Alexis Bean narrowly missed out on scooping Bermuda's first medal at the Carifta Games despite shattering the national junior record in the 1500 metres in St.Kitts on Saturday.

Bean's finish of 4:47.63 was not quick enough to secure a podium place and she had to settle for fourth position in the Under-20s girls' final. Just five tenths of a second separated her from the bronze medallist.

"Alexis ran a fantastic race," said Donna Watson of the Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA). "There was nothing separating the two runners down the final straight, but she just missed out on a medal.

"But it's still a great achievement to break the national junior record."

The other stand-out performers for Bermuda during the first two days of the event have been Ryan Furbert, who posted a personal best in the Under-20 boys 200m, and Tre Houston, who ran a season's best of 10.58 in the Under-20 boys' 100m semi-final.

Sprinter Houston, who finished seventh in his first ever Carifta Games final, was later disqualified in the Under-20 boys' 200m after a false start.

"It was really hard on Tre because the 200m was his best chance of a medal," rued Watson. "Sadly the rules state the first false start counts for every runner and Tre was the unlucky athlete who false started the second time."

Despite the Island's lack of medal success, former track star Watson remained upbeat and said she was confident their fortunes would pick up on the final day of the Caribbean showpiece today.

"Although we haven't won any medals yet there have been some very encouraging performances," she stressed. "Those athletes we expected to step up have done so, while the youngsters have also competed well.

"As expected, Jamaica have been sweeping up most of the medals but our athletes have been in with a shout. Tomorrow (today) we have five athletes in the Under-20 boys' 800 metres final so we are hopeful of winning a medal from that race."