Haynes basking in glory of CYG bronze

By Rawle Toney

Teon Haynes is so far enjoying a successful 2023.

However, his most notable achievement came on Tuesday when he clinched a bronze medal in the long jump at the ongoing Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago.

From his initial jump, Haynes maintained a top-three position, but his most remarkable leap came during the third round, when he achieved a distance of 7.32 metres.

Cayman Islands’ Andrew Stone took gold with a record breaking leap of 7.70 metres, while South Africa’s Tomeso Masikane claimed the silver medal with a leap of 7.51 metres.

Haynes’ effort marked a significant improvement over his previous career-best jump of 7.16 metres, which he set last month at the NACAC Under-18 Championships in San José, Costa Rica.

Reflecting on his achievement, Haynes expressed his excitement, stating, “I feel really great winning the medal for Barbados. I still feel overwhelmed,” in an interview shared by the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA).

Barbados’ Teon Haynes takes flight in the men’s long jump at the Commonwealth Youth Games. (Getty Images)

Haynes joins the ranks of hurdlers Kierre Beckles (100m gold) and Rivaldo Leacock (400m gold), as the only track and field athletes from Barbados to medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games, which debuted in 2000.

PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES

The Commonwealth Youth Games was arguably one of Haynes’ toughest assignments this year.

He started February this year with a 6.74m jump which was good enough for gold at the Louis Lynch Championships.

In March, a 6.33m jump placed him second at the Barbados Under-20 Championships. However, he demonstrated progress by winning the Barbados National Championships in July with a leap of 6.99m, setting a new career-best at the time.

Haynes was later selected as one of Barbados’ representatives at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Under-18 Championships in San José, Costa Rica.

Although he managed an impressive 7.16m jump at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, Haynes finished fifth in a competitive field.

Following his return to the Island, Haynes refined his technique based on his training and experiences, which he credited for his improvement at the Commonwealth Youth Games.

During the Games, Haynes competed against athletes from South Africa, Mozambique, Cyprus, the Isle of Man, Singapore, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Cayman Islands and Trinidad and Tobago.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to compete against these big countries, but as an athlete, I think it will help me in my further years, given the exposure that it did today,” Haynes said.

The Hasley Crawford was refurbished ahead of the Commonwealth Youth Games, which provided a faster track; something Haynes said he was not accustomed to this season.

“The track is much faster and I had to adapt to that, but that also speaks to the way how I’ve grown through the season and make subtle changes and adapt to certain conditions which will also affect my performance,” the budding Bajan jumper said.

Looking ahead, Haynes said he was gunning for Charles Greaves’ 2018 national record of 7.88m, to further enhance his growing collection of achievements in the sport.

rawletoney@barbadostoday.bb