Bermuda?s Taijaun Talbot set the Carifta Games alight as he blitzed to the first of two home medals in front of a packed grandstand last night.

The 16-year-old mounted a breathtaking final lap assault to claim gold in the under-17 1500 metres in a time of four minutes, 17.15 seconds, sending the partisan crowd delirious.

And 19-year-old Zindzi Swan leapt to a silver in the long jump ? her weaker event ? to give the Island a second medal on a windy and cold opening day of regional Caribbean athletics championships.

But it was the performance of Talbot ? the under-18 Front Street Mile winner ? that warmed the crowd the most, as he took the lead with 300 metres to go and out-fought Jamaican Bengallo Morrison on the final straight to claim an unexpected gold.

?It is hard to put it in words,? said Talbot, who was treated on a stretcher immediately after his win.

?But it feels real good. I?m really excited to win this race and I feel full of confidence for the 800 metres now. The cheering crowd gave me a real boost at the end.

?My plan was to stay with the leader and wait for my chance and I moved out after the bell and just kept going ? once I was ahead I knew he wouldn?t catch me.?

Another to appreciate the vocal home support was Swan, whose leap of 6.05 metres in front of the ?amazing crowd? saw her finish in second behind Rhonda Watkins of Trinidad and Tobago.

?My first jump was pretty good but I wasn?t too happy with them after that,? said Swan, who celebrated her 19th birthday last week.

?But I am happy with my silver and it fills me with confidence for the high jump, which is my stronger event anyway.?

A failed attempt at 1.95 metres cost high jumper Deon Brangman a medal in his under-20 event. He cleared the height on his second attempt, and then also flopped two metres along with four other athletes. But on a countback, knocking the bar off on his first jump of the day left him in fourth.

Touted as one of Bermuda?s outside podium hopefuls, perennial medallist Brittney Marshall faced a battle to keep her winning streak going in her first outing in the under-20 category in the discus.

Despite being just 16 years of age, Marshall put in a more than respectable performance in finishing fifth with a throw of 36.25 metres, two centimetres further than the throw that won the under-17 event last year.

?It was a good experience for me,? said a surprisingly-upbeat Marshall, who competes in the shot put this afternoon. ?I learned that you can?t always win and I got an idea of what I will need to do to win this ? just watch for me next year.?

But the other Bermudians to compete in a straight final weren?t as successful with both Kijaun Wilkinson and Jade Darrell finishing joint sixth and admitting they could have done better in their under-17 high jump competition.

Neither were overjoyed with the strong winds that affected their event ? with Darrell admitting he ?messed up? ? and both disappointed with their displays on home turf.

?I felt a little bit of pressure,? said a tired-looking Wilkinson. ?I know I could have done better, I?m a bit disappointed but I want to make up for it next year.?

Others struggling for Bermuda on the Games? opening day were the two young male sprinters who failed to reach the final of the under-17 100 metres.

Tristan Francis and Miquel Lambert finished in fourth (11.90 seconds) and fifth (12.46) in their heats respectively.

Akilah Reid finished just one place outside a medal but her performance in placing fourth out of four in the under-17 1500 metres final saw her finish well back in a time of 5.27.07 ? her fastest time of the year ? but more than 26 seconds behind a bronze. Kalita Furbert (12.47) and Arantxa King (12.51) finished sixth and last in the under-17 100m final after earlier qualifying with ease.

Lovintz Tota finished sixth in the under-20 100m in 10.81, his first sub-11 run of the year.

In the under-17 400m final, 14-year-old Deanne Lightbourn placed last in 58.48 after coming through as the last qualifier in her heat. And it was a Carifta day to forget for Brittany Pitt, who finished last in her under-17 400 metres in 1.03:97 ? and then had to leave the athletes? area on a stretcher after suffering sickness, cramps and a headache.