Saint Lucia’s celebrated young athlete Jady Emmanuel suffers hamstring injury

Jady Emmanuel, Saint Lucia’s sprint athlete will not be able to participate in this year’s CARIFTA Trials which are to take place this weekend, Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15, 2026. The main reason for her abeyance from the race is due to the injury she encountered in her recent race. She suffered from a tear in her right hamstring, as mentioned by the doctor.

Jady Emmanuel is not just recognized as the double CARIFTA gold medalist but also as Saint Lucia’s most celebrated young athlete. On February 14th, 2026 Emmanuel was crowned as the Junior Sportswoman of the Year at the 44th National Sports Awards. It was awarded as a recognition of her brilliance on the track and her growing influence.

The reason for her injury happened to be the race, in which she participated on March 10, 2026. One day before, i.e. on March 9, 2026, Jady clocked the fastest time in the Under-18 Girls 100m Heat 1-12.61 seconds. The next day an unexpected tragedy happened in the latter half.

On March 10, 2026, Jady started with the same enthusiasm. She recorded the fastest time in the 200m Under-18 Girls Heat 2-26.81 seconds.

However, later that Tuesday, March 10, at the Island Champs qualifiers at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, something unexpected happened. Jady was running the final leg of the Girls U18 4x100m relay for Choiseul Secondary. There she received the baton in fifth place. It is when she was just 20 meters from the finish line that she experienced a sharp pain in her right hamstring. That pain forced her to stumble.

This injury was confirmed by Jady’s coach, Denise Herman. He said that Jady suffered a tear in her right hamstring. As per the doctor, it will take around 4 to 28 days to recover her back to normal.

The injury was made worse with its time of arrival. The CARIFTA trials, 2026 is organized by the Saint Lucia Athletics Association. It is set for Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 15 at the Soufrière Mini Stadium. Just days later, the Island Champs 100m and 200m semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, with the finals on Sunday, March 22.

However, due to Jady’s injury, her participation seems uncertain as of now. The Ministry of Education, Youth Development, Sports, and Digital Transformation wished Jady a speedy recovery as she focuses on healing.