Heroes’ Welcome

Despite a hugely disappointing performance at the just concluded 51st CARIFTA Games in Grenada, Barbados’ athletes were welcomed home like champions on Tuesday night.

Scores of parents, supporters and well-wishers, many carrying balloons, banners and flags, gathered outside the arrival hall of the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) to greet the national team on their return.

At exactly 10:01 p.m. the contingent, led by President of the Athletics Association of Barbados (AAB) Noel Lynch, exited the hall to rapturous applause.

It was a somewhat surprising scene, considering Barbados finished 13th in the standings with a medal tally of five – two silver and three bronze – one of their worst hauls in the history of the games.

It was also the first time since 1982 that Barbados did not win a gold medal.

However, the team’s head coach Ramon Armstrong said he was satisfied that the athletes were trending in the right direction.

“I think it was a very interesting experience. We had a lot of new members, a lot of young members and some first timers. You can see we had a lot of fourth place finishes and fifth place finishes so a lack of facilities really affected our performances.

“You can see that the talent is there based on their performances so from here we will just come back, rebuild, and next year we get better and improved performances,” Armstrong told members of the media at the GAIA.

The head coach said while Barbadians were accustomed to significant medal hauls at CARIFTA, the team’s performance should come as no surprise, considering the challenges they faced for almost the entire season.

“I would say this:If Barbadians followed track and field and they actually have a knowledge and understanding of track and field, they would not be disappointed,” Armstrong contended.

“These things don’t just happen overnight and if you’ve been following the sport and their performances, these children went out and they performed well, they had a lot of personal bests. What more can you ask?”

Armstrong said the unavailability of proper facilities on the island was negatively affecting the country’s athletes.

He said even though a track had been newly laid at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex last month, the University of the West Indies-owned facility was not accessible to national athletes and track and field clubs free of cost.

“We have a track but it’s not available to train so we’re not really much better. The university track is the university track, it’s not open to clubs to train freely,” Armstrong said.

Meanwhile, of the island’s bright sparks at the CARIFTA Games, Aragorn Straker, one of four athletes to win individual medals, said he was glad to see Barbadians supporting their athletes.

“It feels good to see everybody come out and support the athletes, not just me but the entire team,” he said.

Straker, who ran a personal best of 20.76 seconds to capture silver in the Under-20 boys’ 200 metres and qualify for the World Youth Championships in the process, said he felt good about his performance.

“It felt really good because I wanted to improve from last year and to PB [personal best] and to prove all of the critics from last year and from this year wrong for doubting me.

“Qualifying for the World Youth Championships is my main focus for the remainder of the season. I just want to keep healthy and improve my times and go there and perform my best,” he said.

randybennett@barbadostoday.bb