UPDATE ON JAMAICAN ATHLETE WHO DIED IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Cavahn 'Jaguar' McKenzie's spirit lives on — Hawthorne......

Promising St Jago High athlete Cavahn ‘Jaguar’ McKenzie (far left)
 in action in the 6K event in which he collapsed and died
on Saturday, sending a shock wave of grief through the local
 track and field fraternity. McKenzie was competing at the
 three-day NACAC Cross Country Championships in Trinidad
 and Tobago on Saturday as part of a Jamaican team. Left: On
 site medical officials attend to McKenzie after he fell to
 the ground at the end of the fateful race.
 (PHOTOS: PAUL VOISON/ TRINIDAD EXPRESS)

BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com

Monday, February 24, 2014    

THE young and promising St Jago High student Cavahn 'Jaguar' McKenzie who collapsed and died while representing his country, was said to be a young man with a big heart.

McKenzie, 17, was part of the 10-member Jamaican team to the three-day NACAC Cross Country Championships that started on Thursday in Trinidad and Tobago.

McKenzie is said to have collapsed at the end of the 6K event and died shortly after at the Scarborough General hospital.

Donald 'Danny' Hawthorne, the long-serving head coach of St Jago's track team, told the Jamaica Observer that McKenzie, popularly known as 'Jaquar' by his teammates, was a fighter to the end.

"He is a very quiet, sometimes unassuming and a fun person. One of those persons who was resolved in doing good in whatever he does. He never quits," said Hawthorne.

"I remember last year at Trials (Carifta), he was doing the 3,000 and he was injured. I left the stands and went down there and called to him twice to stop and he continued. The third time, I went to the official and begged him to take him off the track and he kept on going and finished the race and completed the 3,000m with a sprint," noted Hawthorne. more