| 23rd Central American and Caribbean Championships | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dates | 15–17 July |
| Host city | Mayagüez  ,Puerto Rico  |
| Venue | Estadio Centroamericano de Mayagüez |
| Level | Senior |
| Events | 46 |
| Participation | 449 athletes from 35 nations |
The 2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.[1] The event served as classifiers for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and took place from July 15–17, 2011.[2] It was the fourth time Puerto Rico hosted the event; the first time in Ponce in 1975, and later in San Juan in 1989 and 1997.[2]
The Jamaican delegation topped the medals table with 26 medals (ten of them gold). Mexico was the next most successful nation with ten golds and a total haul of twenty medals, while Trinidad and Tobago took third with five golds and fifteen medals. Cuba, which had dominated the previous three editions, sent a small, weakened delegation and finished fifth (although seven of its nine athletes won medals). The host nation, Puerto Rico, achieved a total of 14 medals, 3 of which were gold. This was a huge improvement for Puerto Rico since the last edition in 2009, winning 1 more gold medal and 8 more total medals than the previous championships.[3][4][5]
Two Championship records were set at the competition: Bianca Stuart equalled the women's long jump best of 6.81 metres and Mexican Juan Romero improved the 10,000 metres record by 26 seconds. Further to this, twelve national records were bettered during the competition. Jamaica's Korene Hinds was the only athlete to medal twice in individual events, taking the steeplechase title and a silver medal in the women's 1500 metres.
Among the competition highlights were the men's 400 metres hurdles (featuring Leford Green, Félix Sánchez and Jehue Gordon) and a duel between Renny Quow and Ramon Miller in the 400 metres. Vonette Dixon won a quick women's 100 metres hurdles where Brigitte Merlano and Lina Flórez became the first Colombians under thirteen seconds for the event. Levern Spencer secured her fourth consecutive high jump title. Cuban throwers Guillermo Martínez and Roberto Janet were the only other athletes who defended their titles from the 2009 edition.
