Evelyn sets record, qualifies for Olympics

Ace Barbadian sprinter Tristan Evelyn has made the cut to compete at this year’s rescheduled Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Evelyn, an outstanding sprinter at the domestic and regional level, stopped the clock at 11.14 seconds in the 100 metres on Sunday while competing for the University of Houston at the American Athletics Conference Championship. The former Springer Memorial student beat the previous record of 11.26 seconds which was set by Shakera Reece in 2011. Reece was a stand-out athlete at Coleridge & Parry before going on to represent Queen’s College from 2004 to 2006.

With locally based athletes constrained by the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and concerns since last year, Evelyn’s new national record made her the first Barbadian this year to reach a qualifying time in any track event. The qualifying mark for the 100 metres is 11.15 seconds.

Sprinters Mario Burke, Sada Williams, Shane Brathwaite and Tia-Adana Belle in the hurdles and quartermiler Jonathan Jones are also expected to feature in Japan having previously reached qualifying standards in their respective events.