Jamaican record holder Kenia Sinclair extended her performances from last season and was not left in the shadows of her so-called 'more dominant competitors' as one writer would put it. Both athletes progressed well through windy times and series of battles to send a strong message that the region was not made up of only sprinters.

Calatayud near her best again

The Cuban world champion won 11 of the 15 races she contested in the 2006 campaign, including victory at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart and the IAAF World Cup in Athens.
 
Calatayud finished the season with a year's best time of 1:56.91, her second fastest-ever clocking, when finishing third in an exciting finish behind Kenyan Janeth Jepkosgei (1:56.66), and Mozambique's world renowned distance runner Maria  (1:56.77), in Lausanne, Switzerland.

She also had five other times under the two-minute barrier and finished as the third fastest female two-lap runner in this term. The 27-year-old completed the season as the world no. 3 ranked 800m runner, as well as 35th in the overall women's overall world rankings.

At the regional level, Calatayud showed she was a cut above her competitors at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games when easing to a moderate 2:05.26 stroll for the title.

Sinclair keeps getting better

Another athlete who enjoyed a fruitful season was Jamaican Kenia Sinclair, who won silver medals at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Moscow, Russia, and at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. Both meetings were held in month of March.

Sinclair clocked 1:59.54 to finish behind Mutola in Moscow and though she came home ahead of the Mozambique and world legend, she was unable to upstage Kenya's Jepkosgei at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia, despite another gallant run.

However, she ran consistently throughout the season to finish the year as the world no. 6 ranked two-lapper with a career best time of 1:57.88. Sinclair had 11-sub two-minute timings, six of which were under 1:59:00.

The Jamaican record holder posted a time of 4:08.89 to be the fastest 1500m female runner in 2006 and at one point in time was targeting this event at the IAAF World Cup in Athletics. She, however, decided against it and concentrated on running her specialty.

It is beyond question, Calatayud and Sinclair were the Caribbean's most productive athletes in distance running on the world circuit, but there were others who also represented the region well.

Neisha Bernard-Thomas of Grenada (2:00.13), Guyana's Marian Burnett (2:01.94) and Jamaica's Michelle Ballentine (2:03.94) all had their time on the circuit recognised this year.
 
The hardship continues

It was another struggling year for the men in these disciplines, but 19-year-old Cuban junior Andy González (1:46.26), Jamaica's Shaun Smith (1:46.36) and Sherridan Kirk of Trinidad (1:46.40) featured in the list of notable performers this campaign.

González, who defeated his more senior counterparts, including seasoned runner Kirk, at the CAC Games, also ran 3:42.6 for 1500m.