On her very first jump, Akela Jones of Springer Memorial broke the record in the Under-17 girls’ long jump at the Powerade Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletic Championships.
With a leap of 5.77 metres, Jones replaced the mark of 5.61 metres set by Shadir Greene in 2005, underscoring her qualification for the 2011 CARIFTA Games in Jamaica. She already has a leap of 5.85 metres for the season, and the event was still in progress.
The next best leap was Tyneisha Rowe of Garrison with 5.23 metres.
The Under-13 girls’ high jump was also down to the final eight, with the bar at 1.31 metres.
Across the field, the Under-17 boys’ javelin and the open boys’ pentathlon discus were also underway. In the first event of the pentathlon, Daley Carter, now of The Lodge School (formerly The St Michael School) won the 110m hurdles in 14.28 seconds, earning 939 points.
On the track, the preliminaries were held in the sprint hurdles for all age group and the Under-17 and Under-20 girls’ and boys’ 400 metres were also in progress under overcast skies.
The 1500 metres, junior 400 metres and the intermediate hurdles will be held later today.
