10/08/2026
CARIFIN GAMES 2026 — THE SEASON THAT WROTE ITS OWN LEGEND
A 35th Anniversary retrospective, for the CariFin community
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NINE SECONDS. THREE RACES. ONE TROPHY.
Thirty-five years of CariFin Games, and the Savannah had never given a start line like this one.
On one side: First Citizens' Anton Robinson, the man who had swept every single running event of the 2025 season. Unbeaten. Untouchable. The kind of champion a competition builds its next chapter around.
On the other: ANSA Financial's Curtis Cox, a four-time CariFin cross country champion, a Road Runner of the Year, a marathon man with a personal best of 2 hours and 21 minutes — stepping back onto a CariFin start line after 25 years away, in his first-ever Urban Challenge appearance. For a quarter of a century, by his own account, Cox had simply stepped back and let others take the prize. Not this year.
On April 15, at One Lap Savannah, ANSA Financial's Curtis Cox delivered the verdict himself before the gun even went off — talking a 15-minute race. He didn't quite get there, but he got somewhere better: a finish line, nine seconds clear of First Citizens' Robinson. 15:15 to 15:24. Nine seconds — the length of time it takes to read this sentence twice — and Robinson's unbeaten record was over.
First Citizens' Robinson didn't flinch. "The person who pushed me the hardest was actually my legend, Curtis Cox," he said afterward. "I grew up watching him run, and it was good to rival him today. That in itself was a victory."
That was not the language of a rattled competitor. It was the response of a champion ready for the next two races.
THE MILE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO SETTLE IT
A week later, the whole CariFin community had picked a side before the Green Mile even started. The old guard — the former champions, the ones who'd raced the Savannah for decades — were near-unanimous: Cox's win was a distance win, built on patience and a closing kick over the final 400 metres of a longer race. Over one mile, on grass, they said the advantage flipped to Robinson's raw speed.
Five-time CariFin champion Nikosi McLeish put it plainly: "Curtis Cox is undisputedly our road running athletic legend in CariFin. No question... But I don't think he can beat Anton in a shorter race."
ANSA Financial's Cox had his own answer when reporters reached him: "You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win... One mile is the test of speed and stamina — I will see who has both on Wednesday."
Robinson, for his part, stayed exactly who he'd always been: "I wish all participants the best. It's about fun, fitness and friendship — and we can look forward to a very exciting race."
The pundits were right. Robinson answered at the Green Mile, and the series was level, 1-1, heading into the final and deciding leg.
THE HILL DECIDES
Three weeks later, the series came down to Lady Chancellor Hill — 696 finishers, 295 runners and 401 walkers, eleven institutions, one trophy on the line. And First Citizens' Anton Robinson, competing through illness, went up that hill and settled it: 14 minutes 38 seconds, winning the series 2-1 over ANSA Financial's Curtis Cox.
"This race was a warrior's mindset," Robinson said afterward. "For my organisation it is the institutional spirit of resilience and the pursuit of excellence. For me personally it is conquering and having that mental fortitude to push through anything to succeed."
Central Bank's Jonathan Pierre and TTUTC's Mikael Joachim dead-heated for silver and bronze in 15:07 — a rider on Pierre's own remarkable arc, having climbed from 15th place at the Green Mile back in 2023 all the way to a Chancellor podium in 2026. His words after the race needed no embellishment: "Stay fit, stay happy, stay active." Cox crossed fourth in 15:33 — a season that started with him rewriting the record book, and ended with him still very much part of the conversation that mattered.
Two champions. Two philosophies. One series, decided the hard way — over three races, four weeks, and every inch of Queen's Park Savannah and Lady Chancellor Hill that Trinidad's financial sector could throw at them.
THE QUEEN OF THE SEASON
While the men's race captured the headlines, one story ran quietly through all three legs without a single blemish: Nafika Punter of Sagicor Life didn't just win the 2026 Urban Challenge female running title. She never lost it.
At One Lap Savannah, she opened the season with a statement — 18:28, one minute and forty-four seconds clear of the field, with Republic Bank's Dana Parris breaking through for second in her CariFin debut. Punter's training tells you why: long runs of 10 kilometres and more, interval sessions over 400 and 800 metres, tempo runs under five minutes per kilometre. Not an accidental champion. An athlete who arrived prepared.
She closed the season the same way she opened it — first at the Chancellor Challenge in 19:22, completing an unbeaten sweep of all three events of the 2026 Urban Challenge season. Guardian Group's Khama Mohammed-Sooknanan and Scotiabank's Alissa Ali chased her across every leg and never got there.
Punter's own words say more about her season than any result sheet could: "Every race is a reflection of the work you put in when no one's watching. Running is as much mental as it is physical — once your mind stays strong, your body will follow."
A RETURN AND A FIRST-TIME ARRIVAL
ANSA Financial returned to CariFin Games in 2026 after several years away—and immediately made its presence felt. Curtis Cox, a four-time CariFin cross-country champion and one of the Games’ most accomplished runners, reshaped the men’s season from the opening race.
EXIM Bank, meanwhile, became the only institution making its CariFin Games debut in 2026. Ruthvin Walker produced an impressive first season in the walking category, earning second place overall and the Best First Timer Male award.
Several other institutions also returned to the CariFin family in 2026, having participated in the Games in previous years—a strong sign of the renewed interest, reach and momentum surrounding CariFin’s 35th anniversary.
THE HOMECOMING
All three Urban Challenge legs, the Aerobics Burnout, and everything this season built toward converged on Thursday, 30 July, at the Central Bank Auditorium — CariFin Games' 35th Anniversary Prize Distribution.
Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago closed the loop on a season that started with them chasing history: the Championship Team title, their first since 2019, decided by one of the narrowest margins in CariFin Games history over Sagicor Life. First Citizens completed the final team standings in third, and picked up the season's "Are You Fan Enough?" trophy for the camaraderie and turnout that carried them through all five 2026 events.
Governor Larry Howai, continuing a tradition of Central Bank support for these Games stretching back to their 1991 founding, opened the evening and presented the inaugural Leading by Example CEO Class Award to Jason Julien of First Citizens and Nigel Edwards of TTUTC — recognizing institutions that have shown up for this community year after year. His words framed the whole night: "The true legacy of this 35th anniversary lies in the friendships formed, the new institutions joining the fold and the renewed commitment to wellness that will continue long after the final times and distances fade from memory."
The evening also carried forward CariFin's charitable partnership with The Voice of Lupus Foundation, this year's chosen charity, with a cheque presentation accepted by Jennifer Charles on the Foundation's behalf.
THE SEASON, IN FULL
One Lap Savannah opened it. The Green Mile leveled it. Lady Chancellor Hill decided it. Nafika Punter never lost a step. Two debutant institutions — ANSA and EXIM — walked away with trophies in their very first season. And thirty-five years after CariFin Games began, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago stood on the Prize Distribution stage as Champions once again.
Fun, Fitness and Friendship isn't a slogan. It's what three races, one rivalry, one unbeaten champion, and eleven institutions built together across four months in 2026.
— CariFin Games
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