The CARIFTA Athletic Championships, hosted at Grenada’s iconic Kirani James Stadium, entered its second day of competition Sunday morning, and the Barbados national team exited the first session of the day with a string of standout performances and key qualifications to highlight. Leading the charge was defending 200m champion Jayden Green, a U.S.-based sprinter who dominated his Under-20 Boys 200m preliminary heat with a blistering time of 20.49 seconds to secure a spot in Monday’s highly anticipated final.
Speaking to reporters in the event’s mixed zone after his win, Green shared that his 2024 track season has been marked by consistent progress, and he enters the final round in peak physical form. He extended public gratitude to the large contingent of Barbadian fans who have turned out to cheer on the national team throughout the championships, noting their support has been a major boost to all competing athletes. While Green’s advancement was a clear highlight for Barbados, teammate Jahkye Brewster finished third in his second semifinal with a time of 21.13 seconds and fell just short of qualifying for the final.
The day’s successes extended beyond the men’s competition, with rising sprinter Aniya Nurse turning out another career-best performance fresh off a fourth-place finish in the Under-20 Girls 100m final held Saturday night. Nurse clocked 23.36 seconds to win her 200m semifinal, punching her ticket to Monday’s final round. Another feel-good story of the session came from Jalino Hamlett, the young Under-17 sprinter who saw his 400m semifinal end in disqualification Saturday morning after an early false start. Despite the disappointing early exit, Hamlett has received overwhelming support from fans both in the Grenada stands and across social media, and he turned that encouragement into a second-place finish in his 200m semifinal with a time of 21.46 seconds, qualifying for the final and leaving the young athlete visibly elated.
In early field event finals, Barbados’ Aaron Massiah recorded a best leap of 7.12 meters to claim fourth place in the Under-20 Boys Long Jump, while teammate Jazzair Best finished 11th overall with a top jump of 6.79 meters. In the Under-17 Girls Discus, Jahzaria Ward posted a best throw of 27.89 meters to earn a ninth-place finish. On the hurdles track, Tarrell Johnson-Rouse suffered a mid-race fall in the second semifinal of the Under-20 Boys 400m hurdles and was unable to finish, missing out on a spot in the final. However, Rashad Gibson of Barbados secured third place in the first semifinal to advance to the next round. Leemiah London and T’nia Lashley both delivered solid performances to qualify for the Under-20 Girls 400m hurdles final, clocking 1:03.69 and 1:02.41 respectively. In the Under-17 Girls 200m, Taylor-Rai Wiggins ran 25.48 seconds in her semifinal but did not advance.
Following the conclusion of the morning session, no changes were made to the overall athletics championship medal table: Barbados entered day two with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals earned on opening day, while Saint Lucia held one gold, one silver and one bronze. Parallel to the track and field competition in Grenada, the CARIFTA Swimming Championships kicked off its opening day in Martinique, where Barbados delivered a dominant performance, taking home seven gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Saint Lucia also put up a strong showing in the pool, earning a total of five medals including three gold.
In a post-session media briefing with reporters, CARIFTA Games officials confirmed that a host venue for the 2027 edition of the regional championships has not yet been finalized. At least three candidate regions have already formally expressed interest in hosting the event, with the selection process still ongoing.