Photo: Demetrie Meyers
Belizean Demetrie Meyers wins two gold medals at CARIFTA Games
by Charles Gladden
NASSAU, Bahamas, Wed. Apr. 12, 2023
A 14-year-old boy has cemented his name in the history books of Belize’s sports after winning two gold medals in the U-17 Track and Field event over the weekend at the 50th CARIFTA Games held in Nassau, Bahamas, April 8 to April 10.
Demetrie Meyers, a 14-year-old Belizean and a freshman at Haverford High School in Haverford, Pennsylvania, participated in the CARIFTA Games in the Bahamas and won a gold medal in the 1500-meter competition on Saturday, and then another in the 3000-meter competition the following day.
Meyers dominated the competition, as he ran away from his competitors in both events. On Saturday in the 1500m, he finished with a time of 4:11.19 ahead of Guyana’s Javon Roberts, who finished with a time of 4:13.63. Capturing the bronze was Jamaica’s Joel Morgan.
Then he clocked 9:08.56 on Sunday in the 3000m, ahead of silver medal winner Ejay George of Grenada who finished with a time of 9:36.82, and the bronze medal winner Love Joseph of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
“Coming into the race, I thought that I was going to be chased a little bit more. I didn’t expect to be able to go and nobody [tried] and follow, but I just kept going at the pace I needed to go, and I was really surprised and honored to win two gold medals,” Meyers said.
In an interview with Meyers’ father/coach, Greg Meyers, he told Amandala about the emotions he felt in reaction to his son’s performance.
“To be honest with you, with Demetrie running, nothing surprises me. I was slightly concerned at the beginning because the pace he chose was extremely aggressive. It wasn’t out of his range to do, and as he was running, it became more and more evident that he was well in control. Inside I had cold seed. My eyes were swelling up. But externally, I was very subtle. I threw my hands in the air as he crossed the finish line,” Greg Meyers said.
He also spoke to us about being a dad-coach to his son:
“That is one of the most difficult things to do, is to be coach and dad, because when he’s not in school, he’s with me, and I’m pushing him hard, and he’s with me when doing his homework. So that balance is incredibly difficult,” he said.
“… I have several assistant coaches, and we all manage different sections of it, so while I am his coach and make all the workouts, I have other assistant coaches that help so that it’s not always dad yelling at him or dad always giving him instructions, so we balance it out that way,” he added.
Demetrie told us that his short-term goal is to do the best he can in his last year of the U17 category and then transition to the U20 for the CARIFTA games. Then, in the long term, he aims to try to represent Belize at the Olympic level and secure the Jewel’s first Olympic Gold medal.
Also in the CARIFTA Games, Mallory Meyers, sister of Demetrie, finished 6th in the 1500 metres girls U17 competition. Andre Armstrong of Belize City finished 14th, 9th, and 12th in the U20 800m, 1500m, and 5000m, respectively. Joas Mejia of Punta Gorda finished 5th in the triple jump and 9th in the long jump. Daniel Meyers, brother of Demetrie, did not finish his race due to injuries.