The opening day of the 2025 CARIFTA Games in Grenada delivered dramatic, medal-winning moments for Caribbean athletic nations, with Team Barbados emerging as one of the standout performers thanks to a thrilling gold medal performance and a last-minute relay bronze upgrade that capped off an unforgettable first day of competition.
Competing in the Under-20 Girls’ 1500m, 19-year-old Ashlyn Simmons pulled off a race for the history books, unleashing a blistering breakaway 600 meters out from the finish line that left the entire chasing pack trailing in her wake. At one point, the Bajan runner had built an insurmountable 30-meter lead over her rivals, a gap that Jamaica’s Kevon Gaye Fowler only managed to narrow drastically in the final 50 meters of the race. Simmons held her form down the home stretch to cross the line first in a time of 4:36.94, beating Fowler’s 4:37.39 to secure the top spot on the podium. The victory sent dozens of cheering, flag-waving Barbadian supporters packed into Kirani James Stadium to their feet, and Simmons was greeted at the finish line by her emotional mother Lydia, who tossed her a national Barbados flag before embracing her young champion. Simmons will return to the track later in the competition to chase a second medal in the Under-20 Girls’ 800m.
Simmons’ gold was not the only early podium finish for Barbados’ Under-20 women’s squad. Earlier in the day, Kadia Rock claimed a solid silver medal in the Under-20 Girls’ 400m, clocking 53.21 seconds to finish behind Guyana’s Tianna Springer, who took gold with a time of 52.47 seconds. In the opening morning session, Bajan athlete Shania Mottley got her nation’s medal count off to a strong start by taking home bronze in the Under-17 Girls’ High Jump with a personal best leap of 1.69m. The event title went to Destinee Cenac of Saint Lucia, who cleared 1.72m to claim gold.
Saint Lucia also put together a solid opening day of competition across track and field events. Naya Jules claimed silver in the Girls’ Open Pole Vault with a clearance of 2.95m, marking the third consecutive CARIFTA medal for Jules in the discipline, following her 2024 gold and 2025 silver finishes. In the Under-20 Boys’ Discus Throw, Denzel Phillips of Saint Lucia secured bronze with a best throw of 53.24m, bringing Saint Lucia’s opening day total to one gold, one silver, and one bronze.
Several other Barbadian athletes delivered strong performances just outside of medal contention on opening day. In the evening session, Savannah Thorne placed sixth in the Under-17 Girls’ 400m final with a time of 57.86, while Taje Coward matched that placement in the boys’ equivalent race, finishing in 50.16 seconds. Jayden Walcott threw a best of 46.91m to take seventh in the Under-20 Boys’ Discus Throw, and Shamari Greenidge-Lewis clocked 46.93 seconds to also finish seventh in the Under-20 Boys’ 400m final.
First-time CARIFTA competitor Laila McIntyre put on a impressive display of grit in the Under-17 Girls’ 1500m, fighting back to rejoin the leading pack after a blistering opening lap threatened to drop her out of contention early. She crossed the line just outside the podium in fourth place with a time of 4:48.42. In the Under-15 Boys’ 1500m, Zindzele Renwick-Williams clocked 4:17.93 to finish fifth, while his teammate Alec Simmons took eighth in 4:24.55. Luke McIntyre followed up with a seventh-place finish in the Under-20 Boys’ 1500m in 4:07.83, and Josiah Gill placed eighth in the Under-17 Boys’ 100m with a time of 11.04. Aniya Nurse ran a new personal best of 11.47 seconds in the Under-20 Girls’ 100m, finishing just 0.02 seconds off the bronze medal position in fourth place.
The most dramatic twist of the day came after the final event of the evening session, the Mixed 4x400m Relay Open. Barbados’ four-person relay squad crossed the line in fourth place with a time of 3:24.36, which had already broken the country’s junior national record. Officials later announced a post-race disqualification for the Bahamian team, which had originally finished third, moving Barbados up to the bronze medal position. The upgrade pushed Barbados’ total opening day medal count to one gold, one silver, and two bronze, setting the team up for a strong push heading into the second day of CARIFTA Games competition.