Young Barbadian wrestlers making major strides

By Morissa Lindsay

Some of Barbados’ outstanding wrestlers got a chance to compete and showcase their skills this past weekend as the Barbados Wrestling Association held its Nationals in Grappling Trials and Open event at St. Leonard’s Boys School.

The best wrestlers representing three Barbadian-based clubs Panda Dojo Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Fight Hub, and Barbados Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came up against rivals from a Swedish club called Stockholm as they all featured this past Saturday in different categories.

Fight Hub competitor Odain Jackman won the 90kg as well as the open division against a tough field of opponents. In the 90kg, Jackman overpowered Robert Williams and claimed the first position. Meanwhile in the open division, Thomas Regent of Fight Hub was second and Patrick Rucker of Switzerland who represented Stockholm was third.

The Swedish representative Patrick Rucker once again fought hard but missed out on another medal, this time in the 90kg plus won by Andre Stoute.

It was a fantastic showing in the 80kg by Barbadian Shane Griffith of Barbados Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club who executed well and emerged victorious against Thomas Regent and Jason Greene who were second and third respectively. Greene did not walk away empty-handed as he executed well and defied the odds to claim the top podium finish in the 70kg division.

This is the first event hosted by the Barbados Wrestling Association (BWA) and signals its return to competition after two and a half years of no competitive action on the mat.

BWA president Rollins Alleyne described the event as the association’s Return to Play initiative and said he was quite pleased with the performance of the local athletes.

Alleyne also shared that the association will be hosting a competition between Barbados and Martinique sometime this year. This, he noted, will be geared towards having Barbadian representatives at the 2022 World Championships in Spain scheduled for later in the year.

As President, Alleyne thanked the Barbados Olympic Association for their continued financial support that goes towards the development and growth of the sport.

The performances from young Barbadian wrestlers this year have been nothing short of spectacular. In April the national team of Rebecca Williams, Monica Maria Payne-Espinosa and Kodi Marshall won individual silver medals at the 2022 Spartan Wrestling National tournament in Jacksonville, United States of America. What made it even more special was that the trio coached by Yaima Payne competed against powerhouses such as Puerto Rico and Jamaica as well as competition from cities such as Jacksonville, Orlando and St. Augustine in Florida. This is all part of their preparation for the Under-15 Pan American Championship to be held this November in Mexico.

In late June 16-year-old Alleyne School student Adrian Maynard won bronze at the Under-17 Pan American Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. That
performance has earned the gifted Barbadian wrestler the opportunity to compete at the Under-17 World Wrestling Championship in Italy.

morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb