Justin Donawa put an end to Bermuda's nearly decade long Carifta Games gold medal drought with a personal best leap in the Under-17 Boys triple jump final at the National Sports Centre (NSC) last night.The son of veteran distance runner Jay Donawa soared to 14.63 metres on his first attempt which ultimately proved beyond the reach of his nearest rivals.Donawa's gold medal winning display surpassed the previous best of 14.58 metres achieved by Stephen Woodley in 1991 and he is now only the fourth Bermudian to win the Under- 17 Boys triple jump at the Carifta Games.The Berkshire School student, who took victory all in stride, said it was a goal of his all along to earn the Island's its first Carifta gold medal since 2004.“I was hoping to win from the start and it felt good,” a relaxed Donawa told The Royal Gazette. “I put a lot of hard work in training overseas and in the end it all paid off- it all went very well for me.”After leading from the start, Donawa, 15, had to sweat it out as the chasing pack threatened to crash the party.“In the last two or three jumps it was a guy (Gibson Given) from Jamaica who was getting pretty close to my mark,” said Donawa, who won the bronze medal at last year's Carifta Games in Jamaica. “I was hoping that my mark would stay there, which it did, and I'm very thankful because the competition was very tough.”Bermuda coach Brian Wellman, who is a past World Indoor Champion triple jumper, described Donawa's gold medal performance as “unreal”.“I was sitting there and looked back at the crowd and kind of soaked it up . . . it was unreal man,” Wellman said. “That was our mission to come out and do this, but you never know the true emotions of the whole moment when it happens until it totally manifests itself. It was just awesome for him to step up and execute like that in front of his home crowd.”Wellman believes the sky is the limit for the promising Donawa.“This kid has a huge future, he's going to erase me from the book,” Wellman said. “Justin is a very studious person and a student of the of the sport.“He's a good kid and people like that deserve all the accolades and all of the praise and anything else that's coming his way.”Present at the NSC to witness his son leap into the history books was Donawa's nervous but proud father, Jay.“I woke up with butterflies this morning because you always want the best for your children,” he said. “I really couldn't help him much because I don't know much about triple jump.“But he just went out there and jumped and now he is a gold medallist and I am so happy for him. This is all about his career and I am just touched man.”Donawa's gold medal display surpassed the father's silver medal (Under-20 boys 5000 metres) performance at the 1989 Carifta Games in Barbados.“Justin is definitely king of the house now,” smiled the teenaged athlete's proud father. “I am really happy for Justin because he's worked really hard for this and really deserves it.”Donawa's uncle, Michael, also won a gold medal in the Under-17 Boys 1500 metres at the 1983 Carifta Games.Van Assen Miguel (14.57m) and Givens (14.56) rounded off the podium finishers in the event* For more pictures of the second day coverage clickhere