Regional Director praises the sterling performances of the athletes

The Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre has congratulated the Caribbean Olympians following their performances at the Beijing Olympics.

In separate messages to Warren Newby, Parliamentary Secretary with responsibility for Youth in Jamaica's Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports and Gary Hunt, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs in Trinidad and Tobago, the Commonwealth's Regional Director Henry Charles said: "We too feel your sense of joy and pride."

"The sterling performances of the athletes and spontaneous eruption of celebration, national pride and expressions of love and unity reminds us of the significant contribution young people continue to make towards the sustainable development of our societies," Mr Charles emphasised.

To date, Caribbean countries in the Commonwealth have notched up more than a dozen medals.

Jamaican Usain Bolt captured his first Olympic medal on Saturday, running the 100-meter dash in just 9.69 seconds with Trinidadian Richard Thompson snatching the silver medal. Bolt went on to win the 200 meters final in 19.30.

Shelly-Ann Fraser won the Women's 100 meters on Sunday night in 10.78 seconds. She was trailed in that race by teammates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart, who both finished in 10.98 and collected silvers giving Jamaica the first sweep of medals in Women's 100 metres by any nation at any Olympics or world championships. Another Jamaican, Shericka Williams, won silver in the Women's 400 metres.

Jamaica also won golds in the Men's 4 x 100m Relay while Trinidad and Tobago trailed behind to cop silver medals.