Armstrong strikes gold as Barbadian medal tally moves up to nine in Grenada

By Kurtis Hinds

Barbados produced its strongest showing yet on the penultimate evening of CARIFTA athletics at the Kirani James Stadium in Grenada.

Kamaal Armstrong’s gold medal in the Under-17 Boys’ Shot Put was the highlight, as the Bajan team added five more medals in the session, to move its overall tally to nine.

Armstrong overcame steady rain and swirling winds to secure victory with a best mark of 15.96m, finishing ahead of Grenada’s Kazim Telesford (15.67m) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Jaafari Shaw (15.19m).

Moments later, first-time Under-17 Girls’ competitor Laila McIntyre secured a hard-fought silver medal in the Open Girls’ 3000m, following her fourth-place finish in Saturday’s 1500m final.

The fiercely competitive McIntyre, who has also represented Barbados in swimming and triathlon at the CARIFTA level, led the field for much of the race before being overtaken on the final lap by Trinidad and Tobago’s Aniqah Bailey. Bailey claimed gold in 10:14.10, with McIntyre crossing the line second in 10:15.61.

The medal magic continued for Barbados in the very next race, the Under-17 Boys’ 3000m, where Zindzele Renwick-Williams, another competitor who has represented Barbados in multiple disciplines, dug deep in the last two laps to hang on for a bronze medal in a time of 9:26.95.

The large, vocal contingent of Barbadian supporters on hand was eager for more hardware, and it was duly delivered in the relays, where Barbados will field a team in every race at the games.

First up was the Under-17 Boys’ 4x100m quartet of Tyrell Clarke, Josiah Gill, Asher Brandford and Jalino Hamlett, who raced to bronze in 42.25 seconds. Fresh from booking a spot in Monday’s 200m final earlier in the day during the opening session, Hamlett anchored the team victory with a strong final leg, much to the delight of his teammates and the dozens of Barbadians in the stands. Speaking in the mixed zone, the promising young competitor said he was elated to have held off the chasing pack of older, much more experienced runners.

The night’s final medal for team Barbados came in the Under-20 Girls’ 4x100m relay, where Alika Harewood’s desperate dip at the line and subsequent fall resulted in pain, then relief and joy when she realised the bronze medal had been secured. Barbados crossed the line in 45.40 seconds, just ahead of the Bahamas (45.44).

Barbados has so far secured two gold, two silver and five bronze medals heading into the final day of the games, having won a total of 14 medals during last year’s games in Trinidad.

(KH)