National coach Kierre Beckles believes the trio of Barbadian athletes who established new national records and world-leading performances last weekend all have the potential to do even better.
Her comments came after Adeyah Brewster established a new national record in the 100m hurdles, Layla Haynes became the first Barbadian woman to go under two minutes in the 800m and CARIFTA champion Jayden Walcott set a world-leading mark for Under-18 Boys in the shot put.
Competing at the SEC Outdoor Championships, Brewster first equalled the old mark of 12.88 seconds – which coincidentally was established by Beckles in 201 – in the prelims.
She then returned to lower the mark in the final in a time of 12.86 seconds, on her way to finishing third. When ratified it will be a new national record.
In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Beckles, who served as head coach at this year’s CARIFTA Games, said it was a matter of when and not if Brewster would break the record given her consistency this season.
“She had that extra year of eligibility at school and for her to be consistently running under 13 seconds, it set up her season well. My only concern after hearing that she had equalled the record in the prelims, was how would her body recover and respond in the final. Her time shows that there is definitely progress being made,” Beckles said.
Despite her impressive performance, Beckles said she expected Brewster to go even faster in the short term.
“Once she stays injury free, Adeyah can definitely take the record down into the 12.60 second territory, which is where I always believed the record should be. If she can get there and withstand the pressure of competing in rounds over the next two years, that would put her on target for the World Championships and Olympics.
“We have the Commonwealth Games coming up and also NACAC Under-23 and I want her to take the record down to the 12.6 second range, which would be on par with much of the rest of the world,” Beckles said.
It was also a record breaking weekend for middle distance competitor Haynes
Also competing at the SEC Outdoor Championships, Haynes clocked 1:59.38 seconds to smash the old record of 2.02.23 set by Sade Sealy in 2019.
Beckles described Haynes as ultra competitive and always seeking to elevate her performances.
“She has that mentality from I would say my generation, which is not far from them, but we were always going after what is competitive on the circuit. We were always looking beyond the collegiate season. Our focus was on the Commonwealth Games and what gets you into the final, or what gets you out of the rounds at the World Championships.
“It’s one thing to qualify for those meets but it’s another thing to advance and actually compete at that top level,” Beckles explained.
Beckles predicted that Haynes will lower the record even more and expects her time with the Florida Gators track program to be very productive.
Meanwhile on the home scene, shot put sensation Jayden Walcott threw a personal best of 21.07m in the 5kg shot while competing at the President’s Classic at the Usain Bolt Complex.
Beckles said Walcott was a talented athlete who had great potential.
“For Jayden to be a world leader, not even just a regional leader, says a lot about what he’s capable of and what the world will be looking for when they start to see him come to World Juniors and NACAC Under-18.
“He has way more potential and I’m sure his coaches are definitely backing him all the way and he has our full support. Bigger and better things are coming for sure,” she concluded.
(KH)
The post Beckles lauds trio’s record-breaking performances appeared first on Barbados Today.
