It didn’t take long for Laila McIntyre or Ashlyn Simmons to stamp their authority on this year’s Barbados Secondary Schools Athletic Championships (BSSAC).
Competing on the opening day of the Frank Blackman and Sada Williams Zone, both CARIFTA Games-bound athletes produced impressive performances to set new records in their respective events.
McIntyre got out to an early lead in the Under-17 girls’ 1500m, setting a blistering pace that none of the other competitors could keep up with. When she crossed the line, the clock showed a new BSSAC record of 4:45.15.
It broke a 32-year-old record set by Janelle Inniss of Parkinson Memorial who ran 4:45.68 back in 1994. Inniss went on to win CARIFTA gold in both the 800m and 1500m that year.
Speaking to Barbados TODAY after her record-breaking run, a beaming McIntyre expressed her delight.
“It feels very good because going into the race my personal best was about 15 seconds slower,” she said.
McIntyre, a first-year Under-17 athlete, said she was especially proud of her achievement as she had planned to target the record in her second and final year in the division.
She said the accomplishment would serve as a confidence booster heading into her pet event, the 3000m.
This year, Mcintyre who is also a medalist at CARIFTA triathlon & swimming, will represent Barbados for the first time at the CARIFTA Games in the 1500m and 3000m, alongside her brother Luke Mcintyre.
Another star in the distance events and no stranger to records, Alexandra’s Simmonds set tongues wagging in the Under-20 girls’ 1500m, setting a new BSSAC record of 4:40.66 to erase Sonia Gaskin’s old time of 4:46.73 which she ran in 2012 as a student of Parkinson Memorial.
Ashlyn Simmons (NGM)
Simmons, who is in her final year in the division, admitted she wanted to go out with a bang.
“I told myself going into the race, run as hard as I can each lap, increase my pace on the last lap and come home as hard as possible.
“It’s a normal feeling [breaking records] but knowing it is my last year of BSSAC and I can leave my mark is a great feeling,” Simmons said.
Looking forward to the CARIFTA games, she is hoping to set new personal bests in the 800m and 1500m, and also medal. Simmons is a three time medalist at the Games, having claimed gold in the Under-17 girls’ 1500m and silver in the Under-17 girls’ 800m at the 2023 edition and a bronze last year as a member of the Under-20 girls’ 4x400m relay.
(By Nathan Goddard-McCarthy)
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