Bermuda’s Carifta Games team increased to 14 as five more athletes made the grade in their respective disciplines at the National Sports Centre at the weekend.

With time running out to qualify for the annual Caribbean event, held in Martinique from April 18 to 21, several local athletes stepped up to the challenge.

David Darrell, Justin Donawa, Micaiah Robinson, Azaire Smith and Taahirah Butterfield all qualified at Sunday’s meet.

“I am very pleased with this past weekend,” said Donna Watson, the president of the Bermuda National Athletics Association. “The weather was perfect for track and I made the statement at the beginning of the meet that this is perfect weather for athletes to qualify.

“The athletes really gave their best on Sunday and, with the qualifying standard being tougher, they all knew they had to put in the work to be able to reach the standard.

“We had some tough races with athletes neck in neck and you can really see the determination of these athletes wanting to compete in the games.”

Darrell’s time of 4min 21.32sec was enough to qualify for the under-18 boys’ 1,500?metres standard, while Donawa, a former gold medal-winner, recorded a leap of 14.52 metres to qualify for the under-20 boys’ triple jump. Robinson booked his ticket to Martinque in the under-18 boys’ 800 metres in 2:02.59, Smith in the under-18 girls’ high jump with a leap of 1.55, and Butterfield in the under-20 girls’ 200, breaking the tape in 24.64.

Three athletes, Kionje Somner, Tiara DeRosa and Kyrah Scraders, who have already qualified for the Games, will compete in multiple events.

Somner, already involved in the under-18 boys’ 400, made the standard in the 200 in 22.31, while DeRosa added the discus to her shot schedule, with a throw of 12.33 metres in the under-18 girls’ age group.

Scraders, a multiple medal-winner from previous Games, qualified for the under-18 girls’ 400, finishing in 56.45. Her schedule in Martinique already includes the 800 and 1,500.

“The level of competition is definitely surpassing my expectations of the size of the team and there are still quite a few who are very close, so we might have a slightly larger team than initially expected,” Watson said.

“We also have inter-school sports just around the corner, so we might get some surprises there as well.

“Overall, I am very pleased with the performances and I have no doubt that the athletes who have met the standard will represent the country well.”