 We begin with the track and field history for three English-speaking Caribbean nations at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which ended in Glasgow on Sunday. The English-speaking Caribbean captured six medals over the three days of competition with the Commonwealth of Dominica and St. Lucia winning their first ever medal at the event, while the Bahamas also struck gold in world record style. Jamaica won most medals by a Caribbean nation with three bronze USA topping the medal table with 20 consisting of six gold, nine silver and five bronze. You can see that the three Caribbean nations with the medal each, Bahamas, Dominica and St. Lucia finishing joint ninth Jamaica finishing in 25th position. The USA was the only nation to win more than five medals. A closer look then at the English-speaking Caribbean performances, none better than that of Bohemian Dabin Charlton, who produced a sensational 7.65 seconds to win the women's six-meter hurdles upgrading her 2022 silver to 2024 gold. She took 200ths of a second of the previous world record. She held jointly with American Tia Jones at 7.67. An injury kept Jones out of the championship as Charlton won by almost a full 10th of a second. Also on Sunday's final day, Tia Lafon leapt into Dominica history by winning the women's triple jump title with a national record and world-leading 15.01 meters. The medalist Dominica's first at the world indoor championships and only their second in global senior athletics. So dominant was Lafon's performance that she only took two of her six available jumps and watched as the rest of the field tried unsuccessfully to challenge her winning mark. The other gold medal for the English-speaking Caribbean came in the Blue Ribbon women's six meters pre-event favorite Julian Alfred held her nerve to win gold. St. Lucia's first ever medal at the world indoors, the 22-year-old doing so in a world-leading 6.98 seconds. It was the fifth time Alfred was breaching the 7 seconds barrier as she inched ahead of Merlinotti as the most prolific Caribbean athlete in that department. And of course, Dominica's bronze medals came from Akeem Blake in the men's 60 meters. That was on Friday, Rashid McDonald in the 400 on Saturday, Kyrie McLean on Saturday as well in the men's long jump. Yeah, quite a lot happened at the weekend. We are pleased to be joined in studio by sportsmax.tv editor-in-chief and our in-house track and field analyst, Leighton Levy. So Leighton Levy will be joining us, but Lance and Mariah, what a great series of performances this weekend from the English-speaking Caribbean athletes. Let me start with Devin Charlton because she set a world record and that is special. She did it in the build-up, of course, Charlton, 7.67. But to do it in a championship final when there is pressure, we're having a look there at Julian Alfred. There is Charlton. To do it in a championship final when there is pressure is something special, one has to say. Yeah, and you know what? We've known for a long time that this girl is world-class and her strength in her sprint hurdling is the strong start that she usually gets at the Budapest World Championship last year when the Jamaican Daniel Williams won gold. Charlton led up to about 50 meters. So her issue in the 100 hurdles for outdoors is to sustain the early race dominance that she shows. So 60 meter hurdles for her is like a kick-walk. Kick-walk. And I know the medals aren't handed out until the races are run, but we're not surprised she won. And we're not surprised that she brought the world record either because it was her own world record. Yeah. Thoughts start for a little leafy, but we're not going to disqualify him. We give him a preview and welcome him to the segment for today. How are you doing? What a performance from Devin Charlton of the Bahamas. It was sensational, wasn't it? Absolutely, Ricard. I remember right after she brought the world record at Miller Rose Games, I spoke to her coach, Ronnie Green, and he said he felt she can go faster. He said a half a tenth. She didn't quite get there, but still, fast enough to break the world record. And I think when I had that conversation with him, what he indicated was she was a lot stronger this year, a lot more focused and a lot more confident. And given how we saw her open her season, I think she started out with 7-8-something and then worked her way down to 7-7-2, which was a world lead at the time, then brought the world record and then ran in Madrid. It wasn't as impressive, but I think at the time, maybe a little bit of fatigue before she went back home. And as the plan was, go back to the United States and work on their race before they went to Glasgow. And she delivered big time. I mean, it was a fantastic performance, especially since Sambo Mayela actually became the challenge that Tia Jones was expected to deliver. But Mayela came through and pushed her. 7-7-3 in the semifinal, 7-7-4 in the final, gave her the opportunity to be pushed to that new record because I didn't expect anything from Masai Rosso. History has told me and has been telling me that Masai doesn't perform well in finals. When she's under pressure, she tends to fall. And this was similar. Again, finishing fourth behind the Polish Asti Twosnium, I will never be able to pronounce. But the fact that she did... You mean, Streskowska? Yeah, well, you can do it. Once you can write it on the TV, you're good. I can't even write it. Litna, I want you to talk me through the technical execution of the race from Devine Charlton. One of the things that stood out to me is the where she drove from the blocks. To me, she drove from the blocks as if she was running a flat 60. As if she was at one stage, I thought to myself, oh my God, she's going to run right into the first hurdle. But she was so clinical. And I thought that was quite amazing because I'm not sure if I see many hurdles drive from the blocks in the way she did. Flamingo does, but this is a different dynamic because the hurdles are higher. But the reality is that, look, what she's clearly been working on is the speed management and, of course, her speed between the hurdles. And what we saw from in terms of the execution, but I'm sure when I speak to Coach Green again, he will tell me what he saw in terms of the things that she didn't do correctly. But the reality is, I think, it was close to being a perfect race from my eyes, certainly, as what you can expect from someone in a final where the competition is fierce and intense. Because given what we saw from the French runner, she could not afford to slip up. She won comfortably enough, but at the same time, you know, it takes a clip, we saw Megan Tapper hit the first two hurdles and it cost her a place in the final. So the technicality of it, in terms of the execution, was sound. And I think she was really quick between the hurdles. I think she was a little tight in the middle of the race, but I think that is to be expected. But overall, I thought she ran really well. Yeah. What are we expecting to see from her come Olympic? Well, if look, it's still six months away or five months away. The reality is that it's a different dynamic now. It's 40 meters more outdoors and there are a lot more players involved. And the reality is that if she continues on the current trajectory, she'll be her favorite in Paris. I think I don't think anybody can doubt that. The fact is that Theo Jones is coming off her injury, Daniel Williams is the world champion. There are going to be a lot more players involved in Paris than we saw at the world indoors in Glasgow. But if Devine continues on this current path, she's going to be hard to beat in Paris. One of the things that we've always said in sport is that when you become a champion, automatically, you become 10 or 20% better because of the confidence and the self-belief and the self-assurance of this new label that you've had. Do you think that Devine has that kind of personality to make that kind of narrative true? Yeah, and when you saw when she came forth at the World Championships last year, you could see how upset she was because she was along with Amos and she was one of the top hurlers last year going into the World Championships. Now she's broken through and it's not just a physical breakthrough for her. It's a mental breakthrough as well because now she's done it. She knows it feels like. And of course, the next time she steps on the track outdoors, going into the Olympic season, you would have to believe that she's her self-belief is a lot more ramped up now than ever before. And she goes in with a certain level of confidence knowing that I can't beat the best in the world. I can win. And that makes her a bigger threat in Paris. Yeah, and Ricardo, I suspect that that would hold true as well for Julian Alfred and Tia Lafond. Yeah, for sure. I was actually just trying to look at the last athlete who won the world indoor title and then went on to win some. No, and went on to win an outdoor crown or the next outdoor crown. I haven't gotten to that one yet. So it's been it's been quite a while that that has happened. But Julian Alfred. Listen, Julian, we are a side coming. We've seen her progress over the last two seasons, especially to the point where she's run four sub seven 60 meter dashes. Only nothing had. Well, she tied Merlin. She's known the leader. Yes, Julian has had issues with her confidence and her belief over the years. She had problems with her start. But I think all of that came together at the right time at the world champions because, look, Subota was not going to give it that title easy because that actually did certainly the world leading time 698 she ran in the semis. So so Julian knew that she had a race on her hands because as I said, Tia Jones wasn't there. But I think the legitimate threat was Subota. And if you listen to her explanation after the race, and she said it, you have to understand and appreciate her thinking here. She knows that Subota is a better starter. And she said all she had to do was to stay in touch with her because she has superior speed. She's a 10 eight and 10 turning towards a 10 seven sprinter in outdoors. Subota hasn't gotten to that level yet. So if she stayed close enough, she could retract her down with her superior speed. She got a little bit tightly into the race, which is understandable, but she didn't have to get over line by 200 of a second. But that's all you need. And I think what we've seen from Julian now tells me that she could be someone to look out for. I mean, everybody's talking about Chicago, which has nonchalant Fraser price and Elaine Thompson and of course, Erica Jackson. Come this summer, she could be another player, a legitimate player from middle on the podium. Comparise because now she has what she's been seeking all along a title, a global title as a senior athlete. Her first as a pro. That's a good way to go into the season. Yeah, I'm keen to hear you develop on that point, Leighton, because last year, when we were assessing worlds and so on, while you recognize Julian Alfred's quality, you did say that when it came down to the medals, you didn't put her in that conversation, even though we expected her to do well. But you're now doing that. Yeah, I'm doing that. No, because it's a breakthrough is sport. Look, everybody trains pretty much the same way. The mechanics, the fitness, the strength, the conditioning. Here is where makes the big difference. And I think with Julian winning that title on on Saturday, that mental game just ramped up a whole notch, where she can go into competition, no, not necessarily doting herself against the elite four, no, of the three Jamaicans and the Americans. But she now knows that she's likely to be able to match them because let me for those Jamaicans who are probably not pulling their hero. The time that Julian Alfred won with this weekend is the same time that she and Frisian Price and in terms of her have run indoors 698, which is the 11th fastest time in history. She's now joined them at that level. There's no reason to believe that with that additional 40 meters, given her strength, given her endurance, given the fact that she runs 2201 indoors, that she will not be able to contest and contend along with the likes of the Talu and the other players who are on the cusp, but are yet to break through into that into that elite of the elite. And I think this win this weekend could actually do that for Julian Alfred. And she's 22 years old and improving all the time. Tia Lafon, what a performance, what a dominant performance. Second round, 15-0-1 and that's it. So you're going to say you're going to do your thing. I'm cool. When I spoke to Tia after she dropped the 14-90 at the World Championship last year, I said, there's obviously a new new personal best for you. Were you happy with the performance? She said no. She said there's still some errors that I'm not doing as well as I need to do. So she she's still believe that she had room for improvement and you saw it on a second jump. All the phases were a lot better than previously. She opened with a 14-60 at a little high school meet where she was under no pressure whatsoever and you could see the development coming into different phases. The first of them was 14-40, I think it was. 14-43. And then she came back and she got everything, well not everything, but certainly most things right from the first phase through the second phase to the jump which was phenomenal and got a 15-0. When I saw it I literally dropped my pen because I was actually making notes. And I was like, is that 15 meters? Because you know sometimes the superimposed lines are not necessarily linear. And when so when the measurement came up I saw 15-1. I'm like, yep. And I reached out to her. She hasn't responded yet but I'm sure she will eventually. But the fact is that she now, I think now, also becomes a player outdoors as well because the triple jump is not much different indoors from outdoors. The win factor is not that much of a factor anyway. So the reality is now, along with Daniel with um, Sheri, Shanika Ricketts, sorry. She's now a 15-meter jumper so you know the outdoor game is going to be a lot more intense this summer. By the way, a few Caribbean women have gone over 15 meters in the triple jump but none before now had done it indoors. So TLFON is the first to do it indoors. Yeah, so I want to get to the point as well, Leighton, about what this means for the Lessa Antilles. TLFON was speaking about it where she said when she saw Julian Alfred win the gold medal on Saturday she thought to herself, wow, I want to be part of this for the Lessa Antilles, to create history for my country of Dominica. We share um, cultural similarities and it's just great that we've come together in this global space to put our countries on the map. It is massive, isn't it? Listen, back in 1948 when her McInley and the crew were doing great things at the Olympics in 1948, it created a sense of belief among Jamaicans that they can compete with the rest of the world. I think it started before that but I think 1940 it galvanized the belief on with George Rodin of course and you know Arthur Wint and Herb and Lesley. And we've seen it over the years build through to Lenox Miller, to Donald Aquari, to Raymond Stewart, to Usain Bolt, et cetera, et cetera. Not on the woman side as well, primarily not in 1980 when she first won the Jamaican's first bronze in Moscow. As the Olympics, yeah. Right? And you saw progress over the years through you know Varno, Campbell Brown, Beverly MacDonald and you know, everybody knows the rest of the names. I think the success that we've seen from Julian Alfred and of course Tia Lafond over the weekend. Remember now, there are only 74,000 people living in the Dominica. 170,000 living in St. Lucia. I think it will give young ladies in the young girls in those respective countries a belief that we can now go there and emulate this. And boys too. And boys too, yeah, but everyone. But more the girls because it's more about agenda connection. Now the boys I think are more related to. Do you think it's so late? It does. I don't want to go into this discussion. No, no, no, no. But let me tell you why. Yes. When Donald Quarry was doing things in the 1970s, everybody in my class was wanting to run fast. Not the girls. Yes. The girls were like, okay, let's go. You know when I go on the street, right? And we're rushing us out of here. When I go on the street and I ask athletes, who is their favorite athlete? And I'm talking about male athletes now. And they consistently tell me Shelley and Fraser Price and these are boys. Yeah. I don't know if that. Why is that? Because she's great. Yeah, she's great, but also because you see them both retired in 2017. No, it's because she's the best. No, no, no. I'm not disputing that. But between 2017 and now, no male athletes has really stepped to the plate in the sprints. But it doesn't matter that Shelley and his female, what they see as a champion in the same way I think is what they'll see of Julian Alfred and T. L. Fawley. We can't debate this because the reality is this. But I think you've got a major inspiration for those. Yeah, we have to go, but I can't go without stealing this one minute. Jamaica got three bronze medals, Akeem Blake, Keri McLeod. But the one that stood out to me was Rashid McDonald. And I just want a quick comment from especially you Layton on Rashid McDonald. Listen, when I saw him on the list, I was wondering, because I'd never seen him run into it before, 46-2, 46-0-2, 45-65, in his first real campaign indoors. He, if it wasn't for these three ladies from the rest of the Caribbean, he would be my performer from the Caribbean. Absolutely amazing performance. No, no, no. Alexander Doom, the man that they remember Supervillain, that's the guy that is the nicest name I've ever heard. And of course, Carson Varhome. Are the people who beat him? And he was close. Yes. And had he drifted over into Lane one a little earlier, he could have been a little bit closer as well. Kudos to him and looking forward to seeing what he does outdoors. Fantastic performance. Yeah, by the way, his 45-65 performance is the fastest by a Jamaican outside of the intercollegiate system. Yeah. Yeah, take from that whatever you will. That's it for this segment on the Sports Mike Zone. Hope you enjoyed. We rush into a break. We'll be back with more.