Barbados won three more medals on the opening day of the 2026 CARIFTA Games yesterday evening at the Kirani James Athletics Stadium.
Team co-captain Ashlyn Simmons delivered gold and Kadia Rock silver, both in their final appearance at these Games and the 4×400 metres mixed relay team was upgraded to a late bronze.
In the morning session, Shania Mottley opened the account with a bronze medal in the Under-17 girls’ high jump, clearing 1.69 metres.
Simmons captured gold in the Under-20 Girls’ 1 500 metres with a strong run from the front.
Jamaica’s Kevongaye Fowler applied late pressure, finishing close behind the Alexandra School athlete but was unable to deny Simmons a second CARIFTA gold medal. Her winning time of 4:36.94 marked a new personal best, significantly improving on the 4:55.10 she recorded at the recent Dasani Barbados Secondary School Athletics Championships (BSSAC).
“It’s a good feeling (to win gold). My coach just told me, ‘Ashlyn, you can do it. Go for gold.’ And I did that. It feels very special because I won gold in my last Under-17 1 500m, and I came back and won gold in my last 1 500 as an Under-20 athlete.
At the finish line, Simmons shared a touching moment with her mother, Lydia Simmons, who embraced her with visible pride.
Earlier in the evening session, Kadia Rock secured another silver medal in the Under-20 Girls’ 400 metres, demonstrating resilience amid a disrupted race that featured three restarts.
Reclaiming her place on the podium after earning silver in Trinidad last year, Rock clocked 53.21 seconds. However, this was not enough to surpass defending champion Tianna Springer of Guyana, who claimed gold in 52.47 seconds.
Defending champions Guyana won the mixed 4400 metres relay with a new CARIFTA record of 3:20.79s, erasing the old time of 3:23.51 set in 2024. Barbados’ time was 3:24.36, a new junior nation record, set by Nadal Seale, Kanedra Morgan, Zachary Wall and T’nia Lashley.
The old mark was 3:28.54, set at last year’s Games. (Nation News)
