Tyrone Smith last night became only the second Bermudian athlete to ever claim a gold medal at the CAC Games by winning the men's long jump crown.

The 24-year-old part-time car salesman leapt into the history books with a personal best jump of 8.22 metres to follow in the footsteps of legendary high jumper Clarence (Nicky) Saunders who grabbed gold at the 1987 CAC Games.

With a slight headwind, Smith set a new national record with a formidable leap which easily eclipsed silver medallist Tagiy Muhammad, of the Virgin Islands, who jumped 7.79 metres.

Although the distance he jumped shocked him Smith told The Royal Gazette last night he was always confident of winning gold at the CAC Games.

"It's amazing, to be honest I can't quite believe the distance I jumped," he said. "It felt good but it didn't feel that large.

"I had every intention of winning. I never expected to get anything less than gold. If I'd walked away with silver I would be very upset as I knew I was better than the other athletes who were here.

"It was a golden opportunity for me and I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around it all. I have a couple of friends on the Puerto Rico team and they've promised to take me out so I'm sure I'll have a good night."

Smith's triumph comes just months after the lowest ebb of his career which saw him fail to reach the long jump finals at the World Indoor Championships despite the qualifying mark being well below his previous personal best.

He put his struggles down to trying to convert his 'mixed' jumping technique to the 'double hitch kick' – a method perfected by his hero Carl Lewis – but reverted back to his former style before the CAC Games.

"I was going through some difficult times back there especially at the World Indoor Championships," said the Houston-based athlete.

"I was getting a little down but I essentially went back to square one and trained harder than I had been, doing different workouts.

"I was having some issues with my technique and had reverted to a new style which was supposed to pay dividends.

"Well, I got a little impatient and went back to my roots and told my coach I had to perfect what I already could do. To be honest even when I was training for my new technique I was still kind of jumping with my old technique.

"Me and my coach didn't quite agree on that but I felt that at the end of the day I had to do it."

Smith didn't have anything to lose as he approached his sixth and final jump yesterday. He had already sewn up the gold with leaps of 7.87 and 7.91.

And to make his medal winning moment even more special he was presented with his gold by Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA) president Donna Watson, who is the Island's Chef de Mission in Puerto Rico.

Smith said: "I want to send some thanks out to the Bermuda Olympic Association, Bermuda Track and Field Association, president Donna Watson and vice-president Michelle Williams – they have gone to bat for me since 2006.

"Track and Field may be an individual sport but this is a real team effort.

Bermuda have now won five medals at the Games with Flora Duffy's silver and Tyler Butterfield's bronze in the triathlon as well as bowler Damien Matthews' bronze and shooter Ross Roberts' bronze.

n Sprinter Tre Houston has set his sights on the 200m after failing to make the 100m finals on Sunday.

n At the World Junior Championships, in Moncton, Canada last week, sprinter Jeneko Place came sixth in his 200m heat in a time of 22.02 seconds. He did not qualify for the finals.