Barbados have ended the 52nd edition of the CARIFTA Games with 14 medals after three hard-fought days at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, Trinidad and Tobago.
The medal count—which includes one gold medal, six silver medals, and seven bronze medals—exceeds the five won last year at the Kirani James Stadium in Grenada.
Their lone gold medal was won by Barbados’ fastest schoolboy, Jayden Green, who clocked 20.93 seconds in the Under-20 Boys’ 200 metres event to beat Jamaicans Tyreece Foreman (20.95) and Junior Galimore (21.01) to the top of the podium.
“It feels great to accomplish this. I knew I could’ve done it. For the whole season, I was dreaming of this moment, and to finally make it a reality, I feel very good,” the Christ Church Foundation School student said post-race, after hugging his mother Nicole, dad Samuel Green, and aunt Romalda Doughlin, who were among the scores of Bajans cheering in the stands.
Head Coach Bryan Holder was proud of his 53-member squad for their performances across the three days of competition. Speaking shortly after the competition’s conclusion, he said, “This assessment is straight from the heart. I didn’t have the chance to analyse everything in detail, but I believe the team did extremely well.”
He highlighted the Under-20 girls’ relay teams for particular praise.
“From the outset, we were focused on one goal, and the Under-20 girls delivered. Their performances in the relays stood out for me in terms of what we hoped to achieve. Under the circumstances, the athletes gave it their all, and we should be proud of what they accomplished,” he remarked.
Holder also took the opportunity to give special praise to Green, who won Barbados’ first CARIFTA Games track and field gold medal and was also a member of the Under-20 4x400m relay team.
“That was a phenomenal showing. He picked up the baton in the 4×4 and brought us right back into contention. Yesterday, in the 4×1, he flew down the backstretch. It was an outstanding performance from a junior athlete.”
He also hinted that he would not be a part of the management team next year.
“I wish the future management of this team every success. Some of the younger ones were clearly nervous—especially in the 70m relays, which didn’t go as planned due to inexperience. But that’s why we brought them here: to gain experience. Next year, we’ll be aiming for even better results. I’m really happy with this team. I’m trying not to get too emotional, but last year, we had five strong performances overall. This year, we had five in just two days—and arguably of better quality.”
(JC)
