARIFTA Games in an annual athletics competition which holds utmost importance in the Caribbean region. This year, the games, were held from April 19 to 21 in Trinidad and Tobago and featured a total of 20 teams from across the region.

The event turned out huge success and brought together a number of viewers who joined to support their favourite teams, giving a major push to the overall economy of Trinidad and Tobago.

Author Profile

Monika Walker

Monika Walker is a senior journalist specializing in regional and international politics, offering in-depth analysis on governance, diplomacy, and key global developments. With a degree in International Journalism, she is dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices through factual reporting. She also covers world news across every genre, providing readers with balanced and timely insights that connect the Caribbean to global conversations.