Sixteen medals, inclusive of three golds, and a wave of personal bests, have convinced Barbados’ head coach Jamal Grosvenor that the island’s next generation of athletes is on the right track after an outstanding showing at the 2026 NACAC Championships.
Speaking to the media yesterday afternoon upon arrival at the Grantley Adams International Airport, Grosvenor said he was delighted not only with the medal tally, which also comprised six silver and seven bronze medals, but also with the overall performance of the Barbadian contingent.
“We are definitely happy (with how the competition went). The focus was really on keeping prepared, staying sharp and executing to the best of our ability, and that really came through from the first day. We set the tone from the first day, carried that momentum to the second, and we finished strongly,” he said.
Grosvenor stressed that the team’s success should not be measured solely by medals, noting that several athletes achieved personal bests and reached finals despite missing out on the podium.
“A lot of people always focus on the medals. If a personal best doesn’t bring a medal, it’s still something we should celebrate. Making a final with a personal best is still an achievement,” he said.
“They are very spectacular young people. Sport aside, as people they were a fantastic group, very cohesive. They enjoyed each other’s company, and it was a great experience for them.”
The coach also highlighted the importance of the relay programme, describing it as a key part of the Athletics Association of Barbados’ long-term vision.
Barbados collected four medals from the relays with the Under-23 Girls’ 4×100 metre relay team running 44.60 seconds to secure silver. There were bronzes from the Under-23 Boys’ 4x400m and 4x100m relay teams with times of 3:06.73 minutes and 39.59 seconds, respectively, while the Under-23 mixed 4x100m relay clocked 42.93 seconds to take third place.
“The relays are a very big aspect of the vision of the athletics association, especially for president Noel Lynch. We would like to keep relays as a focal point because they really show the development of the sport and the athletes, while allowing them to experience different levels of competition,” Grosvenor explained.
While satisfied with the overall performance, the coach admitted there was some disappointment after the Under-18 Boys’ 4x100m relay team failed to deliver the result they had hoped for.
“We really wanted more medals, to be honest. In the Under-18 men’s 4x100m, we were expecting to even get a national junior record. Unfortunately, there were some mishaps. That’s just the nature of the sport. Accidents and mistakes do happen,” he said.
“As I told them afterwards, we take the success as a team, we take the blame as a team and we support each other through it. They even came back the next day wanting to go again.”
Among Barbados’ standout performers was Layla Haynes, who captured gold in the Under-23 women’s 800m in two minutes, 7.86 seconds. Haynes said she was thrilled to win for Barbados after executing a race plan tailored to the challenging high-altitude conditions.
“I’m just so happy to be able to represent Barbados at this level and come home with some hardware. That’s always the goal,” she said.
“For me, it was all about strategy. At altitude, fast times were out of the question, so the focus was on placing. I let the others set the pace and concentrated on executing what my coaches told me.”
Leading the field events was 17-year-old shot put sensation Jayden Walcott, who continued his outstanding season by winning Under-18 gold with a championship record effort of 21.82 metres.
The mark eclipsed the previous championship record of 20.96m set by Jamaica’s Ralford Mullings in 2002 and added to the CARIFTA Games gold medal Walcott secured in Grenada earlier this year.
“I had a really good competition,” Walcott said about his progress after improving on his previous performances.
“It’s a huge honour to be a world leader, especially coming from this region where the throws are not that high. I’m just happy with the work my coaches and I have been doing. My goal now is to go to the Under-20 World Championships in August and win in Eugene, Oregon, and set a new personal record.”
Sprint star Jayden Green also struck gold, claiming the Under-20 men’s 200m title in 20.17 seconds. Green said he felt comfortable in the
lead-up despite the conditions as he lowered his national junior record to 20.42 seconds.
“I was relieved because I’ve been wanting to run this time since the start of the season,” Green said.
“Even though it was a little windy, I was grateful my body could get to that point. Once I am healthy, I know I can hit these times.”